Murder by Contract is a film noir directed by Irving Lerner , released in 1958 .
| Contract killings | |
|---|---|
| Murder by contract | |
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| Genre | Film noir |
| Producer | Irving Lerner |
| Producer | Leon Chulak |
| Author script | Ben simkou |
| In the main cast | Vince edwards Phillip pine Herschel Bernardi |
| Operator | Lucien Ballard |
| Composer | Perry Botkin |
| Film company | Orbit Production Columbia Pictures (distribution) |
| Duration | 81 min |
| A country |  USA |
| Tongue | English |
| Year | 1958 |
| IMDb | ID 0051959 |
The film tells about a cold-blooded and prudent assassin ( Vince Edwards ), who received an order to eliminate a witness who is preparing to give revealing evidence in court against one of the major mafiosi.
The film belongs to the numerous category of crime dramas, the focus of which is the identity of the hired killer. This category includes, in particular, films such as “ Weapon for hire ” (1942), “ Enforcing Law ” (1951), “ Samurai ” (1967), “ Mechanic ” (1972), “ Jackal Day ” (1972) , “ Leon ” (1994), “The Jackal ” (1997), “ Old Men Can't Get Here ” (2007) and “ John Wick ” (2014). The minimalist artistic language of the picture is in tune with the films of the French director Robert Bresson and Jean-Pierre Melville of the 1950s and 60s, and also influenced the criminal paintings of Martin Scorsese of the 1960s and 70s.
Story
In New York, in his modest apartment, a young, handsome and tidy man named Claude ( Vince Edwards ) carefully puts himself in order, puts on a suit and goes for an interview. He comes to a certain Mr. Moon (Michael Granger), stating that he is from Brinks and has an appointment. During the conversation, Claude reports that he wants to become a hit man. In his opinion, only in this way can he fulfill his dream - to buy the house of his dreams. Remaining at his current job, he will be able to save up to buy a house only after 23 years, and he cannot wait that long. Moon says: "Only one mistake can be made in this work," after which he says goodbye to Claude, taking the phone number from him before leaving. Moon warns Claude not to leave the room, as he will call only once and will not call back more. After leaving Claude, Moon calls his boss Brinks, reporting that the guy is too smart, and perhaps he can be used if he passes the test - he will stay at home for 2 weeks waiting for the call.
Claude is waiting in his apartment, not going outside. He carefully observes the daily routine, wakes up and goes to bed on an alarm clock, reads a lot and is constantly engaged in physical education. Finally, a bell rings and Claude promises to arrive in 10 minutes. Arriving at Moon, Claude says that he was expecting a call, relieving stress by exercise. He says that he has neither a gun nor a knife. Moon gives Claude money - a fee for the first order - and promises to call in the near future and give the name and address of the object.
At the hairdresser, three employees are tied and locked in the utility room. A client arrives, under the guise of a hairdresser, Claude appears, he grinds a razor and cuts a client's throat. At home, Claude writes on the sheet where the price of the house is indicated - 28 thousand dollars, that his bank account was replenished by 500 dollars. Some time later, at night, under the guise of a doctor, Claude enters the hospital ward and turns off the life support apparatus of one of the patients, after which he marks an additional $ 500 in the notebook. Then, by order of Brinks, Claude comes to Moon and kills him with a knife.
Having gained authority as a killer, Claude receives from Brinks a more significant task. He heads to Los Angeles , where he is expected by two troubled Brinks' henchmen - the inhospitable Mark (Philip Pine) and enthusiastic George (Herschel Bernardi). Discussing his order, they say that the fee - $ 5,000 - is very large, but even for that kind of money they would not have taken up this work.
After meeting Claude, the three of them travel to the city. Although Mark and George are in a hurry to complete the order, Claude offers a ride around the city and see the sights. The next day, Claude goes to swim on the beach, another day later - goes on sea fishing, saying that this will allow him to better prepare an action plan. Mark and George are in ever greater excitement, as Claude for several days spent did not even ask who he should eliminate. To the puzzled questions of Mark and George Claude explains his position. “Killing is not easy,” he says. There are different types of killings - there are killings when acquaintances kill each other out of passion, there are random killings that occur, for example, during robberies. He is engaged in the only ideal way of killing, when a stranger kills a stranger. He has no motive, no connection with the victim. And he commits this murder only because someone is willing to pay for it. That is, it is a pure business, like any other. This business is risky, but it pays well. He further says that he was not born a killer, but specially prepared to become him, trained to rule out any personal relationship with the murder and the victim. Although 10 days have already passed, Claude did not take an interest in the object, which he should eliminate.
