A vicious killer escapes from San Quentin with a cannister of what he believes to be heroin but is actually a radioactive substance that threatens all Los Angeles. Claude eventually proves that he is the unpredictable one and his own worst enemy. Murder by Contract is a film-noir made on a modest budget and did not attract a large audience upon its release. Martin Scorsese talks about the film Murder by Contract by Irving Lerner. Scorsese praises its "economy of style" and compares its ability to communicate ideas through cinematic "shorthand" to the work of Jean-Luc Godard and Robert Bresson. Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Ben Maddow did uncredited work on the film. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 Tony Sloman Radio Times Brinks, an underworld boss, refers Claude to Mr. Murder by contract : the people v. "Tough Tony" Boyle by Lewis, Arthur H., 1906-1995. Murder By Contract (1958) has a New Wave, effervescent kind of cool that hits you as soon as the movie begins. However, it is now considered to be a minor classic and was released on DVD in 2009 in the boxed set, “Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. It's her femininity that worries Claude: women are unpredictable, they don't do what you expect. But who is Irving Lerner and what happened to him? Review of Murder by Contract (1958) By Jonathan Rosenbaum (8,209) for Chicago Reader (28,084) on 16 Apr 2003 Neither the screenwriter (Ben Simcoe) nor the director (Irving Lerner) ever acquired a big reputation, but here they achieved something… Moon is at first evasive with the inexperienced killer, but later relents, asks for his phone number and decides to test Claude’s nerves by making him wait two weeks for a call. He also has the brains and emotional detachment to make the big bucks as a hit man, and that becomes his new job title. In addition to the aforementioned ideas, he specifically pointed out the scene showing Claude getting in shape and how it influenced a similar sequence with Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver. Drama. Film, Video CITY OF FEAR motion picture | Feature film (over 60 minutes). Centering on an existentialist hit man assigned to kill a woman, the film is often praised for its spare style[1] and peculiar sense of cool. Take a look ahead at some of our most anticipated superhero series arriving in 2021 and beyond. Either party may be a person, group, or organization. Distributor Columbia Pictures. Irving Lerner. Find trailers, reviews, synopsis, awards and cast information for Murder by Contract (1959) - Irving Lerner on AllMovie - Claude (Vince Edwards) is an educated,… Synopsis. Centering on an existentialist hit man assigned to kill a woman, the film is often praised for its spare style and peculiar sense of cool. A film like this makes me angry at films like the way - over-hyped Reservoir Dogs. Publication date 1975 Topics Boyle, William Anthony, 1904-1985, Yablonski, Joseph A., 1910-1969, Trials (Murder) -- United States, Murder for hire -- United States, Murder for hire, Trials (Murder), United States His victim is a woman who is the key witness in a trial. This being a film noir, things are not quite what they seem as Edwards repeatedly tries to … After killing the men, Claude finally succeeds in sneaking into Billie's house via a culvert, but hesitates when he is about to strangle her. Columbia still holds the copyright on the film, dated October 1, 1958. View production, box office, & company info. After successfully killing targets in a barber shop and a hospital, as well as his own boss, Claude is given a contract to kill the witness in a high-profile trial in Los Angeles. United States, 1958. What did the critics make of Murder by Contract (1958)? The film has exerted an influence on American cinema, most notably on director Martin Scorsese, who famously cited Murder by Contract as the film that has influenced him most. Dan Duryea and his cronies rob a fake spiritualist and then take it on the lam to Atlantic City. The story of the fight of a small-town newspaper to free an innocent girl of a murder charge, with the publisher of a metropolitan city newspaper heading, by forced circumstances, the opposing forces. Murder by Contract (1958), directed by Irving Lerner, is a deadpan joke on noir, with a denouement as bleak as any of the films it kids. "[2] In overview of a 2006 Film Forum series on film noir for Slant Magazine, Fernando F. Croce writes that "[Irving] Lerner's camera records [Vince] Edwards's moral emptiness with a sharpshooter's calm." [1] In the SeptemberâOctober 1978 issue of Film Comment,[5] Scorsese included the film in his list of Guilty Pleasures. The film was shot in seven days in February 1958[4] in Los Angeles. 1.” Through a series of bizarre coincidences, an artist finds himself falsely accused of bank robbery and murder and is pursued by the authorities and the real killers. Written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Ben Maddow did uncredited work on the film. For example, in the United States, the gang Murder, Inc.committed hundre… FULL SYNOPSIS In search of a high-paying job, Claude decides to forgo his life as a law-abiding citizen to become a contract killer. A teenager who witnesses the murder of his father vows to exact revenge on the four mobsters involved in the killing. 80. A pedantic and compulsive but shrewd petty-bourgeois character hires himself out as a contract killer. Produced by Orbit Productions, it was distributed theatrically in December 1958 by Columbia Pictures. Highly recommended - see it in a theater if you can! Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Ben Maddow did uncredited work on the film. Contract killing is a form of murder in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or multiple people. Also sign me up for FanMail to get updates on all things movies: tickets, special offers, screenings + more. Out of ideas and convinced the contract is "jinxed", Claude quits, only to find George and Marc have now been instructed to kill him. Moon (Michael Granger), whom he then kills at Brink's behest, Claude is given a contract to kill a witness in a high-profile trial, which starts in two weeks in Los Angeles. Murder by Contract is a svelte, plucky noir that feels like a spiritual sequel of sorts to Carol Reed's The Third Man. 39 of 47 people found this review helpful. 