Born to Kill (1947) User Reviews

Born To Watch This More Than Once

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 17 December 2005]

Here is another one of those films I didn't particularly care for the first time around, but gave it a second chance some years later and was rewarded. Now I love the film and am a Lawrence Tierney fan.

Tierney's intense character, his hot temper and insane paranoid jealousy are, well, fun to watch once you get to like this actor and his tough-guy roles. Tierney, in this film, would kill over the slightest thing that would suggest to him that he might be getting double crossed. Talk about a guy with mental problems!

Trevor was effective as the immoral woman who cared for money first, and everything else a distant second. As good as she and Tierney play off each other, for me, the most entertaining parts of the film were watching three of the supporting characters, played by Elisha Cook Jr., Walter Slezak and Esther Howard.

Cook played his normal film noir jittery-worried gangster accomplice and victim. He made a living playing these type of roles. Slezak was the Shakespeare/ Bible--quoting detective and Howard was a real hoot as an old lady trying to track down the killer of her young friend.

This is film noir in all its moodiness and hard attitude. If you find it a bit slow, please give it a second chance. These characters grow on you!

Cold, cruel and greedy--just what you'd want from Film Noir

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 19 May 2007]

Lawrence Tierney is one cold and scary son of a gun in this film. In many ways, this amoral and detached performance was highly reminiscent of Richard Baseshart's in HE WALKED BY NIGHT, though Tierney was more unpredictable and tended to snap rather easily. Both men lacked the usual leading man charisma or the larger than life gangster style of the likes of Cagney or Bogart--and this was a real plus because the killer seemed much more realistic and menacing. Both men thought nothing of murder.

Now if all this wicked and amoral menace wasn't enough, the film combined his strong performance by an equally awful character played by Claire Trevor. At first, she doesn't seem so bad, but later she reveals herself to be an ugly and greedy opportunist. While not violent like Tierney, she was certainly an excellent femme fatale and was pretty wicked to the core. Combining her character with Tierney's was an excellent choice.

The film didn't feature some of the amazing trademark camera-work, though it's dialog was pure Noir--with lots of violence, snappy comebacks and sparkling as well as steamy dialog. While there are no cops in the film until the end and there are no gangsters, the film has the elements required to please fans of the genre. A top-notch film, though a bit on the unpleasant side for those who are not lovers of Film Noir.

Why Wasn't Lawrence Tierney a Bigger Star?

[BaronBl00d · 8/10 · 14 June 2006]

Superior film noir classic directed by the late Robert Wise about Claire Trevor and her love for a killer, Lawrence Tierney. A couple is murdered by Tierney in Reno because he was jealous and easily angered to the point of violence. Trevor finds the bodies but leaves after finalizing her divorce. While on the train, she meets up with Tierney and has instant chemistry with him. Only trouble is that she has a fiancée with a lot of money and Tierney is broke. Well, just like with any film noir, it gets more complicated with Tierney marrying Trevor's foster sister(a wealthy woman in her own right) and being tailed by sleazy, literate detective Walter Slezak. Wise does a more than adequate job creating tension and suspense in this film and leaving no character's sense of good in tact. All of the characters it seems are of dubious natures with Esther Howard's roly-poly drunk with a heart of gold coming out as the most ethical! The acting by the leads and the supporting cast are first-rate. I am so surprised that Tierney, a man I immediately remembered from a Seinfeld episode and from Reservoir Dogs, was so good so long ago. He seemed to have dropped out of the public eye for so long, but his acting definitely shows great potential. I believe I read that alcoholism was behind this. At any rate, Tierney is very good, Trevor plays one of the coldest performances on screen(her lines to Howard were absolutely chilling), Slezak is vintage Slezak - an oily, good-humoured man looking out for himself, Elisha Cook Jr. gives another good turn as Tierney's buddy, and Howards excels as the drunken woman. The scenes with her and Cook were well-paced and effectively frightening. Born to Kill is nothing great in terms of plot or story - we have seen much of the same before - but under the adroit eyes of Wise and aided by big performances by talented actors and actresses - it rises above the mundane to be a vintage film noir classic. Tieney and Trevor really personified cold wickedness as well as anyone I have seen on screen.

An Iceberg of Woman

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 2 September 2011]

In Reno, the cold-hearted Helen Brent (Claire Trevor) has just divorced from her husband and returns to the boarding house owned by Mrs. Kraft (Esther Howard) to pay her expenses and say goodbye to her and to Mrs. Kraft neighbor and best friend Laury Palmer (Isabel Jewell) since she intends to return to San Francisco early in the morning. Helen goes to a casino to celebrate her divorce and glances at the gambler Sam Wild (Lawrence Tierney) and Laury also goes to the casino with her boyfriend Danny Jaden (Tony Barrett). When Laury sees Sam, she sneaks with Danny since she had dated the gambler. Late night, Danny and Laury go to her house and Sam is waiting for them and kills the couple in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Helen sees Laury's dog on the street and brings it to the house. When she sees the bodies in the kitchen, she does not report to the police and heads to the train station, where she meets Sam. They travel together and Sam lodges in the Terrace Hotel. When Sam visits Helen, he leans that she lives in the mansion of her foster sister, the millionaire Georgia Staples (Audrey Long) and is the fiancée of the wealthy Fred Grover (Phillip Terry). The gold-digger Sam seduces Georgia and sooner they get married, but the calculating Helen feels horny for Sam. Meanwhile Mrs. Kraft hires the smart and sleazy private eyes Matthew Albert Arnett (Walter Slezak) to investigate the murder of her friend Laury.

