The Killers (Universal Pictures) (1964)

Ronald Reagan Goes From ‘Good’ Roles To ‘Bad For First Time In His Career (Advance) “I played a good boy on the screen for so long, I was even afraid to say ‘damn’ in public in case it would ruin my image.” But thats’ a thing of the past now for Ronald Reagan. In ErnestHemingway's ““The Killers,”’ coming. _..3-.00 st a 1 PSA SES Sa ieee area teats Bettie Sterna out-and-out “heavy” for the first time in his illustrious career. Not only does he swear like a trouper, but he takes real joy in slapping around his girl friend, Angie Dickinson. In fact, just for good measure, he slugs her not once but twice! As leader of a crafty half-million dolar holdup, Ronnie carries a gun (which he uses mercilessly), hires two men to kill a third, cheats on his girl friend and outwits the police almost to the end. In other words, Reagan makes Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney look like Abbot and Costello. Why this sudden decision to go crooked ? “Ever since I started acting,” says Reagan, “I was cast as the boy next door, the cavalry officer who saves his troops, the dapper man-about-town, the husband with a heart of gold. Do this long enough and you begin to feel that if you get as much as a parking ticket, you’re cheating the public. “So, when producer director Don Siegel sent me the script for ‘The Killers’ and suggested I play the role of Browning, I jumped at the opportunity. “T just hope the public doesn’t look at the picture and wonder TYPE CASTING (Current) A location scene for Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Killers,” a Universal Picture, currently at Theatre, required Angie Dickinson and Ronald Reagan to enter a swank Beverly Hills apartment building. During the preparations, producer director Don Siegel was explaining the scene to the owners of the building, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Landis. “They walk in,” Siegel said, “and at the same time I want somebody who really looks like she belongs in a building like this, to walk out.” “How about somebody like my wife who owns the building?” laughed Mr. Landis. Mrs. Landis got the job. Theatre, Reagan becomes an how such a good boy could possibly be so nasty. After all, even in real life, sometime good boys turn bad.” Co-starring with Reagan and Miss Dickinson in “The Killers,’ which is filmed in color, are Lee Marvin and John Cassavetes. Norman Fell Fast Becoming 'Nosiest” Actor in Hollywood (Advance) Newspaper reporters are said to have a nose for news. In the case of Norman Fell, the actor has a nose for roles. This doesn’t just mean “sensing” a good part. It means that on four different occasions recently, Fell’s nose has been changed for character purposes, the latest time for Ernest Hemingway’s ‘‘The Killers,” a Universal Picture, in color, which arrives ...................... Sst Ge het ee Theatre. When producer-director Don Siegel saw Fell, he thought he was a shade good-looking for the role of a gangster, so he sent the actor to Bud Westmore, famous make-up artist at Universal City Studies. When Fell settled himself in the chair in the make-up department, he asked Westmore: ‘What’s it going to be—a Barrymore nose, a Roman nose or a Bob Hope type?” “You're ’way off,” replied the make-up genius. “It’s going to be broken.” So it was that Norman Fell enacted his role in “The Killers” with a broken nose, which gives him the menacing appearance that Siegel wanted. “My nose is getting as famous around town as Jimmy Durante’s snoz,” Fell commented. ‘A couple of months ago, Alfred Hitchcock wanted a scar across it and a few weeks before that, I did ‘The Thrill Of It All” for Ross Hunter with a beak nose. For a role in “Arrest and Trial,’ I was madeup to look like I had no proboscis at all! ‘“‘When people ask me these days what I’m doing, I can truthfully say I’m just nosin’ around.” F inding Norman Fell in a steam bath, Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager increase the steam in order to convince their victim he can remember what happened to John Cassevetes in this violent scene from Ernest Hemingway’s “The Killers,” a Universal picture in color. NAME-DROPPING (Current) Producer-director Don Siegel was interviewing a group of heavy actors at Universal City Studios for the fat part of an overweight character in a re ducing salon sequence with Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager in Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Kill ” ers,” now at the Theatre. The actor Siegel selected weighed 320 pounds, and his name is—John Metrecal. (Still No. 95008-23 ) TWO-TIME WINNER (Current) For the second time in six months, Angie Dickinson finds she’s the only female in a picture. As the femme fatale in “The Killers,’”’ a Universal Picture now: at the 23-= Theatre, she stars with Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes and Ronald Reagan. A short time ago, Angie was the only girl in the all-star cast of Universal’s “Captain Newman.” Her love of fast cars and faster men brings Angie Dickinson to the race-track and to John Cassevetes in Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Killers.” A Universal picture in color. Other co-stars of the explosive melodrama are Lee Marvin, Ronald Reagan and Clu Gulager. (Still No. 95008-8 ) ‘The Killers” Co-Star Says 3 Ingredients Combined Makes An Actor Endure (Current) What makes an actor tick? Ask Clu Gulager and he’ll give you an interesting appraisal. He says performers are varying combinations of three basic ingredients: Intellect, Heart and Sex Appeal. Gulager, who co-stars with Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes, Claude Akins, Norman Fell and Ronald Reagan in “The Killers,’ a Universal Picture, in color, now at the ............ See se Theatre, says it’s the predominance of one basic over another that imparts screen personality. “Some motion picture stars,” Clu observed, ‘‘possess such an overwhelming proportion of one attribute, to the near-exclusion of the other ingredients, that they become known as symbols of that particular quality.” He contends, however, that actors who endure over the years, whose statures increase as time goes by, are gifted with a generous portion of each of the key elements. “It’s possible,’ he points out, “for an actor or actress to start a career, for example, as a sex symbol, then develop in character so that the heart becomes the important facet and finally to reach the point where the intellect is the dominating influence.” Gulager shies away from attempting to categorize himself. “I’m an expert, but only on other people—and probably the world’s worst at self-analysis.” “The Killers’, an explosively new melodrama in color based on the Ernest Hemingway short story, was produced and directed by Don Siegel. Ronald Reagan, in a fit of violence learns that Angie Dickinson is two-timing him, slaps her viciously in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Killers,” a furious melodrama in color from Universal. (Still No. 95008-33 ) Angie Excited About First “Bad Girl” Role She Plays In ‘Killers’ (Current) Angie Dickinson feels tht being bad is good—that is, in movies. For a number of years now the actress has been connected with a long list of movie portrayals that were all sweetness and light. “TI play my first bad girl in ‘The Killers,’ Angie laughs, “and there are no halfway measures. I double-cross One man, John Cassavetes, to become involved with another, Ronald Reagan. My love scenes with John aren’t the usual ‘girl next door pecks on thecheek,’ either. We have some sizzling smacks during the course of our illicit love affair.”’ Angie says she is whacked across the face by Reagan, almost thrown out,a window by two thugs, played by Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager, and finally goes down from a blazing hail of bullets. “That’s really blasting my former type-casting to bits, isn’t it?” the actress asks. ‘‘And in the final analysis I feel this bad role will be very good for my future career, both in motion pictures and television. It was getting so that I was becoming allergic to sweet roles. “T’m all excited about playing a floozy for a change. I’m changing from the cheering section to the jeering section. It’s the only way to change producers’ ideas of typecasting me. Speaking of changes, my wardrobe changes from the regular run of clothes to outfits designed to arch the eyebrows of the wolf contingent. “Benevolent Angie is dead,” the actress twinkled. ‘Long live Barbarous Angie,” she sighed sultrily, with a wiggle of her shapely hips. “The Killers,’ which was produced and directed by Don Siegel and photographed in color by Universal, is currently at the............4.. Theatre. Just in time to see “bad girl’ Angie Dickinson. Silence Not Golden (Current) Character actor Tom Golden had just one scene in ‘The Killers,” a Universal Picture, now Theatre. A victim of shock, Golden is quizzed by Lee Marvin. Golden answered the questions with three nods and a two negative shakes of his head. When the scene was over, Golden exploded to producerdirector Don Siegel: ‘Those three nods and two negative shakes cost me $51.50. That’s the difference between being paid for one word of dialog or none!” Here Are Some “Killer Diller? Column Items You Can Service To Your Local Columnist When Lee Marvin finally meets his end in ‘“The Killers,’ a Universal Picture now at the Theatre, it marks the 58th time he has died in front of the camera. For racing car sequences in “The Killers,” coming soon to the Theatre, femme star Angie Dickinson felt right at home. She’s an avid sports car lover and has been a spectator at the last three Indianapolis 500” Classics. Producer-director Don Siegel has a sense of humor. During a torrid love scene between John Cassavetes and Angie Dickinson for Universals “The Killers,’ coming soon to Theatre, Siegel ordered the set closed to one person: Gena Rowlands, wife of Cassavetes! Ronald Reagan's cryptic comment about his first “heavy” role in “The Killers,” a Universal Picture now at the Clu Gulager, co-star of “The Killers,’ now at the champion during his stint with the Marine Corps. Theatre: “I play a heel, but I put a lot of soul into it.” Theatre, was welterweight Claude Akins, who has played a villain on camera 273 times, gets his fwst sympathetic role in “The Killers,” a Universal Picture now at the Theatre. Theatre, was late the first day of filming. He couldn’t get his car started to drive to the studio and had to call a cab! Page 4