1 (The Big Heat / 5 Against the House / The Lineup / Murder by Contract / The Sniper)," released November 3, 2009. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Claude scrambles to find a way to kill Billie, who never leaves her closely guarded house. At some point, Ben Maddow, who had been nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay for The Asphalt Jungle, did uncredited work on the script (Maddow also worked uncredited on several other notable films of the era, including Johnny Guitar and The Wild One[3]). Moon, one of his underlings, to ask for a job. If you find yourself attracted to this kind of cool, then Murder By Contract is going to be a real treat. His next target, a woman, is the most difficult. Will Johnny be next in line? More Films, Videos like this. He considers his work a business thing, instead of ‘price cutting he does throat cutting.’ Part of the film's reputation lies in its influence on director Martin Scorsese, who cites it as the one that has influenced his approach to filmmaking the most. Johnny Damico botches a murder case and is suspended from the force. A ruthless contract killer balks when he discovers his next hit is a woman. Certificate: Passed Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Ben Maddow did uncredited work on the film. J. Spurlin. Was this review helpful to you? A string of successful hits gets him sent to Los Angeles for his latest job. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Contract killing has been associated with organized crime, government conspiracies, and vendettas. Claude eventually proves that he is the unpredictable one and his own worst enemy. Murder by Contractis a fairly inexpensive film with good location shooting. Released 1958. In search of a high-paying job, Claude decides to forgo his life as a law-abiding citizen to become a contract killer. At first calm about the assignment, Claude becomes more nervous when he discovers the witness in question is a woman (Caprice Toriel). (1958). Claude is a young man with a regular job, no history of trouble with the law and no chance of making any real money. Ben Simcoe's script works up a morbid sense of humor between Claude's mob companions, who can't figure out what he's up to. The cold, ruthless hit man finally becomes unglued when he finds out that his latest target is a woman. There he is accompanied by two goons: one who is perpetually nervous and the other who quickly worships the young man as a hero. Julia Ross secures employment, through a rather nosy employment agency, with a wealthy widow, Mrs. Hughes, and goes to live at her house. The film tells a story that runs parallel to this change. Reviewing it for the Chicago Reader, Jonathan Rosenbaum praises the film as "singular and nearly perfect", noting its "lean, purposeful style" and "witty feeling for character, dialogue, and narrative ellipsis. This rarely screened 1958 gem about the mind of a contract … The police arrive; Claude attempts to escape via the culvert but is killed in a shoot-out. New to Streaming: Parasite, The Grand Bizarre, Columbia Noir, Grass & More. A female inmate is whisked out of prison and into a police guarded hotel until the district attorney can convince her to testify against the mob in the upcoming trial. It operates within its own little hermetic (back- projected) world, and it is no accident that one of its main scenes is set on an abandoned film studio. Murder by Contract (1958) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. It's her femininity that worries Claude: women are unpredictable, they don't do what you expect. At first calm about the assignment, spending the first several days sightseeing to check if his handlers, George (Herschel Bernardi) and Marc (Phillip Pine), are being followed, Claude becomes agitated when he discovers the witness in question is a woman, Billie Williams (Caprice Toriel); in his opinion, women are harder to kill than men, because they are "unpredictable". At the time of Murder By Contract’s production, the double-feature as an institution was gradually coming to an end. It involves an illegal agreement between two or more parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. “Murder by Contract“ is a gritty depiction of a handsome man, Claude (Vince Edwards), who makes a career move from an honest but poorly paid wage-earner to becoming a high-paid contract killer. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. It’s an original, inventive noir, that plays with the form by mixing humor in with its dark ruminations on the life of a hitman. USA, 1958. Crime, Certificate: Passed Claude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer - until he finds his next target is a woman. Film noir - Wikipedia Scorsese described the music as "a very dangerous and lethal tango" and cited the guitar-based score of Murder by Contract … "[8], https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_by_Contract&oldid=1012539347, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 16 March 2021, at 22:49. Murder by Contract (1958) - What do the critics say? Murder by Contract is a unique little film. Moon, one of his underlings, to ask for a job. He summarised the film as "stunningly well directed by Irving Lerner and cleverly produced on a shoestring, this might be called pretentious by some; another view is that it's original, clever and absorbing. This FAQ is empty. Murder by Contract is a 1958 American film noir crime film directed by Irving Lerner. Recorded in August 1958 at Columbia Recording Studio. "[6], Variety's original 1958 review singles out Perry Botkin's music for the film for praise, noting that the all-guitar score gives "fine atmospheric backing. Directed by. After being fired for insubordination, homicide detective Mike Carter is hired as bodyguard by the owner of a local meat-packing plant where a meat inspector has been murdered. After proving his worth by killing targets in a barber shop and a hospital for a Mr. The film has exerted an influence on American cinema, most notably on director Martin Scorsese, who famously cited Murder by Contract as "the film that has influenced [him] most."