The Killers Overview:

The Killers (1946) was a Crime - Drama Film directed by Robert Siodmak and produced by Mark Hellinger.

SYNOPSIS

An insurance investigator (O'Brien) digs up crime, betrayal, and a glamorous woman (Gardner in best femme fatale mode) behind an ex-fighter's (and current gas stations attendant's) death. Classic noir from Siodmak, a master of the genre, scripted by Veiller with an uncredited assist from Huston, based on a story by Ernest Hemingway. Lancaster made a sizzling film debut in the role of Swede, the murdered boxer. Rozsa's main theme was later borrowed for the opening sequence of TV's Dragnet.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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The Killers was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2008.

Academy Awards 1946 --- Ceremony Number 19 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best DirectorRobert SiodmakNominated
Best Film EditingArthur HiltonNominated
Best Music - ScoringMiklos RozsaNominated
Best WritingAnthony VeillerNominated
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BlogHub Articles:

Noir Nook: A Shadowy Baker?s Dozen ? 13 Things You May Not Know About The Killers (1946)

By Karen Burroughs Hannsberry on May 16, 2025 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

13 Things You May Not Know About The Killers (1946) Ask any noir fan for a list of their favorite films from the classic era, and The Killers (1946) is likely to appear. It?s a stellar example of this shadowy period of filmmaking, featuring such noir tropes as the femme fatale, the hapless fallen... Read full article


The Killers (1964) and Tenebrae

By Rick29 on Sep 4, 2023 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

Clu Gulager and Lee Marvin.The Killers (1964). Don Siegel's adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's 1946 short story "The Killers" is sadly overshadowed by the 1946 film version that made stars of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner. Siegel's The Killers is a lean, fast-paced drama that borrows elements from th... Read full article


You're Invited! FILM NOIR STYLE Continues with "Year of Transition 1946" and THE KILLERS

on Jul 8, 2023 From GlamAmor

On Saturday, July 29, my 4-part Film Noir Style series continues at the Aero Theatre with The Year of Transition 1946. After my presentation, we will screen The Killers (1946) starring the sensual Ava Gardner and featuring costumes by Vera West. Saturday, July 29The Year of Transition 1946 and The K... Read full article


Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner in director Robert Siodmak's "The Killers"

By Stephen Reginald on Aug 16, 2022 From Classic Movie Man

Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner in director Robert Siodmak's "The Killers" The Killers (1946) is an American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Burt Lancaster in his movie debut and Ava Gardner. The film co-stars Edmond O'Brien, Sam Levine, and Charles McGraw. The film is based on... Read full article


Film Noir Review: The Killers (1964)

By Danilo Castro on Jun 25, 2021 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

“If I knew you were coming, I would’ve set fire to the place.” Remakes are a difficult undertaking, especially in the world of film noir. There have been countless instances of remakes coasting on the iconography of its predecessor, without carrying over the emotion and angst th... Read full article


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Quotes from

Big Jim Colfax: If there's one thing in this world I hate, it's a double-crossing dame.


Jim Reardon: How well did you know the Swede?
Charleston: Me? Mister, I guess me and the Swede were about as close as two guys can get. For nearly two years we weren't more than eight and a half feet apart. That's how big the cell was.


Jim Reardon: She took a powder. The dough went with her.


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Facts about

The film opened in New York at the Winter Garden Theatre on August 28, 1946. The first day, $10,341 was taken in at the box office, beating a previous house record by $3000.
The musical theme by Miklós Rózsa, heard whenever the killers appear, was later used in expanded form as the theme music for the TV series Dragnet and its revival Dragnet 1967.
In-joke: In the scene towards the end of the film where Edmond O'Brien arranges to meet Ava Gardner outside a nightclub, O'Brien stands on the street in front of the club, waiting for Gardner to drive up. On the wall behind him is a poster, beginning with "Sir Arthur Hilton presents..." Arthur Hilton, an Englishman, was the film's editor.
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Best Director Oscar 1946






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National Film Registry

The Killers

Released 1946
Inducted 2008
(Sound)




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Also directed by Robert Siodmak




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Also released in 1946




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