Born to Kill

Born to Kill Review



Overall 5.00 of 5 (by 1 user)
 




2009 Writer
GeorgeChabot
Conyers, GA
Born to Kill may harsh your mellow
5 star rating

DVD collector, Lover of quirky, unique films, cult film connoisseur, Film noir guru, admirer of great storytelling, Movie guru, movie connoisseur
Pros

    Lawrence Tierney, Claire Trevor

Cons
    Terrifying

JUN
5
2008

Born to Kill — 

Born to Kill (1947)

A superbly scripted film noir thriller, Born to Kill is adapted from the James Gunn novel Deadlier than the Male. It stars Claire Trevor as the femme fatale and she gets high mileage out of her role here!

Robert Wise directed and also did a full length commentary on the recently released classic Warner Bros DVD. Wise does an exceptionally good job of telling the story with pictures as well as dialog, aided by Robert DeGrasse's superb chiaroscuro cinematography.

The story concerns the romance between a pair of people of which it is difficult to judge who is more rotten.  They keep topping each other in nastiness by turns but the guy has almost no self control when it comes to quelling his murderous impulses. The suspense will have you on the edge of your seat!

Lawrence Tierney played the other lead and he is almost too frightening to watch. Tierney had an abbreviated acting career because he was larger than life and scared most other film people with his carousing and brawling off camera. But it is fortunate for us film goers indeed that he did make this film as it is among the top handful of films noir, right along with Double Indemnity and Murder, My Sweet.

Coupled with the edgy story and riveting performances of the leads, Born to Kill has an enviable supporting cast including Elisha Cooke, Jr. Isabel Jewell, Walter Slezak, and Philip Terry who do their roles proud.

The black and white movie is presented in full screen theatrical format with a 92 minute running time.

If you like film noir Born to Kill is as good as it gets.

Last edited on Jun 05, 2008



I_thumb_up Born to Kill is recommended by GeorgeChabot

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Comment_shdw24 Comments about GeorgeChabot’s Review

 

GeorgeChabot wrote on Jun 6, 2008 at 4:58AM

 
In response to kid-kansas's comment from Jun 5, 2008 at 9:19PM:

That's an idea! ;>

kid-kansas wrote on Jun 5, 2008 at 9:19PM

 
In response to GeorgeChabot's comment from Jun 5, 2008 at 1:48PM:

I am gonna check out a few of the used movie shops around here, they always have a good selection and I might get lucky. ;)

LaurieM wrote on Jun 5, 2008 at 3:31PM

 

Interesting review George!

GeorgeChabot wrote on Jun 5, 2008 at 1:48PM

 
In response to kid-kansas's comment from Jun 5, 2008 at 12:52PM:

Put this on your list. You'll have to pick your jaw up off the floor. ;>

GeorgeChabot wrote on Jun 5, 2008 at 1:48PM

 
In response to JovialCougar's comment from Jun 5, 2008 at 12:49PM:

Yeah, but the fakey fight scenes are a Hollywood characteristic. They let the small - old - weak get away from the predator a bunch of times to heighten the drama.

The atmosphere of BTK was so thick you could cut it with a knife. ;> Thanks!

kid-kansas wrote on Jun 5, 2008 at 12:52PM

 

Sounds good but I haven't seen it yet. ;)

JovialCougar wrote on Jun 5, 2008 at 12:49PM

 

Hey - this movie looks familiar! Tierney was a real rough guy. I thought the fight scenes were a little stiff though, especially when that not-so-little old lady (Mrs Kraft) scurried away from her attacker.


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