[1]. Centering on an existentialist hit man assigned to kill a woman, the film is often praised for its spare style and peculiar sense of cool. Claude is a young man with a regular job, no history of trouble with the law and no chance of making any real money. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Of course this "contract" is an illegal agreement to begin with and can only be considered null and void as far as a legal contract goes upon its inception. "[7] Writing in the Radio Times, film-maker Anthony Sloman called Murder by Contract "a real gem and total justification for the existence of the B-movie", praising the "darkly sinister plot [which] masks a deeply original screenplay proffering philosophical insights into what makes hitman Vince Edwards tick." His next target, a woman, is the most difficult. [2], Though not widely seen at the time of its release, it finally appeared on DVD, included in the boxed set "Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. She's a witness, set to testify against his boss, and guarded day and night by the police. Claude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer. He also has the brains and emotional detachment to make the big bucks as a hit man, and that becomes his new job title. She's a witness, set to testify against his boss, and guarded day and night by the police. A fast Mexican-American gunman kills a few notorious gunfighters and is hired to replace Mesa's dead sheriff but a crooked saloon-keeper wants him on his payroll or out-of-the-way. The ending is quite disappointing - the film just kind of peters out, but there are so many beautifully observed details along the way. Hershel Bernardi plays such a perfect kind of Second Avenue Theater role as one of the two "boys" who are the hit-man's handlers, and the over-sensitive call-girl scene is hilarious. After two attempts, Claude believes he has killed her, but later discovers that he mistakenly killed a policewoman instead, and the police have covered it up to avoid further attempts on Billie's life. ENTER CITY, STATE OR ZIP CODE GO. Brink. Murder by Contract By Jonathan Rosenbaum @JonathanRosenba. The production has the benefit of mounting suspense, after a haphazard opening, and the story is sufficiently interesting. Murder By Contract. Trailer. Murder By Contract. A hired killer attempts to murder a heavily guarded Government witness. Fandango FANALERT® Sign up for a FANALERT® to find out when tickets are available in your area. Murder by Contract is a 1958 American film noir crime film directed by Irving Lerner. Cinafilm has collected 4 reviews of Murder by Contract (1958) written by professional movie critics and published online or in newspapers and magazines. Claude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer. Murder by Contract was directed by Irving Lerner from an original screenplay by Ben Simcoe. Claude is set apart from the other hit men in the story by his unwillingness to carry a gun, and his clinical, precise approach to murder, which he treats as a business. Murder by Contract is a 1958 American film noir crime film directed by Irving Lerner. Murder by Contract is a svelte, plucky noir that feels like a spiritual sequel of sorts to Carol Reed's The Third Man. The Time Out Film Guide describes Murder by Contract as a "terrific, no-nonsense B movie", praising it as "well ahead of its time"[6] and adding that "Lerner and his superb cameraman, Lucien Ballard, make the most of a shoestring budget to produce a taut, spare, amoral film; it doesn't look restricted, it looks restrained. As it turns out, Claude's Achilles Heel appears to be an inhibition toward killing women, something he repeatedly denies. Vince Edwards plays a disaffected antihero, and, with its brilliant minimalistic guitar score (by Perry Botkin) it could be possible to read this film as Jarmushian WAY avant la lettre! Sign up for our newsletters Subscribe. 2 days later, she awakens - in a different house, ... See full summary ». This forces him to participate in the criminal underworld. MURDER BY CONTRACT . Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing Murder by Contract near you. Not for nothing is the great Lucien Ballard the cinematographer. There he is accompanied by two goons: one who is perpetually nervous and the other who quickly worships the young man as a hero. Brinks, an underworld boss, refers Claude to Mr. Crime, Drama, Film noir. Murder by Contract is a 1958 American film noir crime film directed by Irving Lerner. Vince Edwards plays a neophyte hit man who suddenly develops a conscience in this tense thriller from director Irving Lerner. 1958; 1 HR 21 MIN; NR; Edwards stars as a cold-blooded hit man who travels from the East to Los Angeles to kill a woman about to testify against Edwards' employer. Check out our gallery of the 2021 Oscar nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories, as the characters they so brilliantly played and in real life. Add the first question. His next target, a woman, is the most difficult. An upright car mechanic falls in love with the girlfriend of a gangster. That film is SO overdetermined - the antithesis of a modest work like this one, which only reveals itself to the patient viewer. Claude is a young man with a regular job, no history of trouble with the law and no chance of making any real money. Murder by Contract. Do you agree with them? Taut, crisply directed little thriller. Claude (Vince Edwards) is a disaffected man who, in search of fast money to purchase a $28,000 house, decides to become a contract killer for a Mr. Claude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer. Use the HTML below. Claude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer - until he finds his next target is a woman. Both the individual who hired the party to commit the murder as well as the person charged with doing the deed could be charged with the murder if … In San Francisco, a psychopathic gangster and his mentor retrieve heroin packages carried by unsuspecting travelers. 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