Claude and his companions once again travels around the city, refusing to even look at the victim’s house. They arrive at the golf course , where Claude is practicing a shot while Mark and Claude impatiently expect action from him. Having returned home in the evening, Claude is going to leave for two hours in the city, saying that he is going to the cinema. Mark and George walk with him, but during the session, Claude manages to escape from them. Returning home a few hours later, Claude tells Mark and George that he was following them, finding out if there was a tail behind them. When Mark recalls that 4 days are left to complete the order, Claude says that he will look at the object tomorrow.
In the morning they call on one of the city hills and watch the rich house from above. Mark and George say that there is an object - Billy Williams (Caprice Toriel). Looking at the house and the surrounding area with binoculars, Claude sees that the house is guarded from all sides by armed cops. During the observation, Claude says that he has never been in prison and does not even have a single drive to the police. He was a respectable citizen all his life - he studied, graduated from high school, received a technical education and worked in his specialty. Then he looks out of one of the windows, wondering for himself that Billy Williams is a woman. Claude is about to go call Brinks in New York. To the question of his companions, he replies that he does not like women, they are unpredictable and independent. And therefore, he does not refuse the order, but is going to increase the amount of the fee.
The next day, under the guise of an insurance agent, Claude visits a former Billy maid named Miss Wiley (Frances Osborne), who was laid off two days ago. Under the pretext that she collects information about Billy Williams due to the fact that she decided to insure her life for 100 thousand dollars, Claude finds out from Miss Wiley the daily routine of her former mistress. According to Miss Wiley, Billy once worked in show business. Now she is afraid of something, fired her two days ago, because she no longer trusts her. And the last days she does not leave the house and does nothing - she just watches TV, reads newspapers and sometimes plays the piano. And even lunch, she was taken by police directly to the house.
In the evening, when Billy plays the piano, Claude on the hill connects the electrical cable leading to the house to a system of high-voltage wires. The next morning, when Billy turns on the TV after breakfast, a powerful electric impulse passes through the wires, causing the TV to explode. A woman screams and Claude leaves.
At home, Mark and George discuss Claude's actions, saying that he developed a great idea - to arrange a TV explosion during power-up. Unfortunately, the idea did not work, since Billy used the control panel and therefore did not suffer. Mark insistently reminds Claude that he has 48 hours left to complete the order and again insistently offers Claude to use firearms, but he replies: "I do not resort to illegal actions, I am a law-abiding citizen and never break the law." Claude says he saw how the security of the house today was doubled, or even tripled, and the situation became much worse. Then Claude travels with his henchmen to the toy store, where he buys a bow and arrows. Returning home, he teaches George to shoot a bow at a target. Claude reflects on the paradoxical approach to killing, when the military is obligated to kill and kill for refusing to kill, and in ordinary life, on the contrary, a person is killed if he commits a murder. He then instructs Mark to buy a rifle with a telescopic sight.
Billy is tired of staying at home surrounded by male cops, but she also refuses to go to prison for several days for her own safety, because she wants to live a normal life, eat well and have good service. The police promise to send Billy a woman who will guard her.
Claude with a rifle takes a position on the hill and watches the house in sight. He tells Mark that the women are curious and, waking up, will surely run out into the street to see what happened. A short distance George takes a bow and arrow. At this moment, a policewoman steps up to duty at Billy's house. George sets fire to arrows and lets go into the bush around Billy's house, which instantly flares up with a bright flame. Seeing this, a female policeman immediately jumps out into the street, and Claude, deciding that it is Billy, kills her with a rifle.
Having gathered together in a bar, Claude and his assistants are awaiting an official announcement of Billy's death, since they only saw how they carried out a body covered with a sheet. Finally, there is information that a famous jazz pianist and former girlfriend of a large mafioso, who was about to testify against him in court tomorrow, were killed. Upon hearing the message, Claude asks him to buy a train ticket to New York, which leaves in five hours.
Before leaving home, Claude is going to have dinner at a hotel restaurant, ordering himself an escort girl named Mary (Katie Brown). During a conversation in the room, the girl unexpectedly tells Paul that Billy is alive, just in a state of shock after the murder. And the woman policeman who actually went out into the street in Billy’s robe was actually killed. The police deliberately gave information that Billy was killed in order to stop the attempt on her life. Having drunk Mary, Claude asks where she got such information from. She replies that the information is accurate, as her mother’s uncle, who holds a high post in the district attorney’s office, told her about it.
