Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 7:48:00 P.M. ET
On Thursday Night, beginning at 8 p.m. ET, TCM is having a “Hemingway” Double Bill. First is Don Siegel’s The Killers (1964), with Ronald Reagan, Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson and John Cassavetes.
The storyline is: Why does a man not run when he knows he is going to be killed?
Next, at 9:45 ET, is Michael Curtiz’s The Breaking Point (1950), starring John Garfield. I think The Breaking Point has already been on TCM four times this year.
The Killers (Originally titled, Ernest Hemingway's The Killers) was supposed to be the first ever made-for-TV movie, but it was considered “too violent,” so it was released in theaters. In his autobiography, Don Siegel said, “There was nothing Hemingway in the film but the title, Ernest Hemingway’s The Killers.”
The Killers was Ronald Reagan's last film before running in 1966 for Governor of California. He did a few Death Valley TV episodes during 1965. Reagan regretted doing the film, playing the villain, though he had needed the money. Reagan especially hated slapping Angie Dickinson as part of the plot.
Don Siegel, in his book, told how John F. Kennedy was assassinated during the filming. Siegel heard someone shrieking on the set. It was Angie Dickinson. Upon hearing JFK was dead, she went into hysterics and had to be given tranquilizers and driven home.
What TCM should do is show the 1946 version of The Killers along with the 1964 film. It goes without saying The Breaking Point should be featured with Don Siegel’s The Gun Runners (1958), starring Audie Murphy.
You could compare the same character being played by one of the greatest actors of all time, Garfield, followed by Audie Murphy, who, while not the greatest actor, was in real life, similar to the character.
N.S.: I’ve never seen Don Siegel’s version of The Killers, but I’ve seen Robert Siodmak’s 1946 original twice, starring Edmond O’Brien, Ava Gardner, and Burt Lancaster, in the latter’s first movie role. It’s a masterpiece.
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