I love this movie so much

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

This gem captures the dark side of the 1940s, with shoulder pads on its stars, male and female, a sociopathic hunk of a leading man--and people who cross his path dropping like flies. It has the awesome Laurence Tierney throwing women around, Claire Trevor going toe-to-toe with him, and the most delightful character actors of the day getting their two cents in to this most implausible tale, making us beg for more. The screen lights up when we meet Esther Howard, a blowzy old dame sharing a beer or two or six with her neighbor played by Isabel Jewell, who does a perfect turn as a party girl with a little dog. Howard never disappoints as the story unfolds, keeping her freewheeling, openhearted character totally in focus and stealing scene after scene. Elisha Cook Jr. is better here than I have ever seen him, and Walter Slezak too is at his best as the sleazy private eye. One of the best of its kind, BORN TO KILL certainly achieves an "A" for the whole "B" movie genre.

"Odds Against Tomorrow" director Robert Wise's vintage film noir crime saga "Born to Kill" exemplifies the best in film noir thrillers. This reliable RKO Radio Pictures release is as spartan and concise as any good crime picture needs to be. Overall, Wise, "Operator 13" scenarist Eve Greene and "Roaring Twenties" writer Richard Macaulay have made a first-class, no-nonsense melodrama about a psychotic maniac who requires little reason to kill, especially where his ego and sense of jealousy are concerned. No fewer than ten minutes into this atmospheric, black and white thriller, Samuel Wild (leading man Lawrence Tierney of "Reservoir Dogs") commits a double homicide because his girlfriend incurred his wrath by dating another man. Wild kills Danny (Tony Barrett) after the latter brandishes a knife. No sooner has he murdered poor Danny in the kitchen of his girlfriend's home than Wild turns around and kills Laury Palmer (Isabel Jewell) and then slips out of the house without arousing anybody's suspicions or alarming the other owner of the house. Wild goes back to his hotel where he confesses to his perennial partner, Marty Waterman (Elisha Cook, Jr., or "The Maltese Falcon"), that he killed two people. Marty isn't surprised by this turn of events. Clearly, Marty knows about Samuel Wild's paranoia and jealousy. Meantime, Helen (Claire Trevor of "Key Largo") discovers both bodies. As the ostensible heroine, who has just gotten a divorce in Reno and planned to leave, she decides to clear out of town before the bodies are found. On the train, she encounters Wild, whom she had seen earlier in a casino, and takes a shine to him. Likewise, Wild takes a shine to Helen, only to be rebuffed later in San Francisco when she introduces him to her fiancé, Fred (Philip Terry), and this whets his appetite even more for her. Strangely enough, Helen feels still drawn to Wild despite her previous engagement. Helen's wealthy half-sister Georgia (Audrey Lang) is attracted to Wild, and these two marry, but Wild still has his eye on Helen. Wise paces this audacious melodrama deliberately for maximum impact. Hollywood would never attempt anything so provocative as this film noir today and when you finish watching it, you might have to pinch yourself to remind yourself that life is fleeting and the bad die young. "Born To Kill" has the trappings of a B-movie, but the intelligence and creativity of a daring A movie. The black & white photography is fantastic as is the cast.

"Born to Kill" tells the story of a man and a woman, but mostly the man. Played by Lawrence Tierney, Sam is a simple man--as simple as the shark from Jaws. He is a predator and a sociopath. He may not be constantly moving, but when he does stand still, his brain is calculating his next move toward conquest. He trusts no one. He has a persecution complex and believes everyone is out to put him down. His life strategy is to put the other guy down first.Tierney is the perfect person to portray Sam. Robert Osborne, host of TCM, said he thinks Tierney looks like he has a jaw of granite. He fills the screen with menace. Even when he attempts to behave sociably, a cloud inevitably passes over his face--resulting from some perceived slight--and he is back to a squint and a snarl."Born to Kill" is adapted from the novel "Deadlier Than the Male", but Sam is the definition of deadly. He runs into a woman who has the perception to see him at his core (because she sees herself similarly), but is Helen (Claire Trevor) really any match for a predator?The story is filled with supporting actors who somehow hold their own with the two powerful leads. Elisha Cook, Jr. plays Marty, Sam's cohort who is a cold calculator. Esther Howard plays Mrs. Kraft--a landlady who is rough around the edges and to her core. She loves only two things: her neighbor, Laury, and a bottle of beer. Howard plays the part with gusto. It feels like she takes this role from the script and makes it her own. When Laury is murdered, Mrs. Kraft hires a private detective, a Mr. Arnett (played by Walter Slezak). Slezak holds your attention when he is on screen. He is an "operative" who just gets by, a man who would probably take any job that pays the bills. He is literate, willing to take risks, and overtly intelligent. They could have built a few more films around his character.When Helen realizes she cannot afford to keep a man as volatile as Sam around forever, she steers Arnett in his direction. Proving that she is as sinister as Sam, she gives him a kiss to keep him close. She is as ruthless as Sam, but Sam has no conscience. At one point, she compares Sam with her fiancé Fred. She says, "Fred is goodness" and "you're depravity". It's a depravity she can identify with, and she knows she can never trust Sam, but she flies to close to his flame for too long.Sam stupidly lets slip details of the murder scene, which Helen notices. What remains is the inevitable resolution of the conflict between Sam's evilness and Helen's revenge. It's a dark story dominated by an iconic character who exudes villainy.It has been suggested that Tierney did little acting in this film, that he was--in real life--as tough and coarse as the character he portrayed. If so, there is no wonder he is so convincing.This film did not do well at the box office, and critics savaged the film for its lack of morality. Imagine how audiences viewed this film in 1947. Now we know it was ahead of its time.

Having just obtained a divorce in Reno, Helen Brent (Claire Trevor) accidentally catches the eye of a homicidal maniac named "Sam Wild" (Lawrence Tierney) at one of the gaming tables. Not long afterward he kills two of Helen's acquaintances and decides to get on the same train that Helen is taking back to San Francisco. They strike up a conversation and Helen becomes intrigued with him even though she is currently engaged to another man named "Fred Grover" (Phillip Terry). This causes a serious emotional conflict within her because even though Fred offers peace and safety for her, Sam excites her. Even more troublesome is the fact that Sam decides to marry her sister, "Georgia Staples" (Audrey Long) for her money. Now rather than reveal the entire plot, I will just say that this film revolves sharply around Helen's dual nature and Claire Trevor plays it very nicely. On the other hand, I thought Lawrence Tierney's performance was somewhat flat and mechanical. Even so, this was an interesting movie which I think fans of film noir will probably enjoy.