The Killers (Universal Pictures) (1964)

UNIVERSAL presents ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S THE KILLERS In Color starring LEE MARVIN ANGIE DICKINSON JOHN CASSAVETES RONALD REAGAN CLU GULAGER Screenplay by GENE L. COON Produced and Directed by DONALD SIEGEL A UNIVERSAL PICTURE the east (Charlie tess = 2 LEE MARVIN Sheila Farr....ANGIE DICKINSON Johnny North JOHN CASSAVETES | Bcf ae ee gee aN CLU GULAGER Earl Sylvester...... CLAUDE AKINS Mickey 22> a, NORMAN FELL Browning........ RONALD REAGAN Miss Watson VIRGINIA CHRISTINE Mail Truck Driver DON HAGGERTY George.......... ROBERT PHILLIPS Receptionist KATHLEEN O’MALLEY Gym Assistant.......TED JACQUES Mail Truck Guard IRVIN MOSLEY Salesman............--JIMMY JOYCE Maitre D’.........DAVIS ROBERTS Race Marshal.......... HALL BROCK Elderly Man.......... BURT MUSTIN Instructor ...........PETER HOBBS Porter = 2 JOHN COPAGE Steward =. TYLER McCVEY Postal Clerk... SEYMOUR CASSEL Hotel Clerk.............. SCOTT HALE Director of Photography, Richard L. Rawlings; Art Directors, Frank Arrigo and George Chan; Set Decorations, John McCarthy and James S. Redd: Sound, David H. Moriarty; Technical Advisor, Hall Brock; Assistant Director, Milton Feldman: Music, Johnny Williams: Music Supervision, Stanley Wilson; Costumes by Helen Colvig; Film Editor, Richard Belding; Editorial Dept. Head, David J. O’Connell; Make-Up, Bud Westmore; Hair Stylist, Larry Germain; The Song, “Too Little Time,’ Music by Henry Mancini, Lyrics by Don Raye, Sung by Nancy Wilson. (Not for Publication) Two hired assassins, Charlie (LEE MARVIN) and Lee (CLU GULAGER), find their victim teaching a class in a school for the blind and shoot him to death. Both men note that the victim, Johnny North (JOHN CASSAVETES), did not run from what he knew would be certain death, but advanced toward his doom almost as though he wanted it to happen. On. a train headed for Chicago, Charlie and Lee speculate on North’s possible reasons for wanting to die. Both are aware of the fact that North was involved in a successful million-dollar mail robbery some years before and that he supposedly double-crossed his accomplices and got away with all the money himself. Neither of the two men knows who hired them to kill Johnny but they assume it had something to do with the stolen money. Both men decide to track down the man who hired them, hoping it will eventually lead to the million dollars. The first stop on their search takes them to Florida where they find a former business partner of North. At gunpoint, the partner Earl Sylvester (CLAUDE AKINS), tells them that he and Johnny were a pair of successful mechanics who made money at auto races. One day a beautiful young woman named Sheila Farr (ANGIE DICKINSON) approached Johnny at the race track. Sheila and Johnny were mutually attracted to each other immediately, but Johnny was suspicious of the girl because of her obvious love of luxury. Nevertheless, Johnny fell in love with Sheila and they planned to be married after he won the next race. However, Johnny lost the race when his car cracked-up and he was badly injured. He later learned that Sheila was being kept Copyright 1964 — Universal Pictures Co., In Top-Notch Cast, First-Rate Production, Fast-Paced Action Make ‘The Killers” One of Year's Outstanding New Pictures Clu Gulager holds Angie Dickinson out the window of her eighth story room in order to convince her that she must refresh her memory in this violent scene from Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Killers,” an explosive melodrama in color from Universal. Other stars are Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes and Ronald Reagan. Singer Nancy Wilson Makes Film Debut (Current) Nancy Wilson, America’s newest singing sensation, makes her film debut in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Killers,” now playing at the Beppe anes ietee sh Wha Ieee: Dee AE Theatre. Miss Wilson is seen in a lavish nightclub sequence where she sings a new ballad written by famed composer Henry Mancini with lyrics by Don Raye. The Universal Picture filmed in color, stars Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes, Ronald Reagan and Clu Gulager. Donald Siegel produced and directed the action-drama, with screenplay by Gene L. Coon. (Still No. 95008-37 ) The Killers’ Assistant Has His Big Moment (Current) Probably the most harried man on a motion picture set is the assistant director. That’s why Milton Feldman, 15 years an assistant director, had his moment of triumph during the filming of ‘The Killers,” a Universal Picture in color now showing A key sequence required a closeup of the slain Lee Marvin, Ronald Reagan and Angie Dickinson after they eliminate one another in a blazing gun battle. “All right, everybody, look alive,’ Feldman yelled, just before the camera rolled. “Now drop dead!” he screamed to the stars. Playing Ruthless Villains Such As In "The Killers”, Pays Off For Lee Marvin (Advance) Heroes are a dime a dozen in motion pictures, but heavies seem to pay off best both for box office success and for the run of the Academy Awards. Playing a heel on screen can get an actor more attention than the appearance of a weasel in a chicken coop. One of the most ruthless heels in the history of Hollywood hisses promises to be the one that Lee Marvin plays as the psychopathic killer in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Killers,’ a Universal Picture In the film, Marvin knocks a blind secretary right out of her chair and the way he pushes Angie Dickinson around is a shame for the neighbors. In fact, throughout the exciting melodrama he bumps off more actors than do bad notices. Romantic roles can be meaty ones, but playing a villain can be a veritable butcher shop on the motion picture screen. In the past, just choosing a few at random, there was Marlon Brando in ‘On The Waterfront,’ Broderick Crawford in “All The King’s Men,” Victor McLaglen in ‘‘The Informer,’ Charles Laughton in ‘The Private Life Of Henry VIII” and Ronald Colman in “A Double Life.” All of these paid off with Oscars. There seems to be something about heel roles that bring out the best in actors while they’re bringing out the worst in the character. Even when they don’t win awards, their performances stay with the public a long time. As Lee Marvin puts it: ‘‘There’s no doubt