From the late 1950s to the time of his death in 1999, Stanley Kubrick was one of Hollywood’s most creative and controversial filmmakers. From “Paths of Glory,” “Lolita,”” “Dr. Strangelove,” “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “A Clockwork Orange,” “Barry Lyndon,” “The Shining,” “Full Metal Jacket” and “Eyes Wide Shut,” each of Kubrick’s films were narratively and stylistically stunning, wowing audiences with the most amazing cinematic experiences.

Very few filmgoers, or even Kubrick fans, are aware of his outstanding first feature film, the 1956 crime caper film “The Killing.” This tough, low-budget black-and-white tale was adapted by Kubrick from a Lionel White novel called “Clean Break.” This gritty film noir starred Sterling Hayden, Vince Edwards and Coleen Gray and details a group of five guys who plan to steal large amounts of money from a popular California Lansdowne racetrack.

The story is a complex narrative told in intertwining flashbacks (narrated by Art Gilmore) beginning with the hours before the heist. Marv Unger (Jay C. Tipper) is placing his bets on several horses. In the meantime, track cashier, George Peatty (Elisha Cook, Jr.) is preparing his register for the winners to cash in.

With the film’s dialogue provided by pulp crime fiction writer Jim Thompson, the story jumps an hour or so earlier as a corrupt policeman named Randy Kennon (Ted de Corsia) meets with a loan shark named Leo, whom he owes $2,600. Sometime later, we meet Johnny Clay (Hayden) an ex-con who has just served five years.  His gal Fay (Coleen Gray) has been waiting for him faithfully and is convinced his plans for big money will work this time.

Clay is the gang leader of these thieves, played so skillfully by Sterling Hayden. He was an actor who played tough guys in the tradition of Lee Marvin and Robert Mitchum, but he never received the acclaim they got. His most memorable performances included General Ripper in Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove” and as Captain McClusky, the New York policeman who roughs up Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” and pays the price when Michael gets revenge for the assault on his father.

George’s cheating wife Sherry is seeing a handsome younger guy named Val Cannon (Vince Edwards). He’s a free spirit who doesn’t like explaining what he does when he’s not with her. Val becomes interested when Sherry reveals what she knows about George’s scheme for lots of money.

The voiceover narration continues to reveal various other aspects of the robbery plan, others involved and several more events leading up to the main event. Several of these scenes are repeated from slightly different perspectives.

Then the caper’s goal is revealed. Johnny will hire sharpshooter Nikki Arcane several days before. On race day at approximately 4:30 p.m. during the seventh race of the $100,000 handicap, the favored horse Red Lighting will be taken out. Parked in an adjacent parking lot, Nikki will shoot the horse and cause a huge distraction on the track, while four of the other men involved will cause a variety of other distractions and commotions in the track’s bar area and near the cashiers’ office. Johnny will don a rubber clown mask, arm himself with a shotgun and enter the cashier’s office and safely collect an estimated $2 million.

Cinematographer Lucien Ballard’s stark images visually compliment this intriguing crime tale in what critic/filmmaker Paul Schrader would call an ideal noir tale, a “complex chronological order to reinforce a sense of hopelessness and lost time in a disoriented world.” “The Killing” pays off. Events go somewhat smoothly at first but then unravel when Val and another thug named Shorty try to take the loot. Ultimately, everything leads to a wild, climactic attempted escape at a regional California airport. The ironic ending seems completely appropriate for this collection of small-time hapless thieves. “The Killing” may have been Kubrick’s little-known feature debut, but it began a memorable career that would last nearly 40 years.