The Frame

Criterion packages both the 1946 and the 1964 versions of The Killers together, so after I finished watching the earlier one, I popped the later one in to compare. Wow different. You can still see elements of the same story, though the whole diner scene which was taken directly from the short story has been scrapped–even though they still call it “Ernest Hemingway’s The Killers,” there’s really nothing left of Hemingway in it, except the barebones idea of a former criminal’s old gang catching up to him. The Swede character is now a former racecar driver rather than a boxer, and the hitmen are characterized a lot more strongly–really, it’s almost their movie rather than his now. The whole thing doesn’t hold together as well as the earlier film, but it’s flashy and enjoyable like any average 1960s crime caper.
Average