Born to Kill (1947)

One of Robert Wise's most chilling early works in the film noir canon, *Born to Kill* (1947) plunges into a world of unchecked impulses and moral ambiguity. The film opens with Helen Brent (Claire Trevor), freshly granted a Reno divorce, who that very night discovers a brutal double murder in her neighbor Laury Palmer's home. The killer is Palmer's other boyfriend, the intensely possessive Sam Wilde (Lawrence Tierney), a man driven by an insane jealousy who won't abide anyone "cutting in" on him. What distinguishes Wise's take is not just the crime itself, but the perverse, almost magnetic attraction that develops between the calculating Helen and the psychopathic Sam, exploring the dark undercurrents of human nature and fatal attraction with an uncompromising, relentless gaze. While Wise would later become renowned for his masterful work across diverse genres—from sci-fi epics like *The Day the Earth Stood Still* to musicals such as *West Side Story* and *The Sound of Music*—*Born to Kill* stands out as a stark testament to his early prowess in crafting dark, psychological thrillers. It belongs on a "Best Robert Wise Movies" list precisely because it showcases his exceptional ability to generate intense suspense and delve into deeply flawed characters with an unblinking gaze, even in his formative years as a director at RKO. His precision as an editor, honed working with Orson Welles, is evident in the film's taut pacing and stark visual compositions, creating an atmosphere of inescapable dread. Its unapologetically bleak view of humanity and its unforgettable, morally bankrupt protagonists make *Born to Kill* a quintessential example of noir and a powerful illustration of Wise's foundational talent for exploring the darker side of the human condition, long before he became a household name.