The Killers is a 1946 American film noir directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Burt Lancaster in his film debut, along with Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien and Sam Levene. Based in part on the 1927 short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway, it focuses on an insurance detective's investigation into the execution by two professional killers of a former boxer who was unresistant to his own murder. The screenplay was written by Anthony Veiller, with uncredited contributions by John Huston and Richard Brooks.