Stanley Kubrick: "The Killing" (1956)
The Killing is a straightforward affair (it's an adaptation of noir novelist Lionel White's Clean Break), telling the story of a group of desperate outcasts (led by Sterling Hayden) who plan on pulling off a heist on a San Francisco racetrack. The story is told in a fragmented linearity, showing each member's role as the heist goes down. And, like most heists, it doesn't run smoothly and ends in tragedy. Along with John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle, The Killing is the standard from which all modern heist movies are based, with its complex personality clashes and fiery Jim Thompson dialogue (I'm looking at you, Reservoir Dogs).
Since this doesn't have quite the hyper-detailed layeredness of Kubrick's later work (it was shot rather quickly), the movie is taut and to-the-point. Like the heist plan itself, the film operates on a clockwork, mechanical-like pace. The movie even has a clipped reporter-like voice-over that feels reminiscent of Dragnet.
If the characters at times seem to not be fully developed (we are only shown cursory, furtive glances at their circumstances), it's because the movie doesn't feel it necessary. And I think that's part of the movie's genius. Time is an obstacle and, in a way, the antagonist to these characters. They are trapped by the compression of time. There are often recycled shots of the racetrack, a constant purgatorial replaying of events we've already seen. And time is not the only way Kubrick conveys this trapped feeling. He utilized single-source lighting (a single lamp is often the source) to emphasize the cramped quality of their surroundings. Also, since the apartment interiors were done on sets, Kubrick utilized tracking dolly shots following the characters as they walk through the hallways. It gives the shots a certain dollhouse effect, making the characters seem small and not fully in control of their destinies (a running trademark of Kubrick's that I don't feel is often remarked upon: the smallness of man).
The movie, strong as it is, does have a few characters that stand out more than others. More specifically, the femme fatale Sherry (played by Marie Windsor) and her henpecked husband George (played by Elisha Cook Jr., arguably the best performance in the film, a precursor of sorts to William H. Macy's Jerry Lundegaard). Their scenes together are the most complex in terms of blocking and camera movement. She's always leading him with George helplessly following her (Windsor is taller than Cook which gives her a more dominant presence). In one setup, as Sherry is putting on her makeup in their apartment, George is pacing around her with the camera following as he moves, as if he's desperately trying to penetrate her. Sterling Hayden is in top form as the heist mastermind (he was one of those old-school noir actors, but there was something so compelling and different about him that's hard to describe). Another memorable character is the psychopathic Nikki, played with verve by character actor Timothy Carey. He was actually one of the more compelling, underrated actors, displaying a method-like edginess unseen from any actor from that time.
Watching The Killing, it doesn't really feel like a Kubrick film (or at least his work up until Dr. Strangelove). There's a tense nerviness to it, as opposed to the calm, methodical nature of his later films. Obviously, this was his first major film so you sense that Kubrick felt that he had one shot at getting it right, very much like the movie itself (the plan needs to go perfectly or we're all fucked). It's tight-lipped and muscular, much like its new director....and it works. The Killing makes every other film noir from that era feel puny and phony by comparison.
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