Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
The Killers
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
The quintessential film noir femme fatale
Quizzes
Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).
Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia
Publicity still with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman from the motion picture film "Casablanca" (1942); directed by Michael Curtiz. (cinema, movies)
Best Picture Movie Quote Quiz
USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood
Pop Culture Quiz
Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, with her dog, Toto, from the motion picture film The Wizard of Oz (1939); directed by Mervyn LeRay. (cinema, movies)
Classic Closing Lines
Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983), directed by Brian De Palma
Famous Hollywood Film Characters Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Tom Cruise as Maverick in Top Gun(1986) directed by Tony Scott.
Can You Guess the Movie by the Scene?
Bag end on Bagshot row from the movies Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in Hobbiton, New Zealand, Australia
You Ought to Be in Pictures: 8 Filming Locations You Can Actually Visit
Orson Welles, film director, actor, and producer as Charles Foster Kane in the film "Citizen Kane" (1941) which he wrote, produced, directed and starred in. The film is based on the life of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst.
100 Years of Orson Welles
Discover
Super Typhoon Noru over the western tropical Pacific Ocean as observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA Aqua satellite July 31 2017
What Is the Difference Between a Typhoon and a Super Typhoon?
Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.
Why Is Ireland Two Countries?
Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 9th Mechanized Division learning to operate and maintain M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks at Besmaya Combat Training Center, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011. Military training. Iraq war. U.S. Army
8 Deadliest Wars of the 21st Century
A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England
Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.
Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?
The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (Alice in Wonderland)
11 Banned Books Through Time
Diverse elementary school children wearing school uniforms running outside of school. Boys girls
Pro and Con: School Uniforms
The quintessential film noir femme fatale
The quintessential film noir femme fatale Ava Gardner in The Killers (1946).

The Killers

film by Siodmak [1946]
print Print
Please select which sections you would like to print:
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Killers-film-1946
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Written by
Lee Pfeiffer
Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. His book The Essential Bond: An Authorized Guide to the World of 007 (written with...
Lee Pfeiffer
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History

The Killers, American film noir, released in 1946, that is considered a classic of the genre. It features Burt Lancaster in his breakthrough role.

The film opens with two hit men fatally shooting Pete (“Swede”) Lund (played by Lancaster). After an insurance investigator is assigned the case, Lund’s life is revealed, partly through extended flashbacks. His real name is Ole Andersen, a former boxer who was naively led on the path to ruin by Kitty Collins (Ava Gardner), an irresistible bad girl with ties to the mob.

The Killers is an adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway short story of the same name. The film established Lancaster as a major talent, and it helped launch Gardner as one of the screen’s legendary sex symbols. Ironically, Lancaster was second choice for the role and was cast only when the original lead, Wayne Morris, became unavailable. The film is regarded as one of the top crime sagas of 1940s cinema. A 1964 remake starred Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson.

Publicity still with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman from the motion picture film "Casablanca" (1942); directed by Michael Curtiz. (cinema, movies)
Britannica Quiz
Best Picture Movie Quote Quiz

Production notes and credits

Cast

  • Burt Lancaster (Pete Lund/Ole Andersen)
  • Ava Gardner (Kitty Collins)
  • Edmond O’Brien (Jim Reardon)
  • Albert Dekker (Big Jim Colfax)
  • Sam Levene (Lieut. Sam Lubinsky)

Academy Award nominations

  • Director
  • Screenplay
  • Music
  • Editing
Lee Pfeiffer