"Born to Kill" is a film-noir that tells the story of a cold, greedy and calculating woman that feels desire for a ruthless killer. Claire Trevor performs an ambitious woman that is an iceberg and plans to marry for money with a good man that controls her bad instincts and sees her world collapsing when she meets the amoral killer Sam Wild. Marty 'Mart' Waterman (Elisha Cook Jr.) has a strange friendship with Sam and the fact that they share a double bad in the low-budget hotel may give a hint that they have a homosexual relationship. Walter Slezak has also a great performance in the role of a sleazy character. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Nascido para Matar" ("Born to Kill")

"You're the coldest iceberg of a woman..." and she's a thrill to watch

[secondtake · 9/10 · 8 December 2009]

Born to Kill (1947)

"Has it occurred to you, neither of us looks like a scoundrel, do we?"

The smart, cutting lead female in this crime noir, Helen, played by Claire Trevor, is enough alone to make Born to Kill rise above. She's educated and calculating, far from the gutter but not at home with mere elegance and wealth, the things she's been trying to corner. The story is hers, luckily, because she's ultimately admirable, whatever her moral milkiness.

The whole thing starts with a shock, and then with a disturbing calm where all the pieces refuse to fit together. The lead male, Sam, played by Lawrence Tierney, is a ruthless, violent man with all the elegance and brains of a half-track. He's a perfect problem for Helen, and the movie only compounds and coils around a plot that never falters, whatever its complications. The detective (Walter Slezak) is too perfect in his delicate selfishness, and good old Elisha Cook Jr. is a surprising, and also perfect, good guy with too much tolerance due to his large heart.

It isn't a surprise that a good script and some talented actors are put together with such smart, fast panache by a young Robert Wise, more famous for little tidbits like West Side Story and Sound of Music. It ends up taking some astonishing twists, and some liberties with location shooting that are fabulous for 1947.

After all is said in done we are back with Claire Trevor's performance, which is large and nuanced, and very convincing. It's a good thing she has a lot to work with. A great film. Even the third time.

The femme fatal meets her match.

[Ham_and_Egger · 6/10 · 23 July 2005]

Truly one of the most sinister of RKO's hardcore noirs, Born to Kill is as close to real nihilism as a Hollywood studio picture was likely to come. The only remotely sympathetic characters are a pair of dupes and an old drunk, everyone who's got anything on the ball is corrupt and ruthless.

Sam Wilde (Lawrence Tierney) is a homme fatal, as attractive yet deadly to women as any of a dozen femmes fatal in other films are to men. Unable to resist his glowering masculine wiles is Helen Brent (Claire Trevor) who is nearly as black-hearted as he is. All the other characters circle around them like moths around a flame. As is to be expected money, murder, and lust all have their parts to play.

To be honest Lawrence Tierney's performance is fairly one dimensional, but it is a hell of a dimension. He menaces, scowls, and swaggers through the picture, always ready to attack, like an alley cat that's found it's way inside. His character's bluntness is played for maximum effect, wisely since Tierney is no Bogart. He does manage some good, direct, lines, in response to Trevor's, "Oh, I wouldn't say that...," he tightens his lips and spits out, "No. You wouldn't say it, but that's how it is." With Tierney turning up the heat, it's up to Claire Trevor to sweat. She rides the moral see-saw much like Fred MacMurray reacting to Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity. Even without the benefit of a voice-over she pulls it off quite well, convincingly playing a woman caught between her safe, malleable (and rich) fiancée and the exciting but untamed Wilde.

There are three strong supporting performances. Elisha Cook, Jr. is Marty Waterman, Sam's "friend" who does his best to keep the lid on the pot (and to deliver most of the lines in their shared scenes). Esther Howard is Mrs. Kraft, a boardinghouse owner who is important to the plot. Especially good is Walter Slezak as the genteel detective Arnett.

Born to Kill does have a few flaws, the pacing is somewhat questionable and several of the important characters are either missing or blindingly stupid throughout most of the picture. But on the whole Tierney, Trevor, and the others deliver and there's enough tension to keep things interesting. The film is based on a novel 'Deadlier Than the Male' but given Tierney's looks and personality that title doesn't truly seem to fit the movie, it's a rare case of the man luring the woman to her doom.

If there's hard-core noir, this is it!

[bmacv · 10/10 · 21 June 2000]

Robert Wise does not come to mind as a master director of film noir, but he came through with flying colors (all black) in this gem, starting out in Reno, Nevada, and ending up in San Francisco. Claire Trevor, the dark spider of so much noir, outdoes herself in cold malevolence here (she should have copped the Oscar for this film, not Key Largo). Her evenly matched partner is the frightening Lawrence Tierney (who last showed up as Elaine Benes' author dad on Seinfeld, not to mention in Prizzi's Honor and Reservoir Dogs). The supporting cast, for once, earns its keep (though Walter Slezak, as a corrupt detective, is oddly irrelevant to the story). If you're a fan of these dark post-war films, Born to Kill is central to the canon.

Can the same man have directed THE SOUND OF MUSIC?!

