Born to Kill

Wow. Noir meets 'Match Point' with the thematic exploration of ruthless social climbing through a love square created when an intense, and young, Tierney marries Audrey Long (why didn't she get a big career?). It perfectly distills existentialistic noir cornerstones such as individual morals, alienation and the drive to act on the impulse to create a better life for oneself in a meaningless world. And, as an extra bonus, genre stable character actor Elisha Cook Jr. pops up.

This movie constantly seemed on the verge of greatness, but there was something holding it back just a bit. I'm not quite sure what it is, but it's still a very watchable noir. The cast of characters is pretty good, from Lawrence Tierney's ruthless killer to the corrupt (but charismatic) private eye played by Walter Slezak. The film just seeps animosity and greed.

Claire Trevor is so fantastic. Her character is both vulnerable and cold hearted and that inner struggle feels so genuine I couldn't help but side with her no matter what she was doing. Her performance alone would make this film worthwhile, but we also get Lawrence Tierney who fits his character here to a T, an entertaining Slezak side character and Cook Jr. doing his thing. It's basically a character study where the tension centres on characters fighting and giving in to impulses. It's great.

Enjoyable, with some great characterizations and some nice photography at times, but nothing overly impressive. It lacks the sense of impending doom and the truly hard edge that would've kicked it up to the next level. It's still pretty enjoyable, though.

A hybrid of unsophisticated noir and unsophisticated soap opera doesn't make for genius filmmaking, but it's pretty fun camp. Lawrence Tierney's legendary tough/intimidating/completely insane persona is allowed free rein here. He's a scary guy but he's sure got screen presence.

The pitch-black humor that runs through this film is what raised it up from the average Noir for me.

Intense, unforgiving and brutal. Trevor and Tierney are excellent in their roles. More plot development would have helped.

Now this is the stuff! This film is packed to the gills with colorful lowlifes doing their colorful lowlife stuff. Tierney is smoldering and utterly frightening. Howard is jolly and can't even start to get enough beer. Slezak is erudite and utterly amoral. Trevor leads them all playing everyone against the other to try to be respectable AND get Tierney too.

Wasn't totally believable, but there was something about the very readable manipulation that made this killer story so satisfying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJH5HoZ8zgM [720p]

Em honra do centenário de James Gunn (o outro - não o escritor de ficção científica, nem o diretor contemporâneo). Esse noir é mais complexo do que é usual ao gênero, não em termos de narrativa, mas de profundidade de personagens, todos eles são muito ricos analiticamente, transformando o filme num dos mais interessantes do período. DVDRip Classics.

The characters played by Lawrence Tierney and Claire Trevor are horrible and I don't understand Elisha Cook's character's motivation. Walter Slezak is great in this.

If you enjoy the camera-as-paintbrush quality of '47 film noir, then Born to Kill is a distinctive, effective and stylish film. If you require a more strict standard for wit, plausibility and consistency in what had better be an interesting plot, Born to Kill is unconvincing and forgettable. Either way, it's difficult to glean what beautiful, wealthy women like Claire Trevor and Audrey Long find so irresistible about Lawrence Tierney.

I thought the acting of the two principals was wooden, and some parts came across campy and ridiculous. Still, by the end I did find there to be some intriguing surprises and twists.

That ugly mug's one tough hunk, and the dame ain't bad either! Good Freudian psychology to help add a dimension to the sleaze of the picture. And some great character actors run on and off screen throughout. Something to feed your misanthropy.

A satisfying combination of staple noir archetypes and pulpy melodrama. I wasn't completely sold by Tierney's brooding thug act, but Claire Trevor is dynamite as the ruthless black widow and Cook Jr and Walter Slezak are also interesting characters. The provocative mix of violence and sexuality that runs through the entire film is pretty bold, even by modern standards.

Solid, not great.

What was supposed to be scary, seemed ridiculous. What was trying to pass as talent, came off like a dud.

Very fun.

Chilling study of two psychopaths. Tierney and Trevor are a trip.