Director Stanley Kubrick's second feature film was The Killing. Released in 1956, the film noir—also written by Kubrick—stars Sterling Hayden as Johnny Clay, Coleen Gray as Fay, Vince Edwards as Val Cannon, Jay C. Flippen as Marvin Unger, Elisha Cook Jr. as George Peatty and Marie Windsor as Sherry Peatty.
Shot in Los Angeles, the film centers on a racetrack heist and its aftermath. The art for me rests in Kubrick's suspenseful direction, Lucien Ballard's cinematography and Hayden's portrayal of the ringleader. What's most interesting about the film is the modernity of the shots. [Photo above of Sterling Hayden]
Apparently, the Hollywood cinematographers' union prohibited Kubrick from serving as both the director and cinematographer. So Ballard was hired, but he and Kubrick clashed over shots as well as the camera's lens and proximity to the actors. Kubrick wanted tight shots, Ballard longer ones. Kubrick won out. As a result, the film doesn't look dated to the eye now, despite being shot 66 years ago. To Ballard's credit, he was also responsible for the terrific lighting. [Photo above of director Stanley Kubrick and Sterling Hayden on set of The Killing]
Note: Rodney Dangerfield was cast as an uncredited onlooker. I'm guessing he's in the crowd watching the fight at 56:47.
Here's The Killing (1956)...
