Crook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.Crook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.Crook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 nomination total
Ted de Corsia
- Patrolman Randy Kennan
- (as Ted DeCorsia)
Elisha Cook Jr.
- George Peatty
- (as Elisha Cook)
Joe Turkel
- Tiny
- (as Joseph Turkel)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaInitial test screenings were poor, citing the non-linear structure as the main problem. Stanley Kubrick was forced to go back and edit the film in a linear fashion, making the film even more confusing. In the end, it was released in its original form, and is often cited as being a huge influence on other non-linear films like Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994).
- GoofsDuring the robbery, it's clear that a significant amount of the money is in neatly banded bundles of crisp brand-new bills, yet when it's transferred from the duffel bag to the suitcase, all the bills are loose, unstacked, and appear well-used.
- Quotes
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.
- ConnectionsEdited into Hai-Kubrick (1999)
Featured review
Kubrick's first serious effort packs a punch.
The Killing is a film whose legacy can still be seen in many films today. This film is not only Stanley Kubrick's first acclaimed film, but it is also credited with inventing the concept of non-linear story telling for the film industry. Some recent films that have used this technique are Reservior Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Go, Wonderland and The Usual Suspects.
The story deals with a motley crew of assorted criminals, inside men, and average joes just looking to get their hands on a large sum of money by stealing it from a racetrack. Sterling Hayden plays Johnny Clay, a hardened criminal who just finished serving a five-year prison sentence. He is the ringleader of the bunch who is determined to only go for the big heists from now on. He figures they can put you away for stealing ten dollars as easily as ten million, so what have you got to lose? The rest of the crew are mostly average people with average problems, as Clay explains early on. Some of them work at the track. One is a crooked cop. Two are hardened criminals added at the last minute to cause diversions. Everything has been timed and planned out to the letter. Of course in a film like this, things never go as planned. It wouldn't be entertaining if they did.
The killing was made on a budget of well below half a million dollars, and it shows. The film looks cheap at times, but the story is more than enough to make you forgive its financial shortcomings. The acting is nothing too special. Hayden is strong and resourceful as Johnny Clay, but he's pretty wooden. Elisha Cook Jr. is pretty good as a hen-pecked husband who is taking part in the scheme to impress his high-maintenance wife. If this film were re-cast today, you'd have to think of William H. Macy to play this character. Timothy Carey is always memorable, even with such a small part like the one he has here. Such a strange-looking guy! He gets the most interesting assignment of all the people in on the heist.
You can really tell this was made fifty years ago. Even though there are hardened criminals and low-lifes in nearly every scene, nobody ever says the F-word! There is, however, a fairly gory shootout in one scene which you normally didn't find in films back then. The killing was ahead of its time in more ways than one, I guess. Please be sure to check this one out! 8 of 10 stars.
The Hound.
The story deals with a motley crew of assorted criminals, inside men, and average joes just looking to get their hands on a large sum of money by stealing it from a racetrack. Sterling Hayden plays Johnny Clay, a hardened criminal who just finished serving a five-year prison sentence. He is the ringleader of the bunch who is determined to only go for the big heists from now on. He figures they can put you away for stealing ten dollars as easily as ten million, so what have you got to lose? The rest of the crew are mostly average people with average problems, as Clay explains early on. Some of them work at the track. One is a crooked cop. Two are hardened criminals added at the last minute to cause diversions. Everything has been timed and planned out to the letter. Of course in a film like this, things never go as planned. It wouldn't be entertaining if they did.
The killing was made on a budget of well below half a million dollars, and it shows. The film looks cheap at times, but the story is more than enough to make you forgive its financial shortcomings. The acting is nothing too special. Hayden is strong and resourceful as Johnny Clay, but he's pretty wooden. Elisha Cook Jr. is pretty good as a hen-pecked husband who is taking part in the scheme to impress his high-maintenance wife. If this film were re-cast today, you'd have to think of William H. Macy to play this character. Timothy Carey is always memorable, even with such a small part like the one he has here. Such a strange-looking guy! He gets the most interesting assignment of all the people in on the heist.
You can really tell this was made fifty years ago. Even though there are hardened criminals and low-lifes in nearly every scene, nobody ever says the F-word! There is, however, a fairly gory shootout in one scene which you normally didn't find in films back then. The killing was ahead of its time in more ways than one, I guess. Please be sure to check this one out! 8 of 10 stars.
The Hound.
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- TOMASBBloodhound
- Jun 23, 2012
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $320,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $203
- Runtime1 hour 24 minutes
- Color
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