The Killing (1956)

 Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing"

As someone who has seen almost the entirety of Stanley Kubrick, I feel as though it is safe to say that his first non-independent film, 1956's "The Killing," is unlike any of the films that would come thereafter. Kubrick would mold his form into the auteur style we think of when we think of Kubrick, but he had to start somewhere. "The Killing" is billed as a noir film, but I would argue that it is not a noir at all. I do feel as though the ending is very nihilistic like a noir would be, but I don't feel as though it shares the same ingredients of a typical noir film. 

"The Killing" is what you would call a proto-"Ocean's 11," as it centers on a group of men who team up to stage and execute a meticulous heist operation at a horserace track. In fact, Frank Sinatra was the original intention to lead the film, although that honor ended up going to a frequent Kubrick collaborator, Sterling Hayden. Sinatra did end up starring in "Ocean's 11" four years later. 

Although the film would not do well at the box office, it was praised by critics for its unique and innovative take on a familiar 'robbery' genre. One review, out of Time, even compared Kubrick to a young Orson Welles, stating that Kubrick "has shown more audacity with dialogue and camera than Hollywood has seen since the obstreperous Orson Welles went riding out of town on an exhibitors' poll." In fact, the praise by critics, as well as the recognition by Dore Schary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, is what caused Kubrick to get $75,000 to write and direct his next film for the studio. This film would end up becoming 1957's "Paths of Glory," which would set Kubrick on his path.

It is safe to say that "The Killing" is perhaps Kubrick's pulpiest of films. That is not inherently a negative, as Kubrick manages to entice the viewer with varying  entertaining elements in the story, as well as shooting the film in a somewhat documentary-esque style that was suitable for its subject. Overall, it is a pretty entertaining film that has a completely satisfying ending (perhaps not satisfying to the typical film viewer, but satisfying to me in its utter dissatisfaction).