(Universal, 1946) Director Robert Siodmak and screenwriter Anthony Veiller, both nominated for an Oscar, took the
original Ernest Hemingway short story as the film’s opening point and developed it with an elaborate series of flashbacks, creating a classic example of film noir. Two killers shatter a small town’s quiet before an insurance investigator (Edmond O’Brien) digs up crime, betrayal, and a glamorous woman (Ava Gardner) behind the death of an ex-fighter (Burt Lancaster in his electrifying film debut). The noir aesthetic is heightened by the Miklós Rózsa score and Arthur Hilton’s editing, both of which were nominated for Academy Awards. “The Killers” was added to the National Film Registry in 2008. 7:30 p.m. Free, at the Library of Congress Packard Campus Theater located at 19053 Mt. Pony Rd. in Culpeper, VA. No reservations required.