[alice liddell · 7/10 · 6 December 1999]

A repellent film noir, and I mean that as a compliment. It's remarkable for a number of things. The fact that it was directed by Robert Wise, a man who would go on to direct bland big-budget spectaculars (he'd already butchered THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS). The fact that it is so unpleasant and misanthropic - the good characters are pallid dupes; the bad ones have a vivid animalistic sexuality that drives the film; the moral force is a blowsy ineffectual drunk; the detective, figure of law and restoration of order, is cheerfully corrupt. The violence is quite sickening, even today; the misogyny is blatant, not narrative; Lawrence Tierney's masculinity is troubling, thrilling, sexually disruptive, and unclassifiable in Hollywood's history in its unredeemed nastiness and amorality. All this, and a rare Hollywood movie to deal with class.

Pushin' the Extreme

[radiobirdma · 10/10 · 31 May 2016]

Odd things are happening in this picture, and at the Hays Office obviously all were sound asleep: A stinking rich Miss Supersweet is marrying a brick-faced lowlife hunk who preferably shares his bed with an old buddy from jail, while the millionaire girl's foster sister gets soaking wet when it comes to gory murder. Here, in 1947, RKO finally delves headlong into the abyss of Krafft-Ebings Psychopathia sexualis, and though the fatal-attraction plot may not be entirely plausible, Robert Wise's direction is taut and trim, the timing pure excellence, while angel-faced and downright ravishing Claire Trevor - marvelously dressed in one stunning ensemble after another by costume designer Edward Stevenson (Out of the Past) - gives the probably best performance of her career opposite to Lawrence Tierney, the Most Vicious Mutha ever to roam Hollywood Boulevard. Despite its icy brutality a melodrama at heart, Born to Kill moves along the slickest ground amour fou terrain has to offer, chock-full of malevolence, aggression, sexual deviance and a stranglehold feel of utter depravity. The NYT called Wise's first noir "not only morally disgusting, but an offense to a normal intellect" back then. So much about the high art of pushing the envelope.

Tierney Never Did Musical Comedy ....

[GManfred · 10 September 2010]

.... and there's a very good reason. He was a one-trick actor, a limited guy who could only look stern or cruel. I can't remember him ever showing any heart or any desirable quality in any of his pictures. And yet you can't take your eyes off him when he's on screen, hoping for a flash of human feeling, which never comes.

Fortunately, in this picture he is surrounded by good actors giving great performances, and they pick up the slack for him. Claire Trevor carries the load here as a woman attracted to evil personified, in Tierney. Audrey Long, Walter Slezak and Elisha Cook,Jr. all shine in support.

Starting a new paragraph for Esther Howard whom I can't recall seeing before but who gives a soulful, heartbreaking performance as a drunken landlady, a performance which should have gotten at least an Oscar nomination. She wasn't just good - she was perfect.

"Born To Kill" is one of the best of the Film Noir genre and is shamefully neglected in noir seminars and festivals. I would put it right behind "Out Of The Past", which is at the top of my list.

Good film, but a troubling one

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 17 August 2009]

Lawrence Tierney is "Born to Kill" in this 1947 noir starring Claire Trevor, Walter Slezak, Isobel Jewell, Elisha Cook, Jr., and Audrey Long. Trevor is Helen Brent, a recent divorcée doing her time in Reno when she stumbles upon a woman's (Isabel Jewell) body while trying to return the woman's dog to her house. The victim was a friend of Mrs. Kraft (Esther Howard), the owner of the rooming house where Trevor was staying. Helen leaves the body - and town - without a word to anyone. The murderer is a jealous boyfriend, Sam Wild, (Tierney) who saw Jewell out with another man.

On the train out of town, Wild meets Helen, whom he's already spotted the night before. When he pays her a visit at her home, however, he realizes she's already engaged (to Philip Terry) and goes after her beautiful, wealthy sister (Long) and marries her. But the attraction to Trevor is still there on both sides. When a detective comes to town (Slezak), hired by Mrs. Kraft, and starts nosing around, Wild knows it's time to take action.

This is a good noir, but unlike some others, the casting of Tierney was troublesome to me. Every woman in the film ooh-ed and ah-ed over him. Now, had it been Robert Mitchum, for me it would have been believable. Tierney did not have the requisite charm to dazzle an heiress and a staff of servants or the handsome looks to this writer to pull off this character. On top of which, it seemed rather obvious to me that he was wearing a rug.

Well, to each his own, I guess. Trevor does a terrific job as a woman who loves her sister but who desires her husband in spite of herself. Cook turns in his usual good performance as a sycophant friend of Tierney's, and Esther Howard is a Marie Dressler type and very good as the drunken Mrs. Kraft.

Recommended, but you have to buy Tierney as a charming and devilishly handsome killer - I didn't. I kept wanting to pull his rug off and wipe the smirk off his face.

What A Thrill When You're Born To Kill!

[StrictlyConfidential · 7/10 · 16 May 2020]

As the saying goes - "They sure don't make 'em like this one anymore."

And, when it comes to that old, familiar saying - It couldn't possibly be any more true than it does when discussing 1947's "Born To Kill".

This vintage Hollywood crime-drama is an absolute hoot of pure old-school soap opera where the implausible situations and the unintentionally laughable dialog is so off-the-wall at times that it couldn't be anything but a riot to watch.

So - If you're in the mood to completely suspend disbelief, then, you are certain to get a kick of pure pleasure out of watching "Born To Kill".

