Born to Kill (1947)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Born to kill |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1947 |
| length | 92 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Wise |
| script |
Eve Greene Richard Macaulay |
| production | Herman Schlom |
| music | Paul Sawtell |
| camera | Robert De Grasse |
| cut | Les Millbrook |
| occupation | |
| |
Born to Kill is in black and white twisted American film noir of Robert Wise from the year 1947 . The film was based on the novel Deadlier than the Male by James Gunn .
action
The newly divorced Helen discovers the bodies of her roommate Laury and her admirer in the house in Reno , Nevada , where she rented. Instead of calling the police, she travels back to San Francisco as planned , where she lives with her adoptive sister Georgia, the sole heir to the family's fortune. Traveling with her on the train is Sam Wilde, a violent and psychopathic ex-boxer and, as Helen soon learns, the murderer Laurys, who killed her and her boyfriend out of jealousy. In San Francisco, Sam woos rich Georgia out of greed. The two soon get married. Helen is now engaged to another man, but falls for Sam and does not tell Georgia that he committed the double homicide in Reno.
Mrs. Kraft, Helen's former landlady in Reno, hires private detective Arnett to find Laury's killer. Helen can hold off the corrupt Arnett with the promise of generous hush money. Meanwhile, with the help of his old friend Marty, Sam learns that Mrs. Kraft is Arnett's client. Marty is supposed to kill Mrs. Kraft, but before it comes to that, Sam kills Marty in a fit of jealousy because he suspects he is having an affair with Helen. Helen gives Sam an alibi and threatens Mrs. Kraft not to call in the police. But when Helen's fiancé turns away from her because she has lost all human warmth in his eyes, she takes revenge on Sam by betraying him to the police and informing Georgia about Sam. Sam shoots Helen before being shot himself by the arriving officers.
background
Born to Kill was produced by the RKO film studio and released on May 3, 1947 in the United States. In Germany the film was not listed. In Great Britain he started under the title Lady Of Deceit.
Reviews
“A cheap and tasteless story about the fascination of a callous killer for a selfish divorced woman. […] Nothing is proven by their behavior except for the simple (and all apologetic) moral that crime doesn't pay off. [...] Demanding people will certainly not be attracted to this film. But it is precisely the fact that it was produced to satisfy lower tastes that makes it so reprehensible. "
“Tension-free noir thriller about a psychopathic slum scion (Tierney) who marries into a wealthy family and his affair with a woman (Trevor) who finds satisfaction in a life in danger. Not convincing for a second in the intended way, but consistently fascinating in his relentless focus on cruelty, humiliation and duplicity [...] "
Web links
- Born to Kill the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Born to Kill at Turner Classic Movies (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Born to Kill in the Internet Movie Database .
- ↑ "[...] a cheap and unsavory tale of a hard-hearted murderer's fascination for a self-seeking divorcee. [...] Nothing is proved by their behavior beyond the easy (and excusing) moral that crime does not pay. […] Surely, discriminating people are not likely to be attracted to this film. But it is precisely because it is designed to pander to the lower levels of taste that it is reprehensible. ”- Review in the New York Times on May 1, 1947, accessed December 26, 2012.
- ↑ "[...] an unthrilling noir thriller about a psychopathic slum kid (Tierney) marrying into wealth, and his relationship on the side with a woman (Trevor) who gets her kicks from living dangerously. Not a frame of it is convincing at the intended level, but it is consistently fascinating in its relentless emphasis on cruelty, degradation and duplicity […] “- Review ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically created as marked defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in Time Out Film Guide, Seventh Edition 1999. Penguin, London 1998, p. 106, accessed online December 26, 2012.
