Classic Movie Review The Killers (1964)

The Killers (1964) 

Directed by Don Siegel 

Written by Gene L. Coon 

Starring Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes, Angie Dickinson, Ronald Reagan 

Release Date July 7th, 1964 

Published July 14th, 2023 

1964's The Killers shifts away from Ernest Hemingway's source material while maintaining a little of the framing device used in the 1946 version of The Killers from director Robert Siodmak. Director Don Siegel's biggest change however, came from beefing up the role of the titular Killers. Where Siodmak sidelines the killers after they've served their purpose, killing Burt Lancaster's Swede, Siodmak hired Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager to bring attention to these killers who also take on the role of the killers but also the role of the investigators, the role played by Edmond O'Brien in 1946. 

That's not the only change to the story of The Killers. Don Siegel's vision of The Killers has a new protagonist as well. Johnny North (John Cassavetes) is a race car driver who partially loses his sight following a racing accident. Desperate for work, he's working demolition derby's under a fake name when his former lover, Sheila Farr (Angie Dickinson), approaches him with an offer. Sheila's new lover, a gangster named Jack Browning (Ronald Reagan, yes THAT Ronald Reagan), needs a getaway driver for a heist he's pulling with a small crew. 

We know that Johnny agrees because by the time we see the heist coming together, in the modern timeline, Johnny is dead. While working as a shop teacher at a school for the blind, Johnny is approached by Charlie (Lee Marvin) and Lee (Clu Gulager), who kill him where he stands. Johnny seems to hardly react to his own death and his resignation in the face of life threatening danger and eventual death, haunts Charlie. Charlie becomes obsessed with knowing why Johnny was so willing to die at his hands? 

From here, Charlie, and a reluctant but loyal Lee, begin working backwards through the life of Johnny North to uncover Johnny's motivation while also, perhaps, seeking the whereabouts of the treasure that seemingly caused someone to hire Charlie and Lee to kill him. First on the interrogation list is Johnny's former partner and mechanic, played by Claude Akins in a haunting and soulful performance. Akins explains Johnny's relationship with Sheila and how he warned Johnny about her duplicitousness only to end up losing his friendship and his business partner. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Dressed to Kill

Dressed to Kill (1980) 

Directed by Brian De Palma 

Written by Brian De Palma 

Starring Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Dennis Farina

Release Date July 25th, 1980

Published August 14th, 2002 

There is something about a great twist ending that can make a seemingly average film great. Take the Sixth Sense, it's doubtful that film would exist without it's brilliant twist. Or Hitchcock's classic, Psycho, likely the greatest twist of all. Brian DePalma's Dressed To Kill isn't quite on par with Sixth Sense or Psycho, but it does have a fantastic twist ending that is frightening and a little campy but exciting. That is, if someone hasn't already ruined it for you.

In Dressed To Kill, Angie Dickinson is a bored housewife, sexually unsatisfied and desperate for a change. She has a husband she likes but doesn't love and a son (Keith Gordon from Back To School) who she worries is becoming a shut in. So she takes her problems to a well-respected psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Elliot (Michael Caine). He tries to help her but after she comes on to him, he ends the session, leaving her unsatisfied and still searching for adventure. This leads her to a museum and a chance encounter with a complete stranger.

From there the film takes a left turn into creepiness as Dickinson's housewife is murdered ala Janet Leigh in Psycho. A high-class hooker played by Nancy Allen witnesses the murder. Because Allen was the only witness, she is also the only suspect, according to Detective Marino (NYPD Blue's Dennis Franz). Now a target of the killer, Allen teams up with Gordon to find the killer before she finds them. Meanwhile Dr Elliot is getting strange phone calls from an ex-patient who is taking credit for the murder and threatening to kill again. In an odd choice, Elliot does not inform the police of the calls.

The whole film is an homage to Psycho, with the story, the plot devices and the camerawork. The killer is always shot in profile with quick cuts, she's there and gone very quickly giving the audience a glimpse of things unseen by the character. 

Dressed To Kill is a good movie, very weird though. The opening shower scene is something out of soft-core porn. Then there is the ten-minute museum sequence, which is done with no dialogue or score, just ambient noise and visuals and one amazing tracking shot that takes us on a tour of the entire museum.

Brian De Palma has often been criticized for his style over substance approach where his visual mastery overwhelms his story. Dressed To Kill is no exception. However, Dressed To Kill is a film where the visuals are far more important than the plot. They in fact ARE the plot. The ending hinges on two sensational visual sequences, one a dream and the other the shocking twist.

Sadly, someone ruined the ending for me so some of the shock was taken out of it. But De Palma's visuals more than make up for it. If you don't know how it ends then you will love it. If you already know the twist you will at least be dazzled by the visual flair.