Kiss of Death
Reviews
John Chard
Hard hitter from Hathaway, Hecht and Lederer. Adapted from a story by Eleazar Lipsky, Kiss Of Death is a tough, even frightening Crime/Noir picture that has a gritty realistic feel. Helped enormously by director Henry Hathaway shooting the whole picture in New York, Kiss Of Death is also notable for being the searing debut of Richard Widmark. With no intention of soft soaping the story, the makers cunningly lure us viewers onto the seamy New York streets. Thus with the New York locations as expertly used as they are by Hathaway, Kiss Of Death attains a documentary style similar to other notable genre pictures like Call Northside 777 (also Hathaway). Narrating the picture is Nettie (Coleen Gray in her first credited role), the second wife of Nick Bianco (Victor Mature). Telling of his rough and troubled life, we learn that Bianco was part of a gang who was caught during a jewelry robbery over the Christmas holiday. Lied to by his lawyer, Bianco learns during his prison term that his first wife has killed herself and that his darling two girls have been packed off to an orphanage. Fretting and desperate to see his girls, Bianco makes a deal with Assistant District Attorney Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy), where in exchange for is parole, he will rat out his old gang buddies. D'Angelo is mostly concerned with one man tho, sadistic murderer and boss, Tommy Udo (Widmark). Bianco must pal up to Udo and hope that he doesn't get found out, for if he does, Udo is sure to enact psychotic retribution on Nick and all those close to him. Mature gives one of his finest shows as the pained Bianco forced to squeal, Gray as his second wife is sedate and effective and Donlevy as the crusading Assistant D.A. with a heart is as reliable as he always is. But all are playing second fiddle to Widmark, ferocious stare, dirty laugh and an unnerving falsetto voice, it announced Widmark to the cinematic world, garnered him a contract with Twentieth Century Fox and he never looked back afterwards. Some of his scenes are just mesmerising, including one that is as shocking as it is a lesson in villainy. Taut and tight scripting from the Hecht/Lederer partnership, with rounded characters and a sensible plot, Kiss Of Death is not to be missed by the Crime/Noir genre/style fan. 8.5/10
CinemaSerf
This starts off by tugging at the heart-strings a little as we are introduced to "Nick" (Victor Mature). He's an ex-con, trying to go straight with his wife and two children but struggling to make ends meet as Christmas approaches. An opportunity to carry out one last robbery presents itself, but all that does is put him in front of D.A. "D'Angelo" (Brian Donlevy) who offers him a deal if he turns in his cohorts. He's an honourable man so declines and gets sent down, but when he discovers from the paper that his wife has committed suicide, he changes his position and that shift earns him quite a bit of enmity. He moves, changes his name and meets a new woman hoping his life might finally be settled for the better. Unfortunately for him, one of the men he informed on has been released and he is out for revenge. "Tommy Udo" (Richard Widmark) is violent, barely the right side of sanity at the best of times and is quite prepared to use all his guile to track down his betrayer and exact his own ruthless revenge on not just him, but on those he holds dear. As the peril mounts, can "Nick" keