The Book and the Movie: The Killers (1927) | Ernest Hemingway | Robert Siodmak (1946) / Andrei Tarkovsky (1956) / Don Siegel (1964)
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien
Charles McGraw and William Conrad in/are The Killers (Robert Siodmak, 1946)
Robert Siodmak, The Killers, 1946
Ava Gardner in ‘The Killers’ (1946) Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner
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Author of the original short story Ernest Hemingway liked the film. Prior to its release, producer Mark Hellinger sent publicity man Al Horwits to Sun Valley, Idaho, to give Hemingway a private screening. Hemingway had a pint of gin in one pocket of his overcoat and a pint of water in the other so that he could sip from them if the film got bad. After the screening, Hemingway held up the full bottles, grinned and said “Didn’t need ’em”.
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The first 20 minutes of the film, showing the arrival of the two contract killers, and the murder of “Swede” Andreson, is a close adaptation of Hemingway’s short story. The rest of the film, showing Reardon’s investigation of the murder, is wholly original.
“Their faces were different, but they were dressed like twins.”
Ernest Hemingway, The Killers, 1927
Andrei Tarkovsky, The Killers, 1956
Don Siegel, The Killers, 1964
Stars: Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes
Robert Siodmak, The Killers, 1946
John Cassavetes, The Killers, 1946
Nancy Wilson in The Killers, 1964
Don Siegel, The Killers, 1964
