A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister.A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister.A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister.
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- Maitre d'Hotel
- (uncredited)
- Gambler at Roulette Table
- (uncredited)
- Sally
- (uncredited)
- Club Patron
- (uncredited)
- Wedding Guest
- (uncredited)
- Second Maid
- (uncredited)
- Gambler
- (uncredited)
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Featured reviews
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.
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.
"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.
Did you know
- TriviaThis film did poorly at the box office, resulting in a loss of $243,000 (over $3.45M in 2024) for RKO according to studio records.
- GoofsThey took a train from Reno, Nevada to San Francisco, California, but the shot of the train coming at the camera head-on is a Pennsylvania Railroad streamlined K4 locomotive on their four-track mainline in Pennsylvania.
- Quotes
Delivery Boy: My, that coffee smells good. Ain't it funny how coffee never tastes as good as it smells?
Albert Arnett: As you grow older, you'll discover that life is very much like coffee: the aroma is always better than the actuality. May that be your thought for the day.
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA Srl: "MARLOWE: MURDER, MY SWEET (L'ombra del passato, 1944) + PERFIDO INGANNO (1947)" (2 Films on a single DVD), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Green Fog (2017)
- SoundtracksI Haven't a Thing to Wear
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Revel
Tune on the radio when Helen discovers the bodies
- How long is Born to Kill?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Born to Kill
- Filming locations
- Washoe County Courthouse - 117 South Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada, USA(Helen says "goodbye" to her divorce lawyer on courthouse steps at start of film)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1