Murder by Contract

Murder by Contract was a B picture, part of a double-bill, released in 1958. To a young Martin Scorsese, watching in a New York movie theater, it was a revelation. The movie is pretty much unknown today, but it has remained an influence on Scorsese, and it's easy to see why. The director, Irving Lerner, shows a great gift for the economy of time.

Vince Edwards stars as a businessman who aspires to become a hit man. He has no qualifications, other than a sociopathic ability to see murder as strictly a business arrangement. He is employed by the never-seen Mr. Brink, and in a couple of establishing scenes proves his mettle. His first hit is of an elderly man in a barber shop. Lerner and his editor use quick shots, strategically placed, to show up to the murder, but we cut away before any bloodshed, with Edwards sharpening the razor on a strop.

The bulk of the movie is Edwards on contract in Los Angeles to kill the potential witness in a trial involving Mr. Brink. Edwards is being handled by two low-level thugs: Phillip Pine, who is excitable and worries about the time frittering away, and Herschel Bernardi, who appreciates Edwards' genius. They accompany him as he wastes time doing tourist things. Finally, Edwards is shown the target, and he is dismayed to find it is a woman. He wants double the pay, because women "aren't dependable" in their movements.

Murder by Contract, for what it is, is just about perfect. There are no wasted shots, and the character of Edwards, while not filled in, is intriguing. It goes to show that in America, if you set your mind to it, you can do anything, even be a hit man. He doesn't like using guns, instead using methods like electrocution and flaming arrows.

The movie is drolly funny, especially the antics of the two handlers, with Bernardi doing an excellent job of playing straight man (Pine is a little too juiced up, and seems to be doing a Jack Lemmon shtick). One key scene, in which Edwards hires an escort, is necessary because she gives him information, but this utilitarian scene is given extra life by showing the escort is a secretary making extra money.

I won't spoil the ending, but since Edwards is the protagonist and the antagonist, you aren't really sure if you want him to kill the woman or not (it doesn't help that the woman, played by Caprice Tonel, is a harpy). I do know this--Murder by Contract is an excellent film.