In the morning, Claude picks things up and tells Mark and George that he is leaving home. He has already made two attempted murders, and now believes that the contract is cursed and cannot be executed. They respond that if the order is not fulfilled, they will all be killed. George almost said that if Claude did not fulfill the contract, they would be forced to liquidate it. Mark and George volunteered to take Claude to the station, but brought to the territory of an abandoned film studio. There they inform Claude that the chief instructed to get rid of him if he does not change his mind and finish the matter. But Claude refuses. Threatening a gun, they take Claude through the courtyard of the studio, where Claude imitates an attack, falls to the ground, and then grabs a gun from Mark. He beats Mark to death, then takes a piece of metal pipe and sets off after the runaway George. Soon, a male scream is heard.
Then Claude calls Brinks, saying that since the object is a woman, he demands to double his fee, while reporting that the guys are dead. After checking the receipt of money, Claude goes to the city archive, where, under the guise of a landscape designer, he buys a plan of the site on which Billy’s house stands. He discovers that under the site passes a drainage pipe for public use, through which you can quietly get almost to the house.
With the onset of darkness, Claude finds a pipe entrance on a hill and makes his way through it to the house. Having knocked out the grate, he gets out near the house, after which he enters the basement of the house through the service window. Getting close to the living quarters, he hits the guard on the head, depriving him of consciousness. Claude walks into the living room, introducing himself as Billy's new guard. She sits down to play the piano. Claude comes up behind her and asks why she wants to testify against Brinks. She replies that if they eliminate him, she will be safe. Billy continues to play. Claude takes off his tie and is going to strangle her, but for some reason he is slow and cannot do it. A police car drives up to the house. Billy invites Claude to run immediately, promising that in this case he will not scream. Claude runs away, shooting at the coming to consciousness guard. Police officers break into the house and chase Claude. Claude again gets into the pipe, the police open fire on him from both sides of the pipe, killing him. Billy picks up Claude's tie and sees his bloodied hand slip out of the pipe.
Cast
- Vince Edwards - Claude, serial killer
- Phillip Pine - Mark, Brinks' Assistant
- Herschel Bernardi - George, Brinks's assistant
- Caprice Thoriel - Billy Williams, Object
- Michael Granger - Mr. Moon, Brinks' Assistant
- Katie Brown - Mary, Secretary and Escort
Movie Director and Lead
Among the most famous works of Irving Lerner as a director are the noir crime thrillers The Limit of Rage (1958) and The City of Fear (1959), as well as the adventure drama Royal Hunt for the Sun (1969). In the years 1961-66, Lerner directed 13 episodes of the Ben Casey medical television series, the main role of an idealistic doctor in which was played by Vince Edwards . As an editor, Lerner worked on films such as Spartak (1960) Stanley Kubrick and New York, New York (1977) by Martin Scorsese [1] .
His best roles in the feature film Vince Edwards played in two Lerner noir - “Contract Murder” (1958) and “ City of Fear ” (1959). In addition, in the mid-1950s, he played less significant roles in a series of other noirs, the most significant of which were Police Swindler (1954) and Murder (1956), as well as in the military dramas Victors (1963) ) and The Devil's Brigade (1968). But probably most of all Edwards remained known as the performer of Dr. Ben Casey in the television series of the same name, in which, in the period 1961-66, he played in 153 episodes [2] .
Criticism of the film
Overall rating of the film
The film received rather high criticism, although immediately after the release of the screens they did not pay much attention to it. The magazine Variety , called the picture “a rather interesting story of a paid killer”, noting it “growing suspense after a rather unsystematic beginning” [3] .
Over time, the film began to receive very high marks of criticism, which drew attention to the innovative minimalist style and unusually cold tonality of the picture, often comparing it with French criminal melodramas of the 1960s and 70s. Jay Carr noted that this is a “quick film shot in eight days on a microscopic budget,” which acts as a “powerful reminder of how you can make more out of less,” further pointing out that this is “clean, compact and efficient, tight, a tense and convincingly acting film breaks out of its origin in a poor film studio ” [4] . Bruce Eder called him "an unusual thriller, sometimes almost funny, despite the moments of violence." Highlighting “the lively and clear camera work of Lucien Ballard, ” Eder nevertheless considered the film “primarily to be a demonstration of the talents of Vince Edwards , who manages to dominate every scene in which he is engaged - with or without text - in the role of clearly articulating his thoughts, calmly devoted to work, punctual assassin ” [5] .
