Wednesday, February 25, 1998

Born To Kill

/ / US / 1946 / Wise, Robert / / thriller
Born To Kill / Lady Of Deceit / Deadlier Than the Male. © RKO. P: Herbert Schlom. D: Robert Wise. SC: Eve Greene, Richard Macaulay - based on the novel Deadlier Than the Male by James Gunn. DP: Robert De Grasse. CAST: Lawrence Tierney (Sam Wild), Claire Trevor (Helen Trent), Walter Slezak (Arnold Arnett), Audrey Long (Georgia Staples), Elisha Cook, Jr. (Fred Grover), Esther Howard (Mrs. Kraft). 92’. B&w Academy. MPAA Seal of Approval 11703. A brilliant NFTVA print. Viewed in Helsinki, SEA, Cinema Orion, Tuesday 24 February 1998. *** This was the first ever screening of this film in Finland. It’s a classic, laconic film noir about the hitman (Lawrence Tierney) who marries a publisher’s daughter (Georgia Staples) for money. The hitman becomes a mirror for his wife’s sister (Claire Trevor) who is forced to realize the iciness of her own egoism. The story is told with bluntness worthy of a Biblical parable.

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