filmed under the title Johnny North, but NBC cited it too violent for broadcast; Universal released the film theatrically instead. Steve McQueen and George Peppard were considered for the role that eventually went to Cassavetes. After Cassavetes was signed to play the race car driver, director Don Siegel found out the actor could barely drive. Siegel originally was hired as director of the 1946 version, but had been fired. The Killers was Reagan's last acting role in motion pictures before entering politics and the only villainous role in his career. According to Kirk Douglas's autobiography The Ragman's Son, Reagan regretted doing the movie, particularly because of a scene in which he slaps Dickinson. The main title and closing music, originally composed by Henry Mancini for the Orson Welles film Touch of Evil (1958), was drawn from the Universal Pictures music library and re-edited for use in this film. The song "Too Little Time", composed by Mancini with lyrics by Don Raye as the love theme for The Glenn Miller Story, was sung by Nancy Wilson. Reception The Killers holds a rating of 80% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews with a 7.2/10 average. The consensus reads: "Though it can't best Robert Siodmak's classic 1946 version, Don Siegel's take on the Ernest Hemingway story stakes out its own violent territory, and offers a terrifically tough turn from Lee Marvin." Awards Marvin received the 1965 BAFTA Award for Best Actor for this role as well as for his role in Cat Ballou. See also The Killers (1946 film) List of American films of 1964 Ronald Reagan filmography References External links The Killers essay by Geoffrey O'Brien at The Criterion Collection 1964 films 1960s crime thriller films American auto racing films American crime thriller films Films scored by John Williams Films about contract killing Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Ernest Hemingway Films directed by Don Siegel Films set in Miami Films set in Los Angeles Universal Pictures films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films