the films of STANLEY KUBRICK

After several topics that I have been running through my head for an idea for a blog, I have decided to start blogging on something that I've had a fond interest in since I was 9 years old. It may sound a little weird that a 9 year old would start to appreciate a Stanley Kubrick film but it something that I've never really had a proper conversation about with anybody.

Even going through High School and studied years in a media class, not many people (or none at all) in my classes had even heard of Kubrick. Despite this, I want to find people, whether it's online and in the flesh, to talk about him and his films. I'm hoping this blog will achieve that and I also hope that people who have never heard or are unfamiliar with the director can get some insight to each of his 13 films that he made in his 50 year career.

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Notes 3rd - THE KILLING (1956)
In 1956, Kubrick made ‘The Killing’, his third feature film produced by partner James Harris. Based on the novel, Clean Break by Lionel White the film stars Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray and Vince Edwards.

The Killing with Sterling Hayden on the cover.

The story of The Killing takes place mainly on a racecourse, the films main location. Hayden’s character Johnny Clay is planning a heist at the racetrack to rob $ 2 million from the counting room. His team:
- Randy Keenan; a corrupt cop (Ted de Corsia)
- George Peatty; a betting teller for backroom access (Elisha Cook Jr.)
- Nikkie Arane; a gunman to shoot the favoured horse during the final race to distract the crowd (Timothy Carey)
- Maurice Oboukhoff; a wrestler to distract the crowd in the building (Kola Kwariani)
- Mike O’Reilly; a bartender at the racetrack (Joe Sawyer)
Another story point is the teller, George, who tells his wife Sherry (Marie Windsor) about the attempted robbery. Not believing him at first, she finds out the robbery is for real and tells her lover Val Cannon (Vince Edwards) to steal the money from George and his associates.

What I think is great about The Killing is its non-linear storyline. Quentin Tarantino himself got the inspiration for Reservoir Dogs for its non-linear telling of each characters events after the robbery. The film is in black and white and a very young Kubrick at the time was working with an award winning cinematographer Lucien Ballard who was nearly fired by Kubrick on the very day of the very shot for a disagreement of Kubrick’s set up.

(Left: Producer James B. Harris ; Right: Stanley Kubrick)
#kubricksfilms #stanley kubrick #the killing #the killing 1956 #sterling hayden #james b harris

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