that an actor can really get rid of a lot of inhibitions when he plays a heel and he seems to have a field day when the script brings out the worst in him. A heel may come out second best in the picture, but chances are, come Oscar time, he’ll wind up first.” (Review) What kind of man does it take to face the guns of hired killers without the instinct to turn and run? Ernest Hemingway’s classic story, “The Killers,” emerges anew upon the motion picture screen in a superb adaptation, in color, from Universal. It held yesterday’s opening day audiences at the Eat ies pena eee een theatre completely enthralled. Upon the Hemingway framework producer director Donald Siegel has constructed stark drama, bowstring tight, furiously explosive, in the course of 95 minutes of sensitive, skilful direction. The talents of its five stars—Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes, Ronald Regan and Clu Gulager are ominously interplayed against the dark background of a huge master crime and the excitement and color of speedway crowds and 150-mileper-hour racing thrills, as the picture builds to a climax that will make it perhaps the most-talkedabout production of the year. It is the highly-charged story of a young racing car driver who is severely injured during a spectacular race. Following the fiery accident, he is persuaded to drive the getaway car in a million dollar holdup but is then betrayed by those closest to him and his life threatened when he is suspected of hiding the money for himself. It is a tribute to Lee Marvin’s skill as an actor that he is equally adept at portraying villainy and virtue. He has etched his gallery of diverse characters with a sense of depth and understanding which has won him accolades over the years and his performance in “‘The Killers” is no exception. Once again, Mr. Marvin has been called upon to strike fear into the hearts of moviegoers as he portrays a vicious killer, and once again he provides perfection in his role. As one of Hollywood’s most glamorous and talented leading ladies, Angie Dickinson has the unique distinction of being the only female in “The Killers,” but with Miss Dickinson on the screen, who needs another one! Not only are her physical attributes extremely pleasant to look at, but her outstanding performance is both inspired and subtle. John Cassavetes, in the role of the hapless race driver, knifes his performance with stabs of realism that make every scene he tackles seem like a living experience. His romantic moments with Miss Dickinson fairly ignite the screen. It is no secret that Ronald Reagan has been one of Hollywood’s most enduring and popular stars for many years, but in “The Killers,’ Mr. Reagan is seen for the first time in the role of a “heavy,” and he comes through with the same force and vigor that have made him famous as the handsome, honest, solid citizen he normally portrays. Clu Gulager, as Marvin’s partner, is menacingly explosive in a fine piece of acting. Other significant roles are powerfully played by Claude Akins as a close friend of Cassavetes and Norman Fell as a henchman of Reagan. A colorful nightclub sequence has Nancy Wilson, in her motion picture debut, singing ‘“Too Little Time,” a ballad by Henry Mancini and Don Raye. The musical score by Johnny Williams adds much to the drama of the picture. Imaginatively produced and directed by Don Siegel, from a screenplay by Gene L. Coon, “‘The Killers” is a prime example of solid, exciting drama, handsomely mounted and expertly photographed in color by cameraman Richard L. Rawlings. Everything about the picture adds up to firstrate entertainment. Look on Page 4 For Special ‘Killer Dillers”’ You Can Plant With Local Columnists Wounded and dying, Lee Marvin uses the last of his energy to aim his revolver, equipped with a silencer, at Ronald Regan and Angie Dickinson in this exciting scene from Ernest Hemingway’s “The Killers.” The explosive melodrama in color is a Universal picture. (Still No. 95008-43 ) cannnncc cnc nncc nnn ee renee er errr ea SSS SSS TE by a wealthy, unscruplous underworld character named Browning (RONALD REAGAN), who seemed willing to put up with her romances on the side. After learning the truth about Sheila, Johnny angrily tells her off when she comes to visit him at the hospital. Charlie and Lee next find a henchman of Browning’s named Mickey (NORMAN FELL), who tells them that Sheila later found Johnny working as a mechanic and driver at a small-town auto race. When Sheila approached Johnny and continued to profess her love for him he realized that he would never race again in the big money and could never keep her in the style to which she was accustomed. However, she told Johnny there was a way for him to make money and later convinced Browning to take Johnny in on a mail holdup he was planning. Johnny did become involved in Browning’s plan but, just before the robbery, Sheila visited him and told him that Browning was going to cut him out of his share of the money after the getaway. Together, Sheila and Johnny planned to doublecross Browning. Following the robbery, when they were alone in the car, Johnny pushed Browning out of the moving auto and took off with the Page 2 money. He then met Sheila and the two made a safe getaway. Charlie and Lee next track down Browning, who denies any implication in North’s killing and tells the men that he doesn’t know where Sheila is. The assassins threaten to kill him if Sheila does not contact them within a short time. Sheila does call and arranges a meeting with the assassins. After denying that she knows what happened to the money, Charlie and Lee force Sheila to tell them the rest of the story. Sheila relates that, after taking off with Johnny, she led him to a remote motel where Browning was waiting for them. On seeing Browning, Johnny realized that Sheila had double-crossed him as well, in order for her and Browning to have all the money without sharing with the other accomplices. Johnny escapes before Browning can kill him and Sheila later confesses that she is now married to Browning, the man who finally hired them to kill Johnny. As Sheila and the assassins leave her apartment to find him, Browning shoots both men and Sheila flees the scene. However, Charlie is only wounded and shows up once again, to the extreme regret of both Sheila and Browning.