The Killing (1956)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Killing (1956) – S. Kubrick

Taut heist picture that sees Sterling Hayden get together an assortment of crooks (and amateurs) with varying motives to rob the racetrack on the day of the big race.  Kubrick is already a master of his craft (in his third feature) and the film is expertly paced and directed, despite a non-linear plot that bounces back and forth from the day of the heist to the earlier planning and positioning (for each character separately) to the final consequences and denouement (a major influence on Tarantino, among others).  The dramatic music by Gerald Fried adds a lot to the tension; the voiceover narration (which Kubrick disliked) makes this fit the documentary noir style.  Much of the focus of the plot is on Elisha Cook Jr (who works a counter at the track, paying off the winning bets) and his wife Marie Windsor, a floozy only with him because she thought he had dough (and currently two-timing him with Vince Edwards who wants to muscle in on the heist). Their actions add stress. Scary/weird character actor Timothy Carey makes an excellent stylized sniper.  The plans by the gang are worked out like clockwork but, of course, everything eventually comes unstuck (crime doesn’t pay in films like these).   The final shot at the airport cements the collapse.  And it’s all over in less than 90 minutes.  Superb.