Born to Kill

1947
Approved
1h 32m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Walter Slezak, Lawrence Tierney, and Claire Trevor in Born to Kill (1947)

A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister.A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister.A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

6.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos63

Top cast42

Edit

Claire Trevor

Helen Brent

Lawrence Tierney

Sam Wild

Walter Slezak

Albert Arnett

Phillip Terry

Fred Grover

Audrey Long

Georgia

Elisha Cook Jr.

Marty Waterman

Isabel Jewell

Laury Palmer

Esther Howard

Mrs. Kraft

Kathryn Card

Grace

Tony Barrett

Danny

Grandon Rhodes

Police Inspector Wilson

Demetrius Alexis

Maitre d'Hotel
(uncredited)

Symona Boniface

Gambler at Roulette Table
(uncredited)

Ruth Brennan

Sally
(uncredited)

George Bruggeman

Club Patron
(uncredited)

James Carlisle

Wedding Guest
(uncredited)

Ellen Corby

Second Maid
(uncredited)

Sayre Dearing

Gambler
(uncredited)

Director
- Robert Wise
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

7.6

6.8

6.8

7.1

7.5

6.5

7.0

7.1

7.8

6.7

7.1

Tomorrow Is Another Day

7.4

The Postman Always Rings Twice

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
This film did poorly at the box office, resulting in a loss of $243,000 (over $3.45M in 2024) for RKO according to studio records.

Goofs
They took a train from Reno, Nevada to San Francisco, California, but the shot of the train coming at the camera head-on is a Pennsylvania Railroad streamlined K4 locomotive on their four-track mainline in Pennsylvania.

Quotes
Delivery Boy: My, that coffee smells good. Ain't it funny how coffee never tastes as good as it smells?
Albert Arnett: As you grow older, you'll discover that life is very much like coffee: the aroma is always better than the actuality. May that be your thought for the day.

Alternate versions
There is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA Srl: "MARLOWE: MURDER, MY SWEET (L'ombra del passato, 1944) PERFIDO INGANNO (1947)" (2 Films on a single DVD), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.

Connections
Edited into The Green Fog (2017)

Soundtracks
I Haven't a Thing to Wear
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Revel
Tune on the radio when Helen discovers the bodies

User reviews122

Review

Featured review

Tierney Never Did Musical Comedy ....

.... and there's a very good reason. He was a one-trick actor, a limited guy who could only look stern or cruel. I can't remember him ever showing any heart or any desirable quality in any of his pictures. And yet you can't take your eyes off him when he's on screen, hoping for a flash of human feeling, which never comes.

Fortunately, in this picture he is surrounded by good actors giving great performances, and they pick up the slack for him. Claire Trevor carries the load here as a woman attracted to evil personified, in Tierney. Audrey Long, Walter Slezak and Elisha Cook,Jr. all shine in support.

Starting a new paragraph for Esther Howard whom I can't recall seeing before but who gives a soulful, heartbreaking performance as a drunken landlady, a performance which should have gotten at least an Oscar nomination. She wasn't just good - she was perfect.

"Born To Kill" is one of the best of the Film Noir genre and is shamefully neglected in noir seminars and festivals. I would put it right behind "Out Of The Past", which is at the top of my list.