The Killing (1956)

97% of critics liked it
(32 reviews)
90% of users liked it
(19,567 ratings)

The Killing was director Stanley Kubrick's first major film effort -- though, like Kubrick's earlier films, it was economically produced with an inexpensive cast. In a variation of his Asphalt Jungle role, Sterling Hayden plays veteran criminal Johnny Clay, planning one last big heist before… More The Killing was director Stanley Kubrick's first major film effort -- though, like Kubrick's earlier films, it was economically produced with an inexpensive cast. In a variation of his Asphalt Jungle role, Sterling Hayden plays veteran criminal Johnny Clay, planning one last big heist before settling down to a respectable marriage with Fay (Colleen Gray). Teaming with several cohorts, Johnny masterminds a racetrack robbery. The basic flaw is that all the crooks involved are losers and small-timers who find themselves in way over their heads despite their supposed cleverness. None of the participants is more pathetic than George Peatty (Elisha Cook Jr.), who is goaded into the robbery by his covetous and far-from-faithful wife (Marie Windsor). As in a Greek tragedy, Johnny's best-laid schemes go awry. Prominently featured in the cast of The Killing are offbeat character actors Tim Carey and Joe Turkel, who'd show up with equally showy roles in future Kubrick productions. The Killing is based on the novel Clean Break by Lionel White. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 23 min.
Directed By: Stanley Kubrick
Written By: Stanley Kubrick, Jim Thompson
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1956 Wide
On DVD: Aug 15, 2001
Studio: United Artists

Critic Reviews

, TIME Magazine
At 27 Writer-Director Stanley Kubrick, in his third full-length picture, has shown more audacity with dialogue and camera than Hollywood has seen since the obstreperous Orson Welles went riding out of town on an exhibitors' poll.
Variety Staff, Variety
[The film] at first tends to be somewhat confusing, soon settles into a tense and suspenseful vein which carries through to an unexpected and ironic windup.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Arguably Stanley Kubrick's most perfectly conceived and executed film.
A.H. Weiler, New York Times
An engrossing little adventure.
Eric Melin, Scene-Stealers.com
A brisk, satisfying film noir that features all the details of a racetrack heist gone wrong - even if the timeline is all shuffled out of order. It's thick with atmosphere and razor-sharp dialogue.
Glenn Heath Jr., Slant Magazine
The Criterion Collection fulfills a long rumored released with the essential Blu-ray of Stanley Kubrick's The Killing, one of the great devil's of 1950's American cinema.
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
Despite this only being his third feature and his first with a significant budget, Kubrick displays many of the thematic preoccupations and visual traits that would come to define his unique, cinematic voice.
Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy
A tight heist thriller from master director Stanley Kubrick.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
May be the greatest of American heist films because it bursts the genre to the point of existentialism.
Dan Jardine, Cinemania
1956 and it's already Kubrick, being Kubrick.
, Film4
Kubrick made grander and greater films, but this is among his most dramatic.
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
Even though he was just staring out, Kubrick instantly mastered the crime genre. A stunning film.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
Stanley Kubrick's masterful manipulation of chronology brings an excruciating sense of doom to The Killing, a classical noir about a carefully threaded heist unraveled by the scheming of a fiendish femme.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Characteristically Kubrick in both its mechanistic coldness and its vision of human endeavour undone by greed and deceit, this noir-ish heist movie is nevertheless far more satisfying than most of his later work.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Stanley Kubrick's third film established him as a full-fledged filmmaker and a potential master.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Kubrick's breakthrough film is one of his very best, a classic film noir that has influenced many directors (including Tarantino) in narrative structure, visual style, and tone.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jonathan H

