495:"a real gem and total justification for the existence of the B-movie", praising the "darkly sinister plot masks a deeply original screenplay proffering philosophical insights into what makes hitman Vince Edwards tick." 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. Also tough as nails." On
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are "unpredictable". Claude scrambles to find a way to kill Billie, who never leaves her closely guarded house. 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.
423:. In the September–October 1978 issue of Film Comment, Scorsese included the film in his list of Guilty Pleasures. 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.
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Out of ideas and convinced the contract is "jinxed", Claude quits, only to find George and Marc have now been instructed to kill him. 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. The police arrive; Claude
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At first calm about the assignment, spending the first several days sightseeing to check if his handlers, George and Marc, are being followed, Claude becomes agitated when he discovers the witness in question is a woman, Billie
Williams; in his opinion, women are harder to kill than men, because they
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for a Mr. Brink. After proving his worth by killing targets in a barber shop and a hospital for a Mr. Moon, 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
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The film was released on Blu-ray as part of the boxed set "Columbia
Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. 2 (Framed / 711 Ocean Drive / The Mob / Affair in Trinidad / Tight Spot / Murder by Contract).
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411:, who cites it as the one that has influenced his approach to filmmaking the most. Scorsese praises its "economy of style" and compares its ability to communicate ideas through cinematic "
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praises the film as "singular and nearly perfect", noting its "lean, purposeful style" and "witty feeling for character, dialogue, and narrative ellipsis." In overview of a 2006
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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.
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Claude is a disaffected man who, in search of fast money to purchase a $ 28,000 house, decides to become a
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assigned to kill a woman, the film is often praised for its spare style and peculiar sense of
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attempts to escape via the culvert but is killed in a shoot-out.
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Part of the film's reputation lies in its influence on director
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from an original screenplay by Ben Simcoe. At some point,
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229:as "the film that has influenced most."
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605:"Murder By Contract (1958) - Overview"
332:Don Garrett as James William Mayflower
323:Janet Brandt as woman in movie theater
553:Rosenbaum, Jonathan (June 20, 1996).
217:The film has exerted an influence on
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762:"CHUM Hit Parade - August 17, 1959"
477:s original 1958 review singles out
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289:Caprice Toriel as Billie Williams
369:, who had been nominated for an
996:Films directed by Irving Lerner
981:American black-and-white films
341:as rifle salesman (uncredited)
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314:Frances Osborne as Miss Wiley
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796:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
460:as a "terrific, no-nonsense
335:Gloria Victor as Miss Wexley
221:, most notably on director
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976:American crime drama films
539:Review: Murder by Contract
16:1958 film by Irving Lerner
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504:The Executioner Theme
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737:"Murder by Contract"
715:"Murder by Contract"
688:"Murder by Contract"
664:"Murder by Contract"
555:"Murder by Contract"
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694:. December 31, 1957
453:Time Out Film Guide
184:is a 1958 American
911:Murder by Contract
873:Films directed by
836:Murder by Contract
825:Murder by Contract
814:Murder by Contract
808:TCM Movie Database
803:Murder by Contract
790:Murder by Contract
779:Murder by Contract
634:"Guilty Pleasures"
493:Murder by Contract
458:Murder by Contract
434:Jonathan Rosenbaum
376:The Asphalt Jungle
359:Murder by Contract
320:as plainclothesman
227:Murder by Contract
181:Murder by Contract
136:December 1958
22:Murder by Contract
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129:Release date
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88:Carlo Lodato
721:13 November
614:28 February
589:28 February
502:The single
484:Radio Times
393:Los Angeles
305:Joseph Mell
295:as Mr. Moon
244:Los Angeles
54:Produced by
36:Directed by
966:1958 films
960:Categories
522:References
514:Home media
508:CHUM Chart
456:describes
440:series on
438:Film Forum
367:Ben Maddow
354:Production
201:Ben Maddow
189:crime film
157:81 minutes
105:Production
49:Ben Simcoe
46:Written by
986:Film noir
895:Man Crazy
442:film noir
413:shorthand
403:Reception
286:as George
274:as Claude
186:film noir
85:Edited by
819:AllMovie
669:Time Out
329:as clerk
307:as Harry
170:Language
93:Music by
62:Starring
806:at the
793:at the
698:15 June
692:Variety
645:15 June
564:15 June
491:called
473:Variety
462:B movie
301:as Mary
280:as Marc
208:hit man
173:English
162:Country
140:1958-12
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107:company
946:(1969)
938:(1963)
930:(1960)
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914:(1958)
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898:(1953)
890:(1943)
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79:a.s.c.
784:IMDb
748:2022
723:2020
700:2020
647:2020
616:2019
591:2019
584:IMDb
566:2020
444:for
419:and
385:and
261:Cast
233:Plot
212:cool
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