MovieChat Forums > The Killers (1946) Discussion > Why did 'the Swede' have insurance ?

Why did 'the Swede' have insurance ?


I loved the film and watched it again in order to pickup loose strands that I felt I might have missed. I think it is interesting that the entire film is an investigation taken on by a very,very curious insurance investigator (O'Brien). My question is "Why would a single man w/ no family have an insurance policy to begin with ? After all, who was he planning to leave the money to ( certainly not a strange hotel maid )? I was also curious about the early scene of his meeting with Big Jim Colfax at the gas station. Was this merely a chance encounter and why was the scene played with an apparent lack of recognition ?

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Perhaps you should watch it a third time. It is explained that his insurance was provided to him as an employee of the gasoline company. Thus he had to choose a beneficiary, so he picked the woman who had saved his life.

I don't understand how you can say there was a lack of recognition. The Swede does his best to avoid being recognized (head down, not approaching the car as he should have), and Colfax deliberately calls him over to get a better look at him.

By the way, there's an excellent summary and explanation of the movie at filmsite.org; all the characters' motivations should be clear after you read that.

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I'm a single man with no immediate family. My company and my credit union both provide term life insurance ($2,500 from company, $1,000 from credit union) to all employees and members, so I obviously had to pick beneficiaries. The bartenders at my watering holes can't WAIT to find out which of them I've chosen.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."

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