Noir November: The Killing (1956)

An early film in the career of one Mr. Stanley Kubrick, The Killing may be a relatively low-budget, low-key movie compared to some of his later works, but it's no less enjoyable for it. Based on a novel ("Clean Break") by Lionel White, this is a tense, unhurried look at a group of criminals planning a major heist.

The main players are: Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden), the man with the plan, a corrupt cop named Randy Kennan (Ted De Corsia), a teller who works at the racecourse they're planning to rob (Elisha Cook Jr), a sharpshooter (Timothy Carey), and a couple of other guys who will help to distract people while the robbery occurs. Everything is planned out precisely, and onscreen details, as well as narration, help viewers to keep track of just how all of the pieces fall into place. But no plan is foolproof, is it?

Kubrick may be working on a smaller scale here, compared to his more famous works, but he shows the same attention to detail and clinical approach to the material that cinema fans would respond so well to. The script, with dialogue by Jim Thompson, nicely balances things out between the specifics of the job and the drama derived from the fluctuating dynamic of the group.

Performances are pretty great across the board, especially for a film that many would consider as nothing more than a b-movie (I guess). Hayden, Corsia, Carey and the others all do well, but I have to admit that Cook Jr. is someone I have always loved seeing onscreen, and his role here is a great one. Coleen Gray and Marie Windsor also do well, being the two main women in a film that focuses very much on the men. The fact that two make such a memorable impression, for very different reasons, is further testament to the script and their performances.

I'm not sure how audiences would have reacted to the content back in 1956, when this was first released, but it seems to have enough darker elements in there to make some people uncomfortable. There are some moments of violence, as expected from a film about an armed robbery, a healthy dollop of cynicism coating everything, and at least one outburst that uses a racial slur to shocking, though also brilliant, effect.

With it being so slight, however, it's hard to push this forward as an essential noir viewing. Yet it's easy to see how influential it has been, at least on certain people (Tarantino, I'm looking at you). It's also simply an excellent little movie that doesn't outstay its welcome. Give it a watch soon, if you've not seen it already.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B005152C78/ref=sr_1_10?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1415885702&sr=1-10&keywords=the+killing

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Abbott And Costello Meet The Mummy (1955)

It's a shame that Abbott and Costello kept making a number of movies after their peak years were already fading fast behind them but there were still fun moments for fans to take from each of their films. And, despite the dismissal it gets by many film lovers, I think that this movie sees A & C end their days making films for Universal on a bit of a high note. It's still quite a bit below their best work but there are a number of great set-pieces here that work like a charm.

The plot, as if you couldn't figure it out, sees the two men getting mixed up with a lively mummy. There is more than a little scheming, there's a murder and there's an extra complication when Lou eats a medallion that many people want to get their hands on.

John Grant is back on writing duties (as usual) and Charles Lamont is directing again for this flimsy bit of fun. From an opening sequence that showcases some absolutely, jaw-droppingly, great "Apache" dancing to a fun skit involving A & C being unnerved by a dead body to the moments that lead up to the medallion being eaten to the argument that stems from Bud "taking his pick" and opting for a spade, there are plenty of enjoyable moments from beginning to end.

Everything comes to a temporary halt for Peggy King to sing the pretty dire "You Came A Long Way From St. Louis" but it gets right back on track again soon after. Marie Windsor, Kurt Katch, Richard Deacon and a bandaged Eddie Parker provide a mixed bag of support but this A & C movie is just like most of the other A & C movies, at its best when the two leads are onscreen and sparking off each other.

Fans of The Mummy, as one of the classic Universal monsters, may be upset by the fact that the character isn't ever really portrayed as a real threat but fans of Bud and Lou should find this a worthwhile viewing.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abbott-Costello-Meet-Frankenstein-Mummy/dp/B000GKHM28/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343845725&sr=8-1