The Killing
Movie, 1956, The Classics, Set in 1956
The Killing is #1 of 26 in release order and #2 of 26 in chronological order in the Heist Movies.
The story
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
The Killing recap
Johnny Clay, just out of prison, plans one last job: robbing the cash room of a racetrack on the day of a big race, worth about two million dollars. His crew is made of ordinary men with money problems: a corrupt cop, Randy Kennan, a betting window cashier, George Peatty, a bartender, Mike O'Reilly, and Marvin Unger, who puts up money and a hideout. George is desperate to impress his wife Sherry, who learns about the plan and tells her lover Val, who decides to steal the take. On the day, the plan unfolds in overlapping timelines: a hired wrestler starts a fight at the bar, a sharpshooter, Nikki, shoots the favourite horse during the race, and Johnny walks into the money room in a mask and throws the cash out of a window to Randy. Nikki is shot dead trying to escape.
The Killing ending explained
Val's gang bursts into the meeting point and a shootout leaves everyone dead except the wounded George, who goes home and kills Sherry. Johnny, arriving late, takes the money in a cheap suitcase to the airport with his girlfriend Fay. The bag has to be checked, falls off a baggage cart, and the propellers blow the cash across the runway. Johnny doesn't run, and waits for the police.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Killing
The Killing is streaming on Prime Video, YouTube TV, Fandango at Home Free, MGM Plus, MUBI, and YouTube (free) in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes 96%
Where it fits
- Release order: first, before Ocean's 11.
- Chronological order: after The Sting, before Ocean's 11.
Cast
- Sterling Hayden as Johnny Clay
- Coleen Gray as Fay
- Vince Edwards as Val Cannon
- Jay C. Flippen as Marvin Unger
- Ted de Corsia as Patrolman Randy Kennan
- Marie Windsor as Sherry Peatty
- Elisha Cook Jr. as George Peatty
- Joe Sawyer as Mike O'Reilly
- James Edwards as Track Parking Attendant
- Timothy Carey as Nikki Arcane
- Kola Kwariani as Maurice Oboukhoff
- Jay Adler as Leo the Loanshark
Directed by Stanley Kubrick.