On B List of Movie Reviews
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Born to Kill (1947)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
10/08, 5/10
10/08:
Lawrence Tierney had a notorious bad boy reputation for most of the century.
Many people weren't aware of him until he made appearances in
Reservoir Dogs and an episode on Seinfeld.
Show me an actor who measures up with him, and I guarantee that it's not even close. People, even his co-stars, were literally afraid
of being around him. To understand what he was like, I recommend reading
An Uneasy Evening with the Noir Legend by Eddie Muller.
Born to Kill has solidified Lawrence Tierney's image as the no-frills, no-thrills tough guy actor.
His menacing eyes and presence show why he isn't the guy to mess around with. Claire Trevor's character tries her best, but
she's really playing with fire the entire time.
From a psychological standpoint, their relationship is interesting: how the submissive female can't get enough
of her dominant male partner. It happens all the time in real life which is a well-documented fact in serial killer
cases. The reason for loss of points in the rating is that the plot is uneven. Other characters
don't pull enough of their weight.
All in all, Born to Kill is Lawrence Tierney's show.
5/10:
Hoping for an improvement in my re-evaluation of Born to Kill, it's still not a good picture, lacking a lot of substance.
Lawrence Tierney, who dominates the film with his presence and his eyes, is less effective the second time around.
Clare Trevor tries too hard to portray her character as a femme fatale. I think the sister is better-looking.
Walter Slezak, who plays the detective, bears an uncanny resemblance to John Goodman.
All in all, the only good thing out of Born to Kill is Lawrence Tierney.