Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Genre: Filmnoir
Duration: 106 minuten
Alternative title: Mickey Spillane's Kiss Me Deadly
Country:
United States
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Stars: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker and Maxine Cooper
IMDb score:
7,5 (24.082)
Releasedate: 28 April 1955
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Kiss Me Deadly plot
"Blood red kisses! White hot thrills! Mickey Spillane’s latest H-bomb!"
Private detective Mike Hammer witnesses a young woman being murdered. Despite the police ban, he investigates and encounters a gang that risks everything to obtain a mysterious box. And this costs many lives.
Actors and actresses
Mike Hammer
Dr. G.E. Soberin
Carl Evello
Eddie Yeager
Lt. Pat Murphy
Friday
Velda
Christina Bailey
Lily Carver
Nick
Reviews & comments
The One Ring
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- 29974 messages
- 4109 votes
Beautiful ending! One of the best closing scenes ever as far as I'm concerned. And that in a film noir of the 50s.
Kiss Me Deadly is to film noir what Johnny Guitar is to the western: a film that clearly falls into a recognizable genre, with all the familiar elements attached to it, but which feels totally strange, without being parodying. Both films are somewhat ridiculous, but have exceptional power. Surrealism is not the right word. It's just strange.
I saw Pickup on South Street and The Big Heat as the most violent movies of the '50s, but they are tame compared to Kiss Me Deadly. Almost inconceivable that this was made in the old Hollywood system. Especially in the second half, Meeker's character just seems to get impatient and decides to beat everyone up immediately instead of asking questions in a normal way first. The first half is still pretty normal actually. Only the opening stands out, but after that it becomes a bit of a routine detective plot that is also told somewhat slowly. Only in the second half and especially the last half hour all hell breaks loose.
A film like this can never be perfect, but that's okay. The acting is sometimes bad, some scenes don't work well and certain plot parts are poorly developed (I still don't know what the role of the woman who finally opened the box was). But in a way, that just adds to the somewhat subversive nature of the film. That makes it memorable and also so much fun to watch. Fortunately, Kiss Me Deadly is not just a curiosity either. It's an atmospheric noir, with plenty to appreciate.
4*
Translated from Dutch · View original
pjmj
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- 311 messages
- 288 votes
For all those here at Moviemeter who appreciated this film, but who complained about the somewhat lesser image quality, the recently released Blu-ray edition of Criterion (with good English subtitles) may be recommended. Truly very well and with visible love restored and a feast for the eyes and ears.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Spacey026
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- 17 messages
- 13 votes
Bought the Criterion Collection Blu Ray of this movie and also the first Criterion in my possession. Nice item for the collection where you get a booklet with info about the film production + a lot of extras on the disc itself.
Haven't looked forward to a movie in a long time. Of all the film noirs I've wanted to see, this one appealed to me the most. The images I saw beforehand had a modern and unique look that I was immediately charmed by.
What I really like about this film is that many scenes were shot on location rather than in a studio. That atmosphere that is imparted from the Los Angeles of the 50s is to die for. The strongest point of this film is the cinematography. There are some really great shots in this movie that are a great piece of work for the time in which this movie was made that made me feel like I was watching something unique. The plot of Kiss Me Deadly is a bit messy at times, I was left with a lot of questions at the end of the film, which is also the strength of the film. It's all a bit mysterious, which keeps it interesting. I'm already looking forward to the review!
Translated from Dutch · View original
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