1956 Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
Sterling Hayden Coleen Gray Vince Edwards Jay C. Flippen Ted de Corsia Marie Windsor Elisha Cook Jr. Joe Sawyer James Edwards Timothy Carey Kola Kwariani Jay Adler Tito Vuolo Dorothy Adams Herbert Ellis James Griffith Cecil Elliott Joe Turkel Steve Mitchell Mary Carroll William Benedict Charles Cane Robert B. Williams Tom Coleman Rodney Dangerfield Franklyn Farnum John George Art Gilmore Kenner G. Kemp Show All…
Mislukte opzet, Det store gangsterkup, Ha-Hereg, Το χρήμα της οργής, Casta de malditos, O Grande Golpe, L'ultime razzia, 킬링, Tappo
Crime, drugs and gangsters Thrillers and murder mysteries robbery, criminal, crime, heist or cops film noir, femme fatale, 1940s, thriller or intriguing gangster, crime, criminal, violence or ruthless gambling, casino, unpredictable, engaging or drama prison, jail, criminal, convicts or violence Show All…
What a perfect allegory of our existence: You can overcome the most difficult of challenges, only to get fucked over by a poodle in the end.
89
Stanley Kubrick's brilliance is fully-formed in this savage, cutthroat heist movie. Not only is its sense of non-linear time so integral to the detail and development of the characters, but it strengthens the sense of doom which pervades the narrative. Kubrick never allows the viewer to forget what's at stake, and also emphasizing the successes (and mistakes) that lead to the fatalistic conclusion. An ironic distance is present, yes, but it's different than how Kubrick would later frame his characters. This is, above all, a story of money flying in the wind, but each step in getting there is what's important. Full of stark imagery, too. This is as much a late-period-Noir as it is a Kubrickian exercise. Sterling Hayden's face (and voice) is one of the most memorable in cinema history, and this movie knows it.
The acting was a bit off. It felt as if the actors had a gun aimed at their head and considering this was directed by Stanley Kubrick it wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case.
Reminder that Kubrick directed a top-shelf, non-linear heist film and we don’t talk about it enough.
My first movie of the new decade is an absolutely perfect noir with an interesting narrative conceit — we see the heist unfold from the perspective of every participant, a pay-off for the meticulous planning of the first act and a clever way to build character within the tight confines of the script.
Crime ultimately doesn’t pay, so it is too much to say that this film is nihilistic, but the final twist and ending gives the proceedings an existentialist touch. The plots and plans of mortals are no match for the god of chance.
Oh, and this is definitely a Kubrick. All of the talent and skill and inventiveness is present from the beginning, and it is fun to watch it in this early form.
very cheap, well-made non-linear heist noir with a minute focus on the planning, sweating, and smoking as all the attempts at professionalism come apart at the seams. also a cool meeting of jim thompson's blunt, hardboiled crime pulp writing & kubrick's expertly-controlled suspense image-making; incredible lamp-lit shadows, low angles, anxious camera moves, etc. back in the day cahier du cinema negatively referred to kubrick's style here as "gratuitous swagger," watching today it's hard not to see that as precisely its strength. what an ending.
Action! - Three Auteurs: Stan and the Thousand Ku(t)bricks
As the old adage goes, "third time's the charm," and that certainly rings true for Kubrick's third feature. A film that, in many respects, summarizes the director's career to this point. You've got the romance, the film noir, and now you've got a movie with a robbery that's sure to grab people's attention. From the mask to the way the plan is carried out, you can see more of Kubrick's potential as a director. He also gives us a number of memorable scenes, like the heist with the masks or the process of making the plan, putting together the team, and carrying it out. There is also something approaching a sense…