Strains credibility

[jtheis-83492 · 4/10 · 24 September 2021]

The acting was good, but the main characters behaved in such unrealistic ways that the film was difficult to take.

As usual for films this old there is interest in the clothing and hair styles of the time.

Turnips and icebergs

[AAdaSC · 7/10 · 10 December 2017]

Claire Trevor (Helen) returns home after a night out celebrating her divorce. When she arrives at her boarding house, she discovers that her fellow lodger Isabel Jewell (Laury) has been murdered along with boyfriend Tony Barrett (Danny). There is another boyfriend on the scene – psychotic Lawrence Tierney (Sam) – and you had better not make a monkey of him. He WILL kill you. The whole beginning sequence is well acted by all and throws you straight into the story. On discovering the bodies, Claire goes to call the police, picks up the phone but then stalls, puts the receiver down and walks away from the scene. She thinks and then returns to pick up the phone again……..and she calls the train station! Ha ha – fooled us all. It's at the train station where she meets the killer Tierney and a relationship is formed. There are complications to this relationship alongside the added pressure of boozy floozy landlady Esther Howard (Mrs Kraft) hiring PI Walter Slezak (Arnett) to find out who killed her lodger.

All the cast are excellent, especially Claire Trevor and Esther Howard. They all have screen presence. The relationship between Tierney and fellow criminal Elisha Cook Jr (Marty) is given a very obvious gay subtext. Cook Jr is his bitch – no doubt about it. Tierney is scary and each member of the cast is given at least one powerful, emotional scene and delivers it as required. At the end of the film I think it's a bottle of beer for Ms Howard please!

"Neither of us looks like a scoundrel"

[Steffi_P · 8/10 · 14 March 2009]

Many of our finest pictures revolve around a single captivating performance, and this is especially true of B-pictures which can less afford to rely on pyrotechnics. In the case of Born to Kill, a dark little drama from RKO, all eyes are on Lawrence Tierney. You know Lawrence Tierney – he is the bald, mountain-sized mob boss from Reservoir Dogs. Here, forty-five years earlier, he is thinner and has hair, but he is nevertheless just as menacing.

The director of Born to Kill was Robert Wise. Wise cut his directorial teeth at Val Lewton's horror B-unit, and although his only full-length horror for Lewton, The Body Snatchers, was not brilliant, he still carried with him much of the atmospheric technique that characterised Lewton films. Simple things like an open doorway in the background of the shot, or placing the camera at waist height (often more effective than low angles) convey to us a sense of unease. And what is so great about Wise's formal style is that it is always subtle – he never calls attention to any shot, but if you pay close attention his craftsmanship is on display. For this reason Wise is rarely remembered as a great director, although he did leave a legacy of many great films behind him.

Among Wise's greatest assets was his ability to define character and bring out the best in performance through space and framing, and this brings us back to Mr Tierney. Tierney was not the best at vocal delivery, but he had amazing presence. I sometimes think Born to Kill would have been even better if they had stripped out all his dialogue and just told him to look mean for ninety minutes. Take his opening scene at the casino; there is no dialogue, and in fact he barely moves. Wise cleverly emphasises Tierney's stillness by having a lot of bustle going on behind him. This wordless scene establishes Tierney's character better than any expository dialogue could, and gives the brutality of his next appearance all the more impact.

But Wise was not just a director who focused on looks and technique. He had previously been an editor and, conscious of his lack of first-hand experience with a cast, went to lengths to learn about acting and coaching. Apparently Wise often encouraged his actors to slow down their performances, allowing time to bring out character and emotional weight. Sometimes this leisurely pacing would be lost in the editing of the cheap quickies he was making around this time, but here and there you see it. Despite Tierney being at the centre of things, he is not the only member of the cast to shine. Claire Trevor manages something very tricky – she convincingly plays a bad actress when her character unconvincingly acts nice. Walter Slezak – a supporting player who could successfully tread that line between character actor exaggeration and naturalistic depth – is perfect as a sleazy detective. Elisha Cook Jr., who is almost as much part of film noir furniture as Venetian blinds, gives one of his more believable performances. Philip Terry on the other hand is a little wooden, and Esther Howard is a little overstated, but you can't always have a full flush of aces.

Another weak link is Paul Sawtell's backing score, which is at best mediocre and at worst inappropriate. He appears to have misunderstood the elements of the story, for example playing sad, romantic music when Claire Trevor's fiancé walks out on her. Anyone who has been paying attention should realise her character and their relationship don't merit that – especially in a picture as cold and cynical as this.

All in all though, Born to Kill is a treat. It's probably Robert Wise's first really accomplished film, and is actually better than many of his later A-pictures. The script, considering it's for a B-picture adapted from a pulp novel, is unusually intelligent and full of nifty dialogue. There are plenty of great little touches (which may be from the script, or ideas of Wise or the actors themselves), such as Slezak carefully placing his half-smoked cigarette between two bricks before entering a building. And you get to enjoy Lawrence Tierney when he was still handsome enough to be kissed (albeit with his eyes scarily open), and still lean enough to swing a blunt instrument. This picture is well worth discovering.

Robert Wise directs a study in corruption, greed and murder...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 10 March 2009]

There are a number of surprises in BORN TO KILL, but the biggest one for me was seeing that the director of this film noir masterpiece was Robert Wise, who gave the world THE SOUND OF MUSIC. I never suspected he was this versatile, although he did do several other "creepy" stories earlier in his career.

