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As Charlie ponders some more, he thinks about their extra large paycheck and the old news that Johnny was mixed up in a million-dollar heist. Since he's getting a bit long in the tooth, and he's just a bit curious, Charlie reckons that they should pay Earl Sylvester (Claude Akins) a visit (Johnny's former partner). Down in Florida Earl runs an automotive shop, still building the fast cars that Johnny used to race. He hasn't heard from Johnny in years, not since the accident that cost him his career, but Charlie and Lee want to know everything that Earl knows. Casting his mind back, Earl describes the warm summer's day where Johnny was testing their car (in preparation for the coming event). While he's driving, a fine looking woman pulls up in an expensive car and starts watching. This is Sheila Farr (Angie Dickinson) and when Johnny pulls into the pits, she makes out like she's not impressed.
Captivated, but wary, of her nonchalance, Johnny takes her out on the track and has a good try at scaring her. It doesn't work, but soon they're off to lunch together, leaving Earl with a car and no driver. Sheila really seems to like Johnny, not just because he's a racer and in spite of her wealth relative to his. He can hardly believe his luck but over the next few days they really gel, leaving the race preparation by the road-side. Come the big day, Johnny's had hardly any sleep or practice, but at least he's happy. Earl can't believe what's going on, recognising a femme fatale like Sheila anyway. His suspicions are confirmed during the race when a couple of heavies drop by to see Sheila, led by Browning (Ronald Reagan). Unfortunately Johnny gets wrapped up in a big crash, an end for the most naturally talented driver that Earl ever saw. None of this helps Charlie but he's more interested than ever in that vaporous million bucks.
A wonderfully constructed story, The Killers benefits from superb pacing and a duo of staggeringly amoral characters. Charlie and Lee are simply excellent hit-men, with Charlie providing the experience and Lee the jumpy, uncertainty which so disturbs their victims. Together, they are the perfect team to plough their way through the twisted aftermath of a robbery, afraid of no other criminal and willing to use fatal force without a second thought. Hence whenever they apply the pressure, to people like Earl or Sheila, everything just spills out. The tale that unfolds is a terrifically convoluted mess of relationships and betrayal, all centred on the successful hold-up of a mail-truck. Bit by bit the past leaks out, revealing how everyone is linked together in unexpected ways.
Underpinning all of this is some pretty reasonable acting, with Marvin behaving just perfectly as an implacable assassin (who recognises no limits upon his behaviour). It's impossible to know just what he'll do next, except that it'll be nasty, intimidating and probably deadly. There's also a lot fun to be had in watching Reagan in his last ever role, the first time that he'd ever played the villain (a decision which he regrets). He's just as unpleasant and manipulative as everyone else, characteristics which he pulls off with aplomb. The only down sides are that the characters are a bit thin and that the back-projection is totally lousy, which is a shame when there's a lot if fast-car action to be seen. Still, this doesn't prevent The Killers building a great knot of tension as it surfs on a wave of violence (the ending is great, too).
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