The Killers (1946) is a film based on the short story The Killers (1927) by Ernest Hemingway, starring Ava Gardner as Kitty Collins, Burt Lancaster as “Swede” Andersen, and Edmond O’Brien as Jim Reardon.
The film begins with two hitmen who are seeking a man called “the Swede,” a coworker of Swede hears them, and goes to his apartment to warn him; however, Swede does not want to put up a fight and just accepts his fate. Since he had a life insurance policy, an investigator had to further research and unveil the reasons he was killed.
At the time the investigation was being held, the life of Swede begins to become clear as we get to see flashbacks of his life every time the investigator asks questions to the people who knew him. Thus, the film only allows us to follow the detective and know what he knows. The performances were delightful, I was intrigued to find out what did Swede do to get himself killed. I was played several times, I thought I could outsmart the detective and uncover the truth earlier, but I did not.
Such a fun film to watch if you like mystery, and crimes that involve a mobster and a dangerous lady. Kitty Collins lied to me, and I believed her, she is the smartest person in the film, which makes her unstoppable when it comes to getting what she wants. She truly is deadly.
I recommend you watch the movie first and then read the short story just to compare the elements they decided to implement in the film. I believe The Killers (1946) took advantage of the story since it is really short, the film builds up an excellent coherent narrative in sequence. You will get to know what it means to be a heartbroken man, and how powerful a woman can be.