Most of the other surprises relate to the twisted elements in the plot. Thanks to a superb cast, the script never lets anyone down and is played to the hilt by the leads, LAWRENCE TIERNEY (even though he only has two expressions) and CLAIRE TREVOR, in full Barbara Stanwyck mode.

PHILIP TERRY is Trevor's stable fiancé who finally realizes that she's a bit too complex for him to handle, in a role much like the one he had in THE LOST WEEKEND where he's Ray Milland's steady and sincere brother.

AUDREY LONG is Trevor's wealthy sister who is attracted immediately to Tierney, who is attracted immediately to her wealth. It's the perfect set-up for a story of corruption, greed and murder among an upper crust society invaded by the likes of Tierney and his friend, ELISHA COOK, JR., who has a more substantial role than usual as Tierney's loyal henchman.

Among other surprises: ESTHER HOWARD as a boozing old lady who knows too much about the murder of a young woman, in a fine performance that almost steals the show. Amusing to see young TOMMY NOONAN as a bellhop playing cards with her, unbilled in a brief scene.

WALTER SLEZAK fails to do much with the role of a corrupt detective with his eye on making a few bucks, surprisingly colorless in what might have been an interesting role.

CLAIRE TREVOR walks off with the acting honors and it's easy to do since she has most of the footage for the length of the film. She's every inch the perfect woman for a femme fatale role, the kind that Barbara Stanwyck could play in her sleep. But Trevor adds a lot more dimension to the role with a very complex portrayal of a woman whose conscience is not yet dead but finds the lure of crime and passion too much to resist. She's perfect.

Summing up: Well worth your time if you're in the mood for a good, tough film noir.

Femme Fatale Meets Her Match!

[bsmith5552 · 8/10 · 11 July 2005]

"Born To Kill" is another of the superior "film noires" from RKO. This one was intended as an "A" list film and is different in that the traditional noire "femme fatale" meets her match in an equally ambitious and deadly male.

The film opens in Reno, Nevada as Helen Brent (Claire Trevor) is granted a divorce from an unnamed husband. She goes to the rooming house where she has stayed to pay her bill before returning to her home in San Francisco. At the rooming house we meet the boozy landlady Mrs. Kraft (Esther Howard) and her friend Laurey Palmer (Isabell Jewell). Laurey tells the two that she is going to step out with another man to make her boyfriend jealous.

That evening at a casino we are introduced to Sam Wilde as he plays craps. Helen and Sam lock eyes across the table. Just then Laurey and her date Danny (Tony Barrett) stop by the table. It turns out that Wilde is Laurey's boyfriend who turns out to be insanely jealous. Later as Laurey and Danny return home, they are brutally murdered by Wilde. Helen discovers the bodies later but does not call the police. It is here that we realize that she may have her own agenda.

As Helen goes to the train station to return home, she is met by Wilde who himself is going to San Francisco. They talk on the train and Helen casually agrees to see Sam, thinking that it will never happen, when they get to San Francisco. Sam unexpectedly turns up at Helen's home where she lives with her foster sister Georgia Staples (Audrey Long) a newspaper heiress. We also learn that Helen is engaged to rich socialite Fred Grover (Philip Terry). Learning of Georgia's wealth, Sam woos and weds her. You see both Sam and Helen have high ambitions.

Back in Reno, Mrs. Kraft hires a sleazy blackmailing private detective named Albert Arnett to find out who killed her friend Laurey Palmer. This is when the double crosses begin. As Arnett gets closer to the truth both Sam and Helen get nervous. Sam's friend Marty (Mart) Waterman arrives in San Francisco and is invited to move in by Helen. Marty trees to murder Mrs Kraft but is himself killed. And then Helen and Sam..............................

The sexual tension between Sam and Helen is evident although both are after money and power which they cannot give each other. The Production Code limited what could be shown so we have to imagine what is really going on. Also, there is a gentle hint of homosexuality between Sam and Marty who have lived together for five years (suggesting prison). There is one scene where both are on the one bed in their room. And Marty's devotion to Sam is a little more than just friendship, I think.

Director Robert Wise, who learned his craft under the legendary Val Lewton, gives the picture the dark shadows and atmosphere that make the drama more compelling. Lawrence Tierney gives an excellent performance as the hair trigger tempered Wilde. This film was supposed to be his jump to "A" features but due to his real life escapades, he never really made it. Claire Trevor is cold, evil and conniving as the "femme fatale" of the piece. Esther Howard almost steals the picture as the beer swizzling old landlady.

Also, watch for Ellen Corby and Martha Hyer in bits as maids and Tommy Noonan as a bellhop playing cards with Mrs. Kraft.

One of the best of the "film noires".

A pair of amorals

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 21 December 2016]

This noir film directed by Robert Wise is bereft of characters you can sympathize with save for Audrey Long and Phillip Terry. It does however rivet your attention to the leads of Lawrence Tierney and Claire Trevor, a pair of amorals if I ever saw one.

Back in Reno where Trevor was getting shed of a husband she happens to discover the murders of Isabelle Jewell and Tony Barrett done by a very jealous man played by Lawrence Tierney whom she meets on the train to San Francisco. They like each other, but he focuses on Audrey Long, Trevor's half sister who was lucky enough to have a father worth a fortune.