TimeOut magazine called the picture “a terrific, rigorous Category B film, ” reminiscent of something of Jean-Pierre Melville : he is cold, quiet and unemotional " [6] . Dennis Schwartz believes that" this, ignored at one time, low-budget black -белый нуар 1950-х годов является выдающимся, абсолютно великолепным триллером». Шварц считает, что «он сильно напоминает великий экзистенциалистский психологический фильм нуар Жана-Пьера Мельвиля „ Самурай “ (1967), суть которого заключается не столько в истории как таковой, как в демонстрации обходитель ости и расчетливой бесстрастности главного героя… Не бывает нуаровых фильмов лучше, чем этот» [7] . По словам Фернандо Кроче, фильм демонстрирует «простое и ясное, компактное низкобюджетное мастерство», а его «притягательная необычность соответствует уровню его претензий». Далее он замечает, что "леденящий блеск Эдвардса наполнен финансовым фатализмом, делая его ближе самовлюблённым одиночкам Пола Шредера , чем духовной невозмутимости персонажей Жана-Пьера Мельвиля [8] . Джеффри Андерсон подчёркивает, что «этот фильм категории В избирает поразительно сдержанный, обстоятельный подход к показу работы наёмного убийцы». Он также отмечает, что «этот изумительный фильм с годами заслуженно стал культовым» [9] .
Отношение к фильму Мартина Скорцезе
Многие критики полагают, что возрождение интереса к фильму в последние годы связано с той высокой оценкой, которую ему неоднократно давал известный режиссёр Мартин Скорцезе . Джэй Карр указывает, что "из небольшого числа работ Лернера, фильм, который оказал наибольшее влияние на Скорцезе и который он часто упоминал — это «Убийство по контракту» [4] .
Майкл Андерсон отмечает, что «Скорцезе не раз говорил о влиянии фильма на его карьеру (он впервые увидел его как вторую картину на сдвоенном сеансе вместе с „ Путешествием “ (1959) Анатоля Литвака )» [9] . Джэй Карр пишет: «Мы можем понять, почему молодой Скорцезе был настолько им захвачен по сравнению с основным фильмом на двойном сеансе». Трэвис Бикл в его « Таксисте » (1976) во многом обязан строгому и сдержанному стилю Винса Эдвардса [4] . Шварц добавляет, что, по словам Скорцезе, «фильм оказал на него самое большое влияние при работе над фильмом „ Злые улицы “ (1973)» [7] .
Кроме того, «Скорцезе говорил, что вспоминал волнующую музыку Боткина, исполненную им на одной электрогитаре, которая навевала воспоминания как об итальянском попе 1950-х годов, так и музыке Антона Караса для цитры из фильма „ Третий человек “ (1949). Говард Шор написал сходную гитарную музыку для оскароносного фильма Скорцезе „ Отступники “ (2006)» [4] .
Карр напоминает, что «Мартин Скорцезе посвятил свой фильм „ Нью-Йорк, Нью-Йорк “ (1977) памяти Ирвинга Лернера», который умер в 1976 году. Хотя, по мнению Карра, «этот мрачный, фаталистический мюзикл Скорцезе имел мало общего с нуарами Лернера, если не считать духовный мрак» [4] .
Характеристика и особенности фильма
Однозначно относя картину к жанру фильм нуар , критики тем не менее обращают на некоторые его особенности, выводящие его за традиционные рамки жанра.
В частности, Джэй Карр сравнивает Клода в исполнении Винса Эдвардса , который «продвигается шаг за шагом к отходу от дел и жизни в коттедже», с персонажем Стерлинга Хэйдена в нуаре Джона Хьюстона « Асфальтовые джунгли » (1950). Однако трудно представить себе «более разные по своим исходным предпосылкам и даже по кинематографическу языку фильмы», чем «классический нуар Хьюстона и плотный маленький этюд Лернера». «В то время, как „Асфальтовые джунгли“ с их ночным миром теней и блестящих от дождя улиц, был погружён в лексикон нуара, „Убийство по контракту“ поставил визуальный язык нуара с ног на голову, вытащив его на солнечный свет» [4] .
