About a decade removed from film noir's heyday, Don Siegel's remake of The Killers (1946) provided a much-needed jolt of bleak noir sentiment to mid-1960s American cinema. Originally intended for television, the 1964 version was released in theaters due to its violent content. Featuring intricate plotting, Siegel's typically lean direction, and Lee Marvin's wonderfully nasty star turn, The Killers was in many ways a precursor to the more subversive material which emerged later in the decade, such as Bonnie and Clyde and another Marvin vehicle, Point Blank (both from 1967). Marvin is at his steely best here: it's this sort of unmerciful yet peculiarly sympathetic role that highlighted his career. The Killers was also notable as Ronald Reagan's last feature; he provides some of his most impressive work, as a corrupt, wealthy bad guy.