But Tierney's past is ever so slowly creeping up on him. And Trevor while now engaged to Terry, still she can't resist Tierney. Pity these two just didn't hitch, they truly deserve each other and not the people they were going with.

What I love about Born To Kill is the great care that Robert Wise took in both assembling his supporting cast and fleshing them out. Rarely do you see that in a B film. Those already mentioned plus Elisha Cook, Jr. as Tierney's luckless pal, Walter Slezak as a private detective open to a little blackmail, and Esther Howard as the landlady in Reno who hires Slezak to investigate the murder of her friend Jewell.

Born To Kill will keep you glued to the television or the big screen as it did in 1946 I'm sure. A truly fascinating bunch.

Leads shine along highway to hell in film noir gem

[Joseph_Gillis · 9/10 · 29 April 2000]

I was delighted when I saw that Quentin Tarantino had given a starring role in his debut film, Reservoir Dogs, to Lawrence Tierney. I had read somewhere a year or two prior to its release that he had been finding it hard to get roles; that invariably he was involved in barroom brawls and , well, that he was difficult. Of course, the role didn't require any great acting ability and it couldn't be said that the big lug had grown old gracefully, but I got the impression that it was in recognition of his services to cult filmdom that he was being rewarded by the new kid on the block.

I first saw Born To Kill in the late 80's on one of those TV channels dedicated to old black and white movies and I was immediately wowed. It was my first sight of Lawrence Tierney and both in his presence and the enthusiasm he brought to his role he certainly made a huge impression. You could never accuse him of being a great actor but he had the perfect bad guy presence: he had the physique and tough look about him that neither Bogart nor the diminutive Raft could touch and, while his features were certainly handsome enough for Hollywood, his smile was too disarming to make him a romantic lead (it reminded me nothing so much as a shark at feeding time). And this role was perfect for him: ruthless, amoral, his character, Sam Wild, was like a steamroller who mowed down anybody, girlfriends, men friends, wives, that stood in his way or upset him. It may well have been the closest to the big leagues that he got and, for me, its the best thing he's ever done (and, under Wise's economic direction, the film could certainly compare favourably with Reservoir Dogs).

The film sits well with all those minor noir classics the late 40's and early 50's with apparent ease: Wise's own The Set-Up; Anthony Mann's Raw Deal and the T-Men, Kiss Of Death, and Ray's masterly debut, They Live By Night.

It's not specified just who the title refers to but it could apply equally and aptly to both Tierney's and his peerless co-star's Claire Trevor (for me the Queen of the noir femme fatales)characters.(In the UK it is titled Lady OF Deceit but in my opinion it does Tierney a disservice by apparently ignoring his contribution to the mayhem).

The story is basically a simple one: Tierney is an ex-boxer who is prone to violent fits of jealousy which erupts with fatal consequences when he spots a girl friend out with another man. Claire Trevor's character discovers the bodies but finds herself attracted to the excitement and danger which she sees Tierney providing for her while recognising his flaws.

He uses Trevor to marry into family money while at the same time needing the thrill of an adulterous affair with her. Of course, that could never work!.

Perversely, I found myself cheering for Tierney and Trevor and hoping that they would find true love (maybe it's because the other loves are such drips), but that could never be in noir. In addition to the stars, it boasts wonderful performances by notorious scene-stealers, Elisha Cook Jr., and Walter Slezak, while Esther Howard is a delight as a boarding house owner who realises that a beach is not always the safest place at night.

Although Robert Wise acquitted himself well in his later big budget films, its in films such as this, the aforementioned Set-Up, and his Val Lewton horror classics that he showed himself to be an economic, effective and underrated director. Not in the Howard Hawks league for versatlity,for sure, but he always told a good story well which more highly-touted directors often found beyond them. While not quite major league noir, its one I turn to regularly and it never disappoints

Some of the best wardrobe you'll ever see.

[hofrau · 7/10 · 24 September 2005]

This is a disturbing film, but is a classic film-noir and shows Claire Trevor off better than I have ever seen her. The wardrobe is stunning! The tailored suits and dresses are among the best I've ever seen. This film never achieved the popularity it deserves, probably because it is so "dark." I thought Walter Slezak was under-used in his small role as the private investigator, but, as always, he gave a terrific performance. The smaller roles were beautifully realized by wonderful character actors. The cinematography is gorgeous black-and-white, reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock black-and-white. Watch it just for the wardrobe and Clair Trevor's beauty.

Well done but unpleasant

[morrisonhimself · 8/10 · 18 January 2005]

"Born To Kill" is a very unpleasant film.

Its premise is unpleasant, its narrative is unpleasant, its denouement is unpleasant.

Unfortunately it is very well done.

The cast was great, with superlative performances from actors who mostly didn't become household names.

Claire Trevor, who did, was outstanding, looking her best, giving one of her best portrayals.

Elisha Cook, Jr., gives an excellent performance, perhaps the best chance he ever had in movies to shine, to portray a sympathetic character.

Too often he was just someone slimy, unlikable. If his character got bumped off, mostly it was good riddance.

In "Born To Kill" he showed he should have been given more respect in Hollywood, given more and better roles. Elisha Cook's performance is enough reason to watch.

Esther Howard, who made scores of movies, steals nearly every scene she is in. That her character gets so many chances to do so is a tribute to the writers and producers who didn't shortchange the script or its audiences.

Kathryn Card, who later played the mother of Lucy Ricardo on "I Love Lucy," is a maid in "Born To Kill," yet she is such a dominant personality she stands out.

Again it is a tribute to the writers and producers that the character is allowed to do so, to speak lines, to be a visible part of the story.

Other "minor" characters are played by names -- Ellen Corby, for instance, often uncredited except here at IMDb -- who went on to some fame and fortune, and they got a chance, with this script and under the direction of Robert Wise (surely proved a genius over the years), to be more than atmosphere or background.

"Born To Kill" is not fun, but it is something film historians will want to see.

Bad Sister

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 29 November 2016]

The screenplay is something Harry Stephen Keeler might have written whilst heavily sedated. There's no back story for the male lead Lawrence Tierney nor for his relationship with Elisha Cooke Jnr; following Claire Trevor he finds her with her half-sister and fiancé. He tells the sister she will be seeing more of him Cut: they're married. Economical or sloppy writing. Three guesses. Lawrence, who was the elder brother of Scott Brady here bears more resemblance to Ray Milland albeit he has the acting ability of an amoeba with learning difficulties. Some of the best performances come from the support in the shape of Walter Slezak's private eye, sans moustache for once, and Esther Howard, looking as though she hasn't drawn a sober breath since she played Jesse Florian in Farewell, My Lovely. Watchable.

Almost totally unlikeable cast in this melodrama

[FlushingCaps · 4/10 · 16 February 2021]

Saw this off TCM tonight. This came in their "film noir" series complete with a much-too-lengthy interview between the host and somebody I didn't know. I saw part of it and zipped ahead-thankfully I DVRd this some days earlier.

We start in Reno, where a woman, Helen Brent (played by Claire Trevor) has just gotten her divorce after the legal 6-week stay in Reno at a boarding house, where her hostess is a close friend of her next door neighbor, Laury Palmer.

Not long after, we see Laury being brought home by her date. She asks him in for a drink-wink, wink. She goes to her room to change while her date goes to the kitchen to get the booze out. Waiting in the dark kitchen is Sam Wilde-another guy interested in Laury, who he recently met. He orders the guy to leave, but the guy didn't listen, so he gets in a fight and kills him. Then Laury comes into the room and he kills her too. He leaves and shortly afterwards, Laury's dog is spotted on the street by Helen, who nicely brings him in.

When she sees the two bodies on the floor, she does what any friend would do...she puts the dog down leaving him alone in the house-alone not counting people who are no longer eligible for the census-and picks up a phone-to call the train station-she wants out of town right now.

Unknowingly, a man she meets at the train station is the murderer, Sam. There seems to be some bit of lust there, but she is engaged to a wealthy man back home in San Francisco, where she lives with her rich sister. (Sis is not her blood sister, they were foster children and the sister (Georgia's) father left her ownership of a newspaper as well as a mansion and money.

Soon enough, Sam tracks Helen down at the sister's. Knowing Helen is engaged, he decides to go for Georgia, getting her to marry him just weeks after they met. But he can't keep his lips off Helen and she kisses him all over the mansion, never worrying that they'll be spotted.

There's a private eye hired by the boarding house landlady, a close buddy of Sam's played by Elisha Cook, Jr. (Icepick from Magnum, and many movie roles) and many other complications.

As I understand the concept of "film noir" this is not it. To me, like some other reviewers I read here, it is a real melodrama. Sam is so psychotic he's ready to kill anyone who comes close to Helen, without ever having a clue why they went to see her. Helen wants to bribe the private eye to not let his client-unknown to her-to know who killed those two people in Reno. Helen is so wrapped up in Sam that she ignores her fiance so much so that near the end of the movie he finally tells her off. I thought if this rich boy was brighter, he should have dropped her about 3 reels earlier.

We have a cockamamie scene where Elisha Cook's character, named Marty, who for reasons that elude me, was constantly called "Mart" as though that were a common nickname for Marty, lures the landlady to some sand dunes far away from every sign of life in San Francisco-but you can take a cab to get there. There, he walks her from the street to the dunes where he pulls out a small knife and shows her that he plans to kill her. This rather large woman fights him off and runs away-before Sam shows up and offs his longtime close friend-just because he saw him go into Helen's room that night for a few minutes. He never even asked him why he went there.

That's the crux of why this movie is not one I'll ever watch again. I can deal with a psycho killer who's not the co-star, or who mostly behaves like a normal person, but Sam seems to have a brain freeze on all sorts of matters and kills first and asks questions...check that, he never asks questions. In his less lurid conversations, he annoys the heck out of everyone by talking as if he knows everything about everything. He gets into a big fight with his new wife because she won't let him take over running her newspaper, even though he's never been connected with a newspaper in any role higher than being a "paper boy" when he was a kid-if that much.

Georgia is the only one of the stars who seems at all likeable. Certainly not Helen, and obviously not Sam or the P.I. or "Mart." Well, Laury Palmer seemed likeable, but as anyone who got suckered into the TV series Twin Peaks 30 years ago knows, with that name, she didn't stand a chance. (That series focused on the brutal murder of a young woman named Laura Palmer.)

This film featured no dark barrooms or piers, no basically-good people who happened to hook up with someone who got them into trouble. It really isn't noir in my opinion. Even the scene at the dunes near the ocean were rather well lit for late at night.

