The Killing (Stanley Kubrick; US, 1956)

The best plans rarely are. The Killing flaunts Kubrick’s early fixation with entropy’s reign. Whether through hubris or naïveté, his characters, in this case an ex-con named Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) and his de facto crime companions, plan for perfection, a two million dollar racetrack heist, but must deal with the dire fall-out as things come apart. Kubrick sketched out the plot, but had hardboiler Jim Thompson pen the patter. The crew is colorful: Elisha Cook plays a pasty track cashier caving to the demands of his covetous consort (Marie Windsor); Maurice, the hulking chess hustler, Randy, a crooked cop, Mike, the needy bartender, and Timothy Carey as a demented sniper round out the ring. This latter-day noir lensed by luminous Lucien Ballard loses no momentum as these average Joes explain the grim impetus for their undoing. Again, the working title, Bed of Fear, tells all: once that bed is made you’ve got to lie in it. 

• Written by Kubrick, Jim Thompson, from the novel Clean Break by Lionel White. Photographed by Lucien Ballard. With Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen. (84 mins, B&W, DCP, From Park Circus)