Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Born to Kill

Play trailer Poster for Born to Kill 1947 1h 32m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Drifter Sam Wild (Lawrence Tierney) murders a Reno, Nev., boardinghouse owner and her boyfriend in a fit of jealousy. Tenant Helen Brent (Claire Trevor) discovers the bodies, but instead of reporting the crime, she leaves for San Francisco as planned to return to her wealthy fiancé. On the same train, Sam flirts with Helen, then tracks her to her half-sister's house, where he continues to pursue her. Although Helen suspects Sam is a murderer, she inexplicably protects him from an investigator.
Watch on Fandango Stream Now

Where to Watch

Born to Kill

Critics Reviews

View More
Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness May 16, 2006
B
Competent if slightly too tame for a supposedly sleazy story. Go to Full Review Fernando F. Croce Slant Magazine May 1, 2006
The usually meek Robert Wise trades his chameleonic tastefulness for full-on, jazzy misanthropy in this nasty melodrama. Go to Full Review Noah Berlatsky Splice Today Sep 2, 2026
Born To Kill mercilessly shows that the beguiling masculinity of good-looking, man’s man Sam is a thin façade above a toxic pit of entitlement, jealousy, paranoia and violence. Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Aug 5, 2020
10/10
One of the most acerbic of all films noir, boasting essentially no redeemable characters (or a wealth of deliciously evil villains) while also being utterly enthralling. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Jul 15, 2016
3/4
...a fairly typical film-noir premise that's employed to watchable yet entirely unmemorable effect by Robert Wise... Go to Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Sep 9, 2005
3/4
Hard to watch, but effective and alluring nonetheless. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Blobbo X @Blobbo Aug 28, 2026 Nicely done little noir, directed by the great Robert Wise. (Gene Tierney was guy played Elaine's father on Seinfeld.) Not major but kept the clocks at bay. See more tucker s @tucker83014 Oct 29, 2025 Brilliant film noir. Lawrence Tierney does a magnificent job as a filthy rotten scoundrel, primarily because that's what he actually was in real life. See more David K @RT61474040 Jun 19, 2025 I'm a sucker for Claire Trevor and do love the work of Elijah Wood. This film works for me. It takes back to a time when the actual violence so decried upon its release is always off camera. That can still be a brutal thing but points out the degree to which things have changed. See more acsdoug D @acsdoug Mar 13, 2025 It's a decent noir. I liked the fact few of the characters are clearcut good or bad. The moral gray area makes the film more interesting. See more Steve D @RT35616104 Mar 31, 2024 Trevor knocks this out of the park but everything else is also good See more Kurt F @KurtFranke Mar 18, 2024 One of my favorite Film Noirs. See more Read all reviews
Born to Kill

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Robert Wise

Director

Lawrence Tierney

Sam Wild

Claire Trevor

Helen Brent

Walter Slezak

Matthew Albert Arnett

Phillip Terry

Fred Grover

Audrey Long

Georgia Staples

More Like This

View All
Murder, My Sweet 94% 86% Murder, My Sweet Watchlist The Big Steal 67% 63% The Big Steal Watchlist On Dangerous Ground 89% 78% On Dangerous Ground Watchlist Crossfire 88% 75% Crossfire Watchlist Stranger on the Third Floor 75% 62% Stranger on the Third Floor Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Born to Kill

Born to Kill (1947) Born to Kill (1947) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Drifter Sam Wild (Lawrence Tierney) murders a Reno, Nev., boardinghouse owner and her boyfriend in a fit of jealousy. Tenant Helen Brent (Claire Trevor) discovers the bodies, but instead of reporting the crime, she leaves for San Francisco as planned to return to her wealthy fiancé. On the same train, Sam flirts with Helen, then tracks her to her half-sister's house, where he continues to pursue her. Although Helen suspects Sam is a murderer, she inexplicably protects him from an investigator.
Director
Robert Wise
Producer
Herman Schlom
Screenwriter
Eve Greene, Richard Macaulay
Production Co
RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 30, 1947, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 23, 2016
Runtime
1h 32m
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings