b-movie
Was this a B-movie, or is it just low-budget/not particularly high-budget?
Yes, it was a B-movie and a cheap one even by those standards.
And you could have found all that out from the trivia page.
"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan
I disagree, the budget of $320,000 could denote an intermediate or programmer, somewhere between A and B. You have to remember that $40,000 was already paid to Sterling Hayden prior to this, so in reality the budget is larger.
Furthermore, a B-movie essentially denotes quickly shot and at times routine (although often great) pictures by Poverty Row studios, or by the second-tier departments at big studios. This feels much more like an independent feature than a B-movie, and what's more was financed independently by Harris.
Well, of course, in the strictest sense a "B-movie" was a movie featured as the "lower half" on a double bill with some more expensive, prestigious production - and on that account The Killing qualifies. But, yes, it essentially was what one would call at least a semi-independent picture, by and large. The budget issue may need some further investigation (although I see no reason not to believe 330 000 is indeed the right, final number), but it certainly doesn't look or feel nearly as cheap as a good number of those "poverty row" noirs I've seen. A good comparison would be Kiss Me Deadly from the previous year which cost 410 000.
"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan
You're right, Kiss Me Deadly makes for a good comparison.
I suppose the reason why I'm so interested is because I wanted to determine what I felt was the greatest B-noir. I usually think of Detour and D.O.A as the best B-noirs, but in fact believe The Killing is a better movie overall. It just doesn't feel like a B-movie in that Poverty Row way, even though you make a great argument as to how it is in fact a B-movie. I guess the term B-movie is a loose one, but if we include this as one then, in my opinion, it is the greatest of all noir B-movies.