Карр обращает также внимание на «документальный стиль картины, который проложил себе путь в мейнстримовском американском кино во время и после войны, и был особенно ярко выражен к концу 1950-х годов» [4] . Шварц подчёркивает, что в фильме «нет никаких надуманных ухищрений, всё выглядит естественно» [7] .
According to Bruce Eder, the film features “a fun, devoid of moralizing, side that sets it apart from the set of movie emotions that dominate most noir films. The deliberately comic dialogues between the three bandits, when they try to understand each other's working methods, as well as Perry Botkin's constant guitar music, all this seems to contradict what the public expects from a film of such a plan; and paired with the relatively complex psychological psychology of the characters, this makes him an unexpectedly enjoyable, restless and fascinating film that forms its own class in American crime films ” [5] .
Evaluation of the work of the director and creative team
Critics praised the directorial work of Irving Lerner , the camera work of Lucien Ballard and the music of Perry Botkin.
Thus, the magazine Variety described Lerner's production as "lively and vigorous, in which he convincingly kills his characters, some of which are excellent." The magazine also highlights “the outstanding music of Perry Botkin, who uses only the guitar on which he plays perfectly, maintaining the wonderful atmosphere of the film” [3] . TimeOut believes that “Lerner and his great cameraman Lucien Ballard are squeezing the most out of their limited budget, creating a tense, rigorous, non-moralizing movie; he does not look limited, but looks restrained. And besides, it is far ahead of its time ” [6] .
Schwartz believes that "neither the director nor the screenwriter ever did anything even close in quality to what this category B film achieved, and the role of Vince Edwards in this film rightly took his career to the star level." He also notes: “This is a perfectly nuanced film with atmospheric noir camera work by Lucien Ballard, plus a brilliant adequate guitar accompaniment in the background” [7] .
Jeffrey Anderson writes that “Lerner, who directed relatively few films, gives“ Contract Murder ”a harsh, clear-cut look in which everything is calculated like his hero. The atypical guitar music of Perry Botkin helps the course of the picture ” [9] . Jay Carr notes that “the great Lucien Ballard knew how to shoot sparingly, and he knew the language of several genres, including noir. It is impressive that he used so much natural light to solve the problem posed before the film ” [4] , and Croce adds that“ Lerner’s camera captures Edwards’s moral emptiness with the calm of a sniper ” [8] .
Evaluation of acting
Critics praised the game of Vince Edwards , which actually holds the entire film, but the game of both Phillip Payne and Hershel Bernardi, who played the roles of his companions, was also positively evaluated.
“ Variety ” notes that “Edwards plays a powerful killer and carries a quiet threat, providing spectator attention” [3] . According to Eder, "Edwards' play is unexpectedly good, considering he's a relative newbie." He notes that "Edwards manages to keep his line against the backdrop of a pair of veterans, Hershel Bernardi and Phillip Payne, and to bring some unexpected elements of humanism into his truly scary character" [5] .
"Variety" believes that "Phillip Pine and Herschel Bernardi are convincing as accomplices of the killer, panicking because of the frivolity with which Edwards is taken to fulfill the order" [3] . According to Jay Carr, "they, like comic relief, Shakespearean clowns, show perplexed grunts about his incomprehensible actions" [4] .
Notes
- ↑ IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/filmosearch?explore=title_type&role=nm0503615&ref_=filmo_ref_job_typ&sort=user_rating,desc&mode=detail&page=1
- ↑ IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0250436/?ref_=nv_sr_1
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Variety. http://variety.com/1957/film/reviews/murder-by-contract-1200419085/
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Jay Carr. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/27664/Murder-By-Contract/articles.html
- ↑ 1 2 3 Bruce Eder. http://www.allmovie.com/movie/murder-by-contract-v103170/review
- ↑ 1 2 TimeOut. http://www.timeout.com/london/film/murder-by-contract
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Dennis Schwartz. http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/murderbycontract.htm
- ↑ 1 2 Fernando F. Croce. http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/b-noir/P3
- ↑ 1 2 3 Jeffrey M. Anderson. http://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/classic/murderbc.shtml
Links
- Contract killing on IMDB website
- Contract killing on Allmovie website
- Contract killing on Turner Classic Movies
- Contract kill on Rotten Tomatoes website
- Assassination on a contract at the American Film Institute website
- YouTube contract killing movie