Killers, The

Ernest Hemingway's classic short story is updated and shot in garish colour, with considerably more violence. The murder victim, Johnny (Cassavetes), awaits his fate at a school for the blind where he teaches. A former racing driver, he has acted as the getaway driver in a mail-van robbery. Siegel's remake shifts the emphasis to the bewildered contractors who want to know why Johnny didn't run when he had the chance. They discover a double-double-cross. The money is with the gang leader (Reagan, in his last screen role). Killers Charlie (Marvin) and Lee (Gulager) want a piece of the action, and in the brutal climax descend on the house and exact revenge. The criminal and his mistress (Dickinson) are killed but so are the contractors as the money disperses in the wind. Made for TV, this was too violent for that medium and surfaced in the cinemas..