BORN TO KILL
US, 1947, 97 minutes, Black and white.
Claire Trevor, Laurence Tierney, Walter Slezak, Philip Terry, Alysha Cook Jr, Isabel Jewell, Esther Howard.
Directed by Robert Wise.
Born to Kill is a film noir, typical of the 1940s – though very strong in its portrayal of a tough and brutal central character. Laurence Tierney, who had appeared as Dillinger, is a brutal man who murders his girlfriend and her fiancé. He is attracted to a woman that he meets on the train but marries her sister. She does not report him to the police and is continually fascinated by him. The film is a portrait of a bizarre relationship.
The film is of interest as directed by Robert Wise, a veteran editor who began directing films in the 1940s for Val Lewton, especially The Curse of the Cat People and The Body Snatcher. This was one of his smaller-budget films and the next year he was to make Blood on the Moon with Robert Mitchum and move into a series of very strong and entertaining films in the 1940s and 1950s including The Set- Up, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Desert Rats, Somebody Up There Likes Me. With the coming of Cinemascope he moved into bigger-budget films like Helen of Troy but in the 1960s he won two Oscars for directing Westside Story and The Sound of Music. He continued with some big-budget films during the 70s including The Andromeda Strain and was the director of the first Star Trek movie.
1.The appeal of the film? Its dramatic impact? The popularity of film noir in the 1940s? In retrospect?
2.RKO production values, black and white style, grainy? The Reno settings, San Francisco? The train? An affluent world? An urban world?
3.The titles, expectations? Reaction to the title and the character? Robert Wise at the beginning of his career?
4.The world of Reno, audiences identifying with life in the city? The centre for divorce? Homes? The various types and their experiences? Relationships? The casino, the attraction? Glamour? The ugly side of Reno? The house and Mrs Kraft? The girl and the boys, the jealousy? The casino and the murders? Sam and his gambling? The murders, the cover-up? Seeing Helen in this context?
5.Sam, Laurence Tierney’s look, presence and style? The description? The attraction? The casino, the till? His friend Marty and the continued support? A philosopher and a psychopath? Reassuring? His ego, winning? On the train? The brutality of the murders? His encounter with Helen, the interaction, tantalising and taunting? His treatment of her? His interest in her sister, the courtship of the sister? Helen not reporting him to the police? Living with the fact that he had married her sister? His continued brutality, anger, murders? Marty’s support? The build-up the final confrontation? A despicable character?
6.Helen, her manner, poised? From Reno? In the train? The encounter with Sam, attracted to him? Not guessing the truth about him? The fascination, the possibility of a relationship? Her discovery of the truth, not reporting him to the police? The interactions with the private detective? Her sister, the marriage? The continued attraction, double-dealing? The pressure on her, the build-up to a finale?
7.Albert Arnett, his manner and style, the private detective, the touch of cynicism? The pursuit of Sam? Interactions with Helen?
8.Marty, a weak man, existing only in Sam’s shadow, helping him?
9.Laurie, her glamour, the attraction towards Sam, the marriage, her lack of scruple towards Helen? Helen’s treatment of her?
10.Mrs Kraft, her house, her being attacked, her fighting back? The tough stances?
11.The background characters, in Sam Wild’s world, in Helen’s world, the world of casinos, of boarding houses, of the police, private detectives?
12.An effective film of its kind – a film of the 40s but still relevant and of interest now?
