The Killers (1946)
Making his screen début Burt Lancaster stars alongside Ava Gardner in this classic film noir based on a short story from Ernest Hemmingway. Two hit men turn up to a small town and gun down a loner gas station attendant but no one knows why.
Lancaster and Gardner may be the nominal stars and better known names most of the film is taken up by an insurance investigator played by Edmond O'Brien trying to unravel the mystery as the stars appear in flashback. As with many films of this genre this is a tale of crime, double dealings and femme fatales but what makes it stand out is the good use of the flashback technique to tell the tale of the murder victim in a much more interesting way than if this had been a standard narrative. Interestingly the film was later remade and includes Ronald Reagan's last screen appearance before going into politics.
4/5 this is a well made film and one of the classic 40s film noirs that defined the genre.
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