The Killing

Critics Consensus

An expertly crafted noir with more on its mind than stylishly staged violence, The Killing establishes Stanley Kubrick as a filmmaker of uncommon vision and control.

98%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 40

92%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 22,185
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Movie Info

A gang of greedy petty criminals plan a race track robbery. The plan gets foiled and disaster ensues.

Cast

Sterling Hayden
as Johnny Clay
Coleen Gray
as Fay
Vince Edwards
as Val Cannon
Jay C. Flippen
as Marvin Unger
Marie Windsor
as Sherry Peatty
Ted de Corsia
as Randy Kennan
Elisha Cook Jr.
as George Peatty
Joe Sawyer
as Mike O'Reilly
Timothy Carey
as Nikki Arane
Jay Adler
as Leo
Joe Turkel
as Tiny
Maurice Oboukhoff
as Kola Kwarian
Tito Vuolo
James Edwards
as Black Man
William 'Billy' Benedict
as Airline Clerk
Rodney Dangerfield
as Onlooker (uncredited)
Dorothy Adams
Mary Carroll
James Griffith
Kola Kwarian
as Maurice Oboukhoff
Steve Mitchell
Robert B. Williams
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Critic Reviews for The Killing

All Critics (40) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (1)

  • This taut crime picture was one of the earliest films in the career of Stanley Kubrick, but something of the director's voice and characteristic preoccupations are already evident here.

    February 5, 2015 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

    Wendy Ide

    Times (UK)
    Top Critic

  • Faultless and enjoyable.

    June 24, 2013 | Full Review…

    David Thomson

    The New Republic
    Top Critic

  • Plotted with the kind of Swiss-watch precision and attention to detail that would eventually get Kubrick labeled Hollywood's most notorious perfectionist.

    August 11, 2011 | Rating: A | Full Review…

    Chris Nashawaty

    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic

  • At 27 Writer-Director Stanley Kubrick, in his third full-length picture, has shown more audacity with dialogue and camera than Hollywood has seen since the obstreperous Orson Welles went riding out of town on an exhibitors' poll.

    August 3, 2011 | Full Review…
    TIME Magazine
    Top Critic

  • [The film] at first tends to be somewhat confusing, soon settles into a tense and suspenseful vein which carries through to an unexpected and ironic windup.

    May 8, 2007 | Full Review…

    Variety Staff

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • Arguably Stanley Kubrick's most perfectly conceived and executed film.

    May 8, 2007 | Full Review…

    Jonathan Rosenbaum

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (40)

Audience Reviews for The Killing

  • Feb 11, 2016
    Being a relatively straightforward crime thriller makes it somewhat unique in the Kubrick filmography, and it's still one of the best movies in the genre.
    Alec B Super Reviewer
  • Nov 08, 2014
    Good, establishes tension by taking its time with the elaborate set-up. The theme of irony runs strong. Well-shot. It maybe would have even been better had the studio not forced the narration onto the film, against Kubrick's request -- in that way, it brings to mind the same dilemma of 'Blade Runner' and the difference between having its narration vs. without. Overall, a good film. I'd put it 3.5-4, but I'll bump it to 4 here.
    Kyle M Super Reviewer
  • Jun 24, 2014
    A decent film noir and an interesting early work by Kubrick. One that is forgotten for good reason - it is passable but not terribly memorable. One can see Kubrick just pumping this out.
    John B Super Reviewer
  • Apr 29, 2014
    Kubrick already showed early signs of his genius when he brought us this masterpiece, an elaborate heist thriller full of rich details for its time, with a deliciously wry dialogue and a suspenseful plot that grows unbearably tense until the very end.
    Carlos M Super Reviewer
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