The Killers (short story)

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"The Killers" is a notable short story by Ernest Hemingway. It first appeared to the public in 1927 in Scribner's Magazine. How much Hemingway received for the literary piece is unknown, but some sources state it was $200. Historians have some documents showing that the working title of the piece was "The Matadors." After its appearance in Scribner's, the story was published in Men Without Women and The Nick Adams Stories. The writer's depiction of the human experience, his use of satire, and the everlasting themes of death, friendship, and the purpose of life have contributed to make "The Killers" one of Hemingway's most famous and frequently anthologized short stories.

The story features Nick Adams, a famous Hemingway character from his short stories. In this story, Hemingway shows Adams crossing over from teenager to adult. The basic plot of the story involves a pair of criminals that enter a restaurant seeking to kill a boxer who is hiding out for reasons unknown (probably for not cooperating with the proposed rigging of a fight).

The short story has been the basis for four movies:

• The Killers (1946), starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner
• The Killers (1958), a short film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
• The Killers (1964), starring Lee Marvin, Ronald Reagan, and Angie Dickinson
• The Killers (1998), a short film directed by Todd Huskisson

The first three films were released on a Criterion Collection DVD.