In the opening line of his 2012 retrospectivereviewof the film,Roger Ebertwrote, “Stanley KubrickconsideredThe Killingto be his first mature feature, after a couple of short warm-ups.” Hitting theaters in 1956, the movie marked Kubrick’sfirst real foray into major Hollywood filmmaking, coming on the heels of his career as a photographer, his work in short film, and the releases of his first two features,Fear and DesireandKiller’s Kiss. When revisitingThe Killingtoday, the quality that stands out the most is the same thing that’s prevalent in all of Kubrick’s classics:its timelessness. Despite being released nearly 70 years ago in a completely different era of Hollywood, the film has a modern sensibility. It is easy to see the ways in whichKubrick’s third picture influenced the genre it belongs toand the movies and directors that would go on to exist within it. Its non-linear structure, shifting perspectives, and use of flashbacks specifically went on to have a huge impact on the career of one of the art form’s modern masters,Quentin Tarantino.
‘The Killing’ Was Kubrick’s Take on the Heist Genre
The Killingwasbased on the crime novelClean BreakbyLionel White. It tells the story of a racetrack heist being planned and executed mostly by a group of amateur criminals under the leadership of seasoned crook Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden). Each member of the team has a different motivating factor for participating, and Kubrick gives all of them their individual moments to shine, interlocking their stories through the film’s unique structure.
In many respects,The Killingis paced like a modern film, which allows it to keep viewers engaged today in a way that might not be true ofall movies from the ’50s. Equipped with a consistent voiceover and an unseen,omniscient narratorbrought to life by an uncreditedArt Gilmore, the film’s complex formplayfully disorients the audience by moving back and forth in time and altering which character it chooses to focus on. Things never become too convoluted for their own good, though, as Kubrick’s guiding presence makes the audience feel like they are in the safe hands of a master throughout. Even if the characters’ elaborate plan and varying motives keep you on your toes,The Killing’s narrative stakes always remain easily understood.
As was the case with every genre Kubrick touched in his career,the legendary directorelevated the heist filmwithThe Killing. By establishing that every member on the team has a vital, specific role to play, he ratchets up the tension by making it clear that if one person doesn’t do their job the right way, the whole plan can come crashing down on all of them. And, by giving us insight into why these particular men have chosen to take this risk,Kubrick elicits empathy from the audience that doesn’t feel contrived or inauthentic.He didn’t conjure up sensationalized sob stories to pin to his protagonists in hopes that it would make the audience care more; he simply found a way to place real, resonant figures into a heightened genre story.
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Though it already existed in White’s novel,The Killing’snon-linear structureand clever inclusion of flashbacks proved to be an effective and potent cinematic device. At the time of its release, not many films had successfully played around with chronology in the exact way Kubrick’s film did. In the decades that followed, though,we saw so many filmmakers attempt to replicate the tactics that Kubrick used.
Some of the key qualities that proved essential toThe Killing’s success went on to appear in many beloved movies released after 1956. When watching Johnny recruit members to help execute his overthought plan, it’s hard not to think about how many times the “getting the team together” trope has been used inmodern crime and heist filmslikeOcean’s Eleven. And, as Johnny promises his girlfriend Fay (Coleen Gray) that this will be the score they need to settle down and escape to a better life, we are reminded of all the great “one last job” films we’ve seen over the years, such asThe Town,Heat,Sexy Beast, andUnforgiven.
From the very beginning of his career,The Killingwas a massive influence on thefilmmaking styleof the man who eventually gave us modern fragmented crime classics likePulp FictionandJackie Brown. In fact, in a1992 Seattle Times featureon Tarantino in the wake ofReservoir Dogs’ success, the director admitted how much inspiration he got from Kubrick’s film. “I didn’t go out of my way to do a rip-off ofThe Killing,but I did think of it as my ‘Killing,’ my take on that kind of heist movie,” Tarantino said. At theCannes premiereof his debut feature, Tarantino added, “The Killingis my favorite heist film, and I was definitely influenced by it.” These admissions by theOnce Upon a Time… in Hollywooddirector may just cementThe Killingas one of the most influential crime films ever. Due to the fact thatReservoir Dogsdirectly led toPulp Fiction,whichspawned just about as many imitations as any single Hollywood picture everand essentially led to the creation of a new genre,the number of films that stem fromThe Killing’s influence is virtually immeasurable.
The Killingis a great indicator of the quality of work that would come later in Kubrick’s career,and a blueprint for so many of the indelible heist and crime films that came after it.Today, it serves as just another reminder that cinephiles owe Kubrick a debt of gratitude for both the movies he made and for the existence of so many incredible films that his work directly influenced.
The Killing
Crook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.
