tt0042640.mp4
Kill or Be Killed (1950)
Directors
Kill or Be Killed
Overview
A man falsely accused of murder hides out in the South American jungle.
Kill or Be Killed Film Details
Overview: A man falsely accused of murder hides out in the South American jungle.
Tagline: Tierney in his toughest role!
Review: Lawrence Tierney was one of the best noir actors of his age. As a human being, well, read through IMDB and be amazed! But back to his acting. The man was brilliant and believable in films such as “Dillinger” and “Born to Kill”. And so, when I found “Kill or Be Killed” I was excited. After all, it’s a noir film with Tierney so I had very high hopes. Unfortunately…it didn’t deliver. When the story begins, Robert (Tierney) is singing a god-awful song. When he enters a back room in the cantina, he finds a dead man. Soon, a woman comes into the room and sees this. Robert tells her he just came in the room and found the body…and she began screaming “He killed him!” repeatedly….which seems pretty unrealistic. After all, she didn’t see a murder take place and she never gave Robert a chance to talk. As a result, he ran out of the place like a horse on fire….though you’d think he’d wait for the police. Now, as a result, he’s a wanted man. Robert is on the lam and soon he approaches Maria and asks her to hide him from the police. Now she doesn’t know him…and without questioning him at all, she hides him!!! Does any of this make any sense? No?! Well that is my problem with the film. I has something occur and again and again, the characters behave in unlikely ways. Perhaps a woman MIGHT assume Robert killed the man, perhaps Robert MIGHT run from the police and perhaps, at least on Bizarro World, a woman MIGHT help him even though there’s no logical reason for this. But for ALL three to happen…well, that’s suspending disbelief way past the breaking point. So, no matter how good the acting is, the film stinks and shouldn’t have. A misfire from a fine actor whose noir performances can be riveting. This one, however, just wasn’t very good.
Country: USA
Language: English
Duration: 67 min
Genre: Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
Also known as: Matar ou Morrer,Kill or Be Killed