By the way, someone has put in a goof that the scene at the beach featured someone rolling down the hill with their head on one side, but once they stopped and the stunt double was replaced by the actress, the body was lying with the head on the other side. This is an error no their part. If you watch it, you can plainly see that she stopped, with head on the left side, feet on the right and Mart standing farther from the camera than she was. When the camera switched, we were now looking from the opposite side, with Mart closer to the camera. The body WAS lying the same way. I believe the mistake was because they were in a hollow between two hilly dunes, and the person didn't realize we were looking from the opposite angle.

Cannot see giving this more than a score of 4.

Portrait of amoral psychopaths proves gripping in spite of less than convincing morally good counterparts

[Turfseer · 7/10 · 26 February 2018]

"When "Born to Kill" was released in 1947, it faced significant criticism from many contemporary reviewers, including Bosley Crowther, the renowned NY Times critic. They were put off by the unflinching portrayal of the two amoral protagonists. However, it is precisely this unapologetic depiction of psychopathic individuals seeking innocent victims that lends the film its merit. "Born to Kill" boldly suggests the existence of such predators in society.

Directed by Robert Wise, who would later gain fame for "The Sound of Music," the film reflects his adherence to the belief that the screenplay holds paramount importance in the filmmaking process. While it lacks the visually striking elements often associated with films of the noir genre and era, Wise demonstrates his skill through subtle touches. For instance, when tough-guy Lawrence Tierney's character, Sam Wilde, murders a couple in a Reno home, Wise strategically cuts to a barking dog, cleverly withholding the final act of violence to heighten suspense.

Lawrence Tierney's casting as the psychopathic Sam Wilde is pitch-perfect. He convincingly portrays a character who commits the heinous crime in the opening ten minutes, subsequently taking the lives of his best friend Marty (the versatile Elisha J. Cook) and the alluring yet chilling femme fatale Helen Brent, portrayed with coolness by Claire Trevor.

Tierney's suitability for the role stems from his real-life volatile temperament, which reportedly damaged his career due to numerous arrests for assaulting fellow actors and ordinary people on the street (including a notorious incident of shoving Quentin Tarantino later in his life on a movie set!).

Helen Brent serves as the perfect complement to Sam's character, both exhibiting street smarts and viciousness, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Although Helen is a femme fatale, her character diverges from the typical archetype found in film noir (as expertly pointed out by noir specialist Eddie Mueller in the DVD extras). While most femme fatales ultimately bring ruin to their men, Sam's deranged nature renders him immune to Helen's influence.

In fact, Sam proves to be even more malevolent than Helen, unable to control his temper whenever he feels slighted. His philosophy is simplistic: he craves power to exert dominance and intimidate anyone he pleases. Helen, on the other hand, experiences inner conflict. She acknowledges her dark side but balances it with her professed love for her "foster" sister Georgia Staples (played by Audrey Long) and her connection to Fred (Phillip Terry), the wealthy man she intends to marry.

Unfortunately, the film is dragged down by the underdeveloped characters of both Georgia and Fred. Georgia, the daughter of a wealthy newspaper magnate, possesses ample wealth but inexplicably lacks generosity, especially towards a resentful Helen. It is perplexing why a supposedly kind-hearted individual would exhibit such stinginess. Similarly disappointing is her purported irresistible attraction to Sam. While it is understandable that all the women are captivated by him, a normally prudent person would display at least some curiosity about the background of the person they plan to marry. Georgia seems to make no substantial inquiries about Sam's occupation or past before quickly tying the knot. As a character, Georgia is dull, and the screenplay does little to flesh her out.

The same applies to Georgia's counterpart, Fred, who exemplifies the goody two shoes persona. His insipid personality serves as a deliberate contrast to the wickedness of Helen. Once this embodiment of "pure goodness" breaks off his relationship with Helen, we know her fate is sealed.

The film incorporates a subplot featuring the alcoholic Mrs. Kraft, played by the colorful Esther Howard, who owns the boarding house in Reno where her tenant and close friend Laury and her date were murdered by Sam. Mrs. Kraft hires the portly detective Albert Arnett, portrayed by Walter Slezak, to investigate the tragic double homicide.

Apart from the electrifying exchanges between Sam and Helen, the scene where Marty decides to kill Mrs. Kraft at a deserted beach in San Francisco provides a gripping diversion from the main plot and adds to the mounting suspense. This unexpected twist intensifies the complexity of the narrative. When Sam arrives and murders Marty out of jealousy, Mrs. Kraft manages to escape.

Helen fully succumbs to the dark side when she threatens Mrs. Kraft, forbidding her from going to the police. Her infatuation with Sam overrides any remaining rationality, and she is now willing to sacrifice her close relationship with Georgia, who remains under Sam's bewitching spell.

In a powerful scene, Helen shatters Georgia's illusions as she passionately kisses Sam while Georgia hides in a nearby chair, witnessing the betrayal. Naturally, Helen meets her comeuppance by the film's end, as is customary for femme fatales who have led astray.

"Born to Kill" was ahead of its time in portraying two ruthless protagonists who, in the end, deserve each other. If only the characters representing the morally upright side of society were better developed, "Born to Kill" could have been considered a noir masterpiece. Nonetheless, the film remains an intriguing exploration of the dark corners of human nature.