They Made Me a Killer

Traveling from Chicago to California, Tom Durling (Robert Lowery) finds himself framed for robbery and murder when he is duped into driving the getaway car for a bank heist. After an auto crash leaves Durling holding the bag with the legal authorities, he quickly escapes after being arrested and sets out to prove his innocence with the help of the slain bank teller's sister (Barbara Britton).

They Made Me a Killer was another of the low budget film fare from Pine-Thomas Productions which at the time was the B movie arm of Paramount Pictures. Pine-Thomas was known for making movies fast, cheap and profitable. At a compact 64 minute run-time, there isn't much in the way of character development. It's more a quick-fire series of events. Given it's slapdash nature you have to suspend some degree of belief and just enjoy the ride. Even though succinct, the script is really pretty clever and lively. 'Killer' doesn't quite have the same level of mood and ambiance as a movie like 'Detour', a movie of similar style and budget. This is largely due to the rapid pace. There really aren't any wasted or meandering scenes as Durling with single purpose tracks down those who set him up.

The cast plays it all pretty well and Lowery does a nice job as the framed-up scapegoat. While not likely to find it's way to many must see lists, 'They Made Me a Killer' is one of the better of the old cheapie crime flicks.

6 out of 10*

Robert Lowery who did a few of those Pine-Thomas B films for Paramount stars in this one and he's played for a fool by Lola Lane and tricked into being the getaway driver in a bank robbery. A cop is killed and a bank employee who Lane was romancing to get some inside information on the bank is also killed.

When the cops catch up with Lowery he's in one big jackpot but manages to escape police custody rather cleverly I thought and he teams up with Barbara Britton who is the sister of the dead bank employee. They have to find the gang in order to prove their innocence.

Lowery is always a good hero in these films, he never quite made it to the A ranks as a star. One to watch out for is Elizabeth Risdon who plays a Ma Barker type who is the real mastermind.

As for the gang, fortunately Lola Lane uses jargon from her job which Lowery recognizes and is able to trace them. Good thing he recognized her slang or he and Britton would still be looking.

They Made Me A Killer is a nicely done action/noir type film.

The plot's pretty conventional, but with an unusual wrinkle . An innocent guy is trapped into helping bank robbers execute a robbery, and now the cops are chasing him. As the pursuit goes on, he joins the robbers in their hiding spot. Now the question is which way will he go. Will he join the crooks or work with a girl friend to clear himself.

Hard to believe veteran leading man Lowery could work up such energy for a programmer considering he'd done about a hundred of them. But he does. In fact it's his energy and the glowing freshness of Barbara Britton that carry the film. Then too, Lowery's character, Durling, is none too moral, meaning he's really tempted to join the bad guys once he's on the lam. And that amounts to a good, human touch from outstanding scripter Dan Mainwaring. It also helps that director Thomas keeps things moving, though the corner shoot-out and the hospital escape appear awkwardly done. Add to the mix a fine supporting cast, especially spider woman Lane and housemother Risdon. But please tell me, where did wardrobe get that fur-collared overcoat that's about to swallow Lane's head and then maybe the world!

Looks like this is one of those 40's B's that was reaching for noir while remaining within the crime story genre. Anyway, the minor touches manage to lift results to the slightly-better- than-average category.

(In passing—I'd long thought the name Byron Barr in cast lists referred to an early Gig Young, the former being his real name, the latter his stage name. However, in researching this film, I discover there was in fact a second actor named Byron Barr who kept his original name, and he's the one in this movie. Of course, Gig Young remains the much better known of the two.)

Tom Durling (Robert Lowery) is tricked into becoming the getaway driver for a bank robbery. His car crashes and he is left unconscious while the gang flees. He is arrested but escapes and teams up with June (Barbara Britton) in order to prove his innocence and track down the gang responsible....

This film has 'B' movie written all over it. It takes you on a journey. It does it quickly and effectively with no dwelling on circumstance. It's one scene after another. The result is that you watch and then the film finishes. There is no feeling of any sort whatsoever once the film has finished. It's fast paced with a hilarious moment at the beginning of the film when Tom makes his escape from the hospital. Just watch how he treats poor Steve (Byron Barr) who is at death's door in a hospital bed. He has just tried to prove to the police that he has a good relationship with this man. It's priceless! The film isn't great quality and it's hard to see on occasion because of the lighting. It passes the time but nothing more.

They Made Me a Killer is a 1946 noir starring Robert Lowery, Barbara Britton, and Lola Lane, directed by William C. Thomas.

Tricked into driving bank robbers from the crime scene, Tom Durling (Lowery) escapes the police and goes on the run, desperate to clear his name. He has the help of a woman (Britton) whose brother (Byron Barr) was killed during the shootout.

The two wind up finding the robbers hiding out in the basement of a restaurant owned by the mother (Elisabeth Risdon) of one of them.

The leads are likable. Lowery, who played Batman in 1948, has a natural quality. Lola Lane, in her final film, is good as the moll who pretends she's interested in purchase Tom's car, then has him park by the bank!

The best part takes place in the beginning, when Tom is being chased through the hospital

This was unfortunately a bad print so scenes done in the dark were too dark to figure out what was going on. The denouement was far-fetched, but we know from the start that Tom is an engineering expert.

A typical B noir with some good scenes.