There are two types of heist films: one relies merely on the act of the robbery to hold the audience's attention, and the other explores the psychology and meticulous nature of planning a robbery. For me, I'm with Truffaut in naming Riffifi as the undisputed "king of… More
There are two types of heist films: one relies merely on the act of the robbery to hold the audience's attention, and the other explores the psychology and meticulous nature of planning a robbery. For me, I'm with Truffaut in naming Riffifi as the undisputed "king of the heist film," but The Killing is a great example of the latter. Sure, Sterling Hayden is as stiff and wooden as ever, but he is bailed out by an exemplary supporting cast (minus the awful Coleen Gray, who thankfully only really has one scene). And of course, there's Kubrick's show-stopping dolly shots, and his patented lighting schemes. What he lacked in Fear and Desire and Killer's Kiss, he perfected in The Killing. Getting this complete, assuredly paced film under his belt would go on to be the impetus for him to create some of the greatest cinematic achievements in the 20th century. A lot has been made of the narration being sometimes irritating, that it carries a kind of B-movie police drama expository tone, and the information is too much. I would argue that the narration was necessary in establishing and maintaining the complex and non-sequential plot, and that the information is an interesting mold in the film's structure. It adds on a layer to that existentialist subtext, as every description makes it sounds like the narrator's a reporter looking back on the past events with a (detached) objectivity. Every aspect of the plan is on a rigid schedule (time of day is consistently highlighted throughout), but even the most stringent, meticulous of plans can't avoid the inevitable disruption of chance, luck, or in this case, fate.
Melvin W

Johnny Clay: You'd be killing a horse - that's not first degree murder, in fact it's not murder at all, in fact I don't know what it is. "In All It's Fury and Violence" Kubrick's third feature length film, The Killing, is really what jump… More
Johnny Clay: You'd be killing a horse - that's not first degree murder, in fact it's not murder at all, in fact I don't know what it is. "In All It's Fury and Violence" Kubrick's third feature length film, The Killing, is really what jump started his career. Before it he had made Fear and Desire, which he hated, and another decent film called Killer's Kiss. The Killing was his first great movie, and showed the potential he had as a director. This short heist film lacks in nothing. The one thing that did irritate me about it was the horrible narration. It sounded so out of place. The only place narration like that would fit in is a terrible and cheap 50's science fiction film. Other than that, the rest is just about as perfect as it could be. Johnny Clay is planning one last big score before settling into a quiet life. He enlists the help of some less than big time criminals. What he plans to do is take a horse track for all its got, which is roughly around $2,000,000. Everyone involved thinks they have the perfect plan and that nothing is going to go wrong, but it is a robbery, so you know that is never going to happen. The film is really revolutionary in how it does the robbery. Kubrick manipulates time like no movie before it and really sets the stage for every movie that would use this technique in the future. He does the same scene, at different times, from different viewpoints. It's like how Tarantino does his crime scenes in movies like Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown. The Killing obviously had a huge influence on the crime and heist genres and an even bigger influence on how directors would look at time. You don't have to film everything in sequence, and that is exactly what Kubrick proved here. The Killing is extremely intelligent and ahead of its time in just about every detail of the robbery. It isn't only about how Kubrick manipulated time, but how he built the film up to the disastrous ending. The dialogue is great, but where you really see the Kubrick touch is in the actual filming of the movie. This is the first film where we really see how Kubrick would approach the filming of his movies. It isn't my favorite Kubrick film, nor would I classify it as his best. But there is something incredibly special about watching it. This is when Kubrick really started making films that were so much better than everyone else's. It was before Paths of Glory, before 2001. So looking at this movie decades later, after his great career in filmmaking is over; it is wonderful experience. There really is nothing else like watching a great Stanley Kubrick movie. After this, Kubrick would make nothing but extraordinary movies. If you haven't seen any of his movies, this is where you should start, and then just follow his filmography by date. I bet Kubrick would even say, that he wished this was the first movie he had ever made. Johnny Clay: You like money. You've got a great big dollar sign there where most women have a heart.
Tyler C

Director Stanley Kubrick in his earliest days as a filmmaker, delivers an engrossing film noir tale of the "robbery gone wrong," featuring razor sharp dialogue, Kubrick's classic directing trademarks and a strong lead performance by Sterling Hayden. Most likely one of… More
Director Stanley Kubrick in his earliest days as a filmmaker, delivers an engrossing film noir tale of the "robbery gone wrong," featuring razor sharp dialogue, Kubrick's classic directing trademarks and a strong lead performance by Sterling Hayden. Most likely one of my top 25 favorite movies of all-time!
Veronique K

asphalt jungle is much better.
Michael G

Not the best, but definitely my favorite Kubrick film. There is nothing wrong with this film whatsoever. I remember thinking Tarantino was a hack after originally seeing this but then again, the kind of genius contained within this film is going to escape eventually. Kubrick's… More
Not the best, but definitely my favorite Kubrick film. There is nothing wrong with this film whatsoever. I remember thinking Tarantino was a hack after originally seeing this but then again, the kind of genius contained within this film is going to escape eventually. Kubrick's direction and camera work are absolutely astonishing. The cast, the dialogue and story are all to die for. This movie is so underrated its depressing...
Steven C

