A solid enough film noir, but I don't think it ever has the same menace after that opening scene in the diner, where the two heavies (William Conrad and Charles McGraw) are fantastic. The story being told in flashbacks is nice in that it cleverly shifts the mystery of the film to 'how did this come to be', not 'what will ultimately happen to the main character,' which since the Production Code was in play, would have been largely a foregone conclusion anyway. A lot of it falls in place a little too cleanly though, and as the story plays out beyond that first scene (the only part of the film that was in Hemingway's story), it's a little on the simple side. Still though, to see Burt Lancaster in his first film role is a real treat, and he lights up the screen in all of his scenes. This wasn't Ava Gardner's first film, but it was the one that made her a star, and despite some unevenness in her first scene, she gets better as the film progresses, and also projects a lot of star power. Edmond O'Brien plays the investigator working for the insurance company, and it's one of the better performances I've seen from him as well. So for me the film is more about that opening scene, Lancaster, Gardner, and to some extent O'Brien - and less about grittiness, light/shadow, moody cynicism, or an intricate plot, which are some of the usual highlights of noir. It's not outstanding, but it's worth seeing.
Review of The Killers
