Born to Kill

Elisha Cook Jr is a national treasure. From his earliest roles in the 1930s through to his recurring guest appearances on Magnum P.I. he is always a delight to watch. To say that he is absolutely necessary to Born to Kill, a movie that threatens to drown in darkness, would be an understatement. There is little of levity to be found in this film but Elisha brings it in spades. Some of the best moments in this film come when he is sharing the screen with Esther Howard, bringing a devil’s mix of comedy, charm, and danger to the screen. And Esther is keeping pace with him, bringing vulnerability and pathos while also adding her own comedic beat to moments that could have been just as dour and dark as the rest of this film. Their first scene together is a sight to behold and a real showcase of these two pros playing perfectly off of each other. 

The rest of the film is largely devoid of humor of any kind. Instead, it is noticeably bleaker than your average film noir, which typically has some lighter elements to balance the darker ones. It opens with San Francisco socialite Helen who has established residence in Reno to obtain a divorce, staying in a boarding house owned by Mrs. Kraft (Esther Howard). Helen meets Laury Palmer (Isabel Jewell) who confides in her that she has accepted a date with a man named Danny just to make her new beau, Sam Wilde (Lawrence Tierney) jealous. When Sam sees them out together, he enters her home that evening and kills both of them. Helen discovers the bodies and flees back to San Francisco, telling no one, including the police that they are dead.

Back in her home city, she meets Sam and finds his self-assurance attractive. Neither knows the other’s part in the events in Reno but Helen begins to realize it when she confronts a private detective, Albert Arnett (Walter Slezak) who is snooping around on the behest of Mrs. Kraft. When Sam learns of this, he sends his friend, Marty (Elisha Cook Jr.) to pay her a visit. Meanwhile, Sam has married the wealthy Georgia Staples (Audrey Long), though he admits to Helen that it was not for love. Things take a turn for the worse, though, when he begins to suspect Helen of plotting against him. 

Lawrence Tierney is the right actor to call when you want a character to be devoid of any humanity whatsoever. He is cold and brooding, rarely lets his guard down, and even when he is romancing Georgia or Helen, there is a detachment to it that is ever-present. How either woman could be wooed by him is head-scratching but that is exactly what happens. He is also willing to dispatch with his closest friends if he even suspects you are doing anything behind his back. His treatment of Marty reflects this perfectly, as well, showing that while he is always thinking ahead, he is not doing a good job at it, allowing his emotions to dictate his actions. This is a near-perfect analogue for Tierney’s personal life which was filled with violence and alcohol, often derailing what could have been a highly successful acting career. 

This is a scary movie, in large part because of how realistic it all is. It’s also filled with dread, with the only outlet being the scenes involving Esther Howard and the occasional appearance by Walter Slezak, who is just barely peppered in throughout. These moments help break the tension a little, though when Marty meets up with Mrs. Kraft, that levity is tempered with our meta knowledge of what he represents to her. 1947 - 92 minutes