With his third ("Fear and Desire," and "Killer's Kiss" preceded) feature film, "The Killing," Stanley Kubrick had proved he was here to stay. "The Killing" is such a triumph because it did so many things at once, almost effortlessly.… More
With his third ("Fear and Desire," and "Killer's Kiss" preceded) feature film, "The Killing," Stanley Kubrick had proved he was here to stay. "The Killing" is such a triumph because it did so many things at once, almost effortlessly. Kubrick demonstrated that he understood what makes a great crime film, but also updated it with his near expert manipulation of narrative. He also brought a sense of that noir existentialism to a heist film, which was extremely exciting at the time. Something that really stood out to me was the confidence in which he moved his camera. It was some of the most innovative, subtle and stylish cinematography since Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane." "The Killing's" influences have been far reaching, most notably in Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" and to a much different extent, Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's Eleven." Because of this, the film might not seem as relevant today, but I assure you, "The Killing" is the real deal. A blazingly original, stylish and uncommonly confident heist film that works just a nicely as a great slice of film history.
Sergio G

LOVE IT. What a great movie! Stanley Kubrick never stops amazing me. After watching The Killing I'm totally convinced that I will watch his entire filmographty. The perfect plan for the perfect robbery. Sterling Hayden wow. Almost evrything is perfect in this movie. I loved it,… More
LOVE IT. What a great movie! Stanley Kubrick never stops amazing me. After watching The Killing I'm totally convinced that I will watch his entire filmographty. The perfect plan for the perfect robbery. Sterling Hayden wow. Almost evrything is perfect in this movie. I loved it, really. Go for it, NOW!
Stefanie C

tarantino had to have watched this flick several times before making resevoir dogs...
Tim S

Pure film noir from Stanley Kubrick, this being only his third full-length film. I guess my biggest problem with it is the actual narration of the piece. It stands out like a sore thumb and sounds almost exactly like the same narrator from Plan 9 from Outer Space. Not that either film… More
Pure film noir from Stanley Kubrick, this being only his third full-length film. I guess my biggest problem with it is the actual narration of the piece. It stands out like a sore thumb and sounds almost exactly like the same narrator from Plan 9 from Outer Space. Not that either film has anything to do with each other OR that the narration is the wrong move, but it just took me out of the moment each time it came up. The story is there and comes across very strong so I'm curious how different it would be without it. Just a theory. Regardless, this is a strong work from one of the grand masters.
Reid V

There are just some directors out there who are so visionary that everything they touch is pure gold. After watching The Killing, it is hard to argue that Kubrick wasn't one of those people. His only stab at noir is certainly impressive. Much like Huston's Concrete Jungle,… More
There are just some directors out there who are so visionary that everything they touch is pure gold. After watching The Killing, it is hard to argue that Kubrick wasn't one of those people. His only stab at noir is certainly impressive. Much like Huston's Concrete Jungle, this film is centered around the plight of the criminals involved in a heist. The films also share the star Sterling Hayden who, while not as charismatic as other men of Noir such as Bogart, still delivers a great performance. However, while Huston's film seems to focus on telling a great story, Kubrick's film plays like an exercise in style. Casual walks across the inside of an apartment become opportunities for Kubrick to pull off an excellent tracking shot. Kubrick's camera is fluid and the shots are beautiful without drawing too much attention to the camera. The story isn't particularly fascinating and the supporting actors aren't anything to write home about. However, this is one of the more exquisitely shot noirs I have seen and another example that Kubrick was one of the most visionary directors of the 20th century.
Jennifer X

A really stylish, backstabbing noir with a flair for the theatrical.
Bob O

It's a breathlessly paced, early Kubrick, heist-thriller about an elaborate plan to knock-over a racetrack. With stylish camera movements in low-key, smokey black and white and a noirish, jazzy score, Kubrick displayed his innate technical skill to go along with the story's… More
It's a breathlessly paced, early Kubrick, heist-thriller about an elaborate plan to knock-over a racetrack. With stylish camera movements in low-key, smokey black and white and a noirish, jazzy score, Kubrick displayed his innate technical skill to go along with the story's infectious immediacy and sinister cynicism. No matter how perfectly planned a crime may be, something always can, and will, go wrong. The Killing is like the anti-2001 and to watch the plan unfold at non-linear, bullet-speed has the giddy excitement one might feel while pulling off the perfect "killing" -- or watching a legend be born.
familiar s

