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Crime Movie: The Killers (1964)Ronald Reagan, Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson Star in Heist Film
Director Don Siegel's 1964 remake of The Killers features Ronald Reagan in his last movie role. Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson and John Cassavetes are along for the ride.
Ronald Reagan bid farewell to the movie world in 1964's violent film noir melodrama, The Killers. Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes and Clu Gulager all lend support in this tale of cold-blooded contract killers, an armored car heist and the old double-cross. Based on a Story by Ernest HemingwayThe Killers was based on the Ernest Hemingway short story of the same name which first appeared in his 1927 book, Men Without Women. In 1946, Universal Pictures brought The Killers to the big screen, with Edmond O'Brien, Ava Gardner and Burt Lancaster heading the cast. The Killers RemakeOfficially titled Ernest Hemingway's The Killers (though it bore little resemblance to the original Hemingway story), the 1964 remake was written by Gene L. Coon. Don Siegel produced and directed the picture. John Williams composed the music score, with hipster Nancy Wilson performing the movie's theme song, "Too Little Time." The Killers CastRonald Reagan (1911-2004) played crime boss Jack Browning. Other cast members included Lee Marvin (Charlie Strom), Angie Dickinson (Sheila Farr), John Cassavetes (Johnny North), Clu Gulager (Lee), Claude Akins (Earl Sylvester), Norman Fell (Mickey Farmer), Virginia Christine (Miss Watson), Don Haggerty (Mail Truck Driver), Robert Phillips (George Fleming) and Don Siegel (Cook at Diner). Filming LocationsThe Killers was filmed primarily at Universal City in Hollywood. The racing scenes were shot at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, while the final scene was filmed at Toluca Lake, California. Contract Killers, Mail Truck Heist, Bloody EndingThe Killers begins in violent fashion, with contract killers Charlie and Lee entering the Sage Home of the Blind where they rough up the sightless receptionist and fill one Jerry Nichols full of lead. With their $25,000 contract fulfilled, the two hitmen locate automobile mechanic Earl Sylvester in Florida, where they "persuade" him to tell them everything he knows about the man they just killed. In flashback form, Sylvester relates the story of Jerry Nichols, who was really race car driver Johnny North. Along with his girlfriend Sheila Farr, crime boss Jack Browning and several other accomplices, North was involved in a million-dollar mail truck heist in California. Charlie and Lee then hunt down the remaining members of the heist gang. They find Mickey Farmer in New Orleans, roasting him inside a steam cabinet in order to make him talk. The contract killers eventually locate both Jack Browning and Sheila Farr, along with the stolen cash. Browning manages to take out Lee, but a wounded Charlie survives, killing Mr. Big in his home. As the double-crossing Sheila begs for her life, Charlie is having none of it. "Lady, I don't have the time," Charlie says, pumping a single bullet into the femme fatale. Release, ReviewsThe Killers was originally slated as a made-for-TV movie for NBC to be called Johnny North. But because of the violence and sexual content (such as Messrs. Marvin and Gulager dangling Miss Dickinson from a seventh story window), the film was repackaged and released to theaters instead. The Killers first opened in Japan on May 30, 1964. Its American debut came on July 7, 1964. "The Killers...seems to borrow most of its inspiration from the Marquis de Sade," reported Time magazine (7/31/64). "Mr. Cassavetes looks grimly lovelorn...Ronald Reagan just looks tired, and Miss Dickinson has pretty legs," wrote Judith Crist of The New York Herald Tribune (7/18/64). The Killers DVDThe Killers is available on DVD from Criterion (2003). "I approve of larceny. Homicide is against my principles," Ronald Reagan says as Jack Browning. Sage words, especially for one about to enter politics...
The copyright of the article Crime Movie: The Killers (1964) in Film Dramas is owned by William J. Felchner. Permission to republish Crime Movie: The Killers (1964) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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