Obviously since it falls in my favorite genre, the director's name (Stanley Kubrick) only added fuel to the fire. However, while the movie was okay for killing time, it was nothing great or extraordinary.
Conner R

The killing is a very interesting movie, however, I don't think it would get as much praise as it does without having Stanley Kubrick's name attached to it. This lacks the precision and style that Kubrick is known for, which essentially makes it another noir/heist movie from… More
The killing is a very interesting movie, however, I don't think it would get as much praise as it does without having Stanley Kubrick's name attached to it. This lacks the precision and style that Kubrick is known for, which essentially makes it another noir/heist movie from the 50s. What makes it worthwhile are the characters and concept of time. It might be a little too moralistic, even for noir, but in the end it's a really cool ride.
jay n

Tightly crafted crime caper with excellent cast well directed by Kubrick. Even the stolid Hayden is well cast here, his stiffness used to good effect.
Lenny M

Film Noir bliss. Should be about 4.5 stars but the melodrama between one of the couples got on my nerves. "I'm not happy, we live in a dump, get the money so we can be happy, wait I'm cheating on you?" 50's baby. Sterling Hayden is a machine and Kubrick… More
Film Noir bliss. Should be about 4.5 stars but the melodrama between one of the couples got on my nerves. "I'm not happy, we live in a dump, get the money so we can be happy, wait I'm cheating on you?" 50's baby. Sterling Hayden is a machine and Kubrick is a robot, earning dem chops wif dis movie.
xGary X

Fresh out of prison, a career criminal cooks up an ingenious scheme to rob a racetrack. An early film from Stanley Kubrick, and yet another masterclass. He takes to the visual trappings of Film Noir and creates one of the most efficiently told and tautly directed heist films ever… More
Fresh out of prison, a career criminal cooks up an ingenious scheme to rob a racetrack. An early film from Stanley Kubrick, and yet another masterclass. He takes to the visual trappings of Film Noir and creates one of the most efficiently told and tautly directed heist films ever made. Sterling Hayden is perfect as the straight-talking, street-wise mastermind, as is Marie Windsor's Machiavellian femme fatale who twists doomed sap Elisha Cook Jr round her little finger. So much of this film has influenced some of the best directing talent working today that it still feels remarkably contemporary; Tarantino owes much to the over-lapping timeline in particular, and the mix of off beat characters, violent crime and cruel twists of fate is straight out of a Cohen brothers movie (Vince Edwards actually looks the spit of Peter Stormare in this film!) In fact the only element that dates it is the newsreel style voice over, although it does help fit the pieces of puzzle together quite well. Johnny Clay was a brilliant character whom I would have liked to have learned more about, to the point where you are almost sorry to see him caught. But wishing the film was longer is hardly the most damning criticism! Is there any genre Kubrick couldn't do?
Anthony L

A fantastic Heist film noir by the late great Kubrick. The dialogue is brilliant and the characters and acting superb. As always, Kubrick's direction is perfect. It's been a huge influence since its realise and has often been ripped off but never bettered. Brilliant. PS.… More
A fantastic Heist film noir by the late great Kubrick. The dialogue is brilliant and the characters and acting superb. As always, Kubrick's direction is perfect. It's been a huge influence since its realise and has often been ripped off but never bettered. Brilliant. PS. Hands off Tarantino you tea leaf!!
Lady D

A well planned Robbery that is timed accurately and precise, with many characters involved. Enjoyable watch, worthy if you catch it on TV, not quite as impressive as I thought it would be, but an ok film.
Tim S

I know that it's Stanley, so I should give it more of a break and I'm sure that seeing this a lot earlier in my life would have given me a better appreciation of it, but I was a little disappointed after watching the film. It's still a well crafted heist film with a… More
I know that it's Stanley, so I should give it more of a break and I'm sure that seeing this a lot earlier in my life would have given me a better appreciation of it, but I was a little disappointed after watching the film. It's still a well crafted heist film with a terrific performance from Sterling Hayden. And, at the end of the day, you have to give props for the way that Kubrick tells the story (if you need to realize how influential it is, watch just about every heist film for the past 40 years including films like Reservoir Dogs). I did like the ending and there is another hilarious performance from Timothy Carrey, so I can't be too hard on it. I'll have to blame what I didn't enjoy about it on my own expectations and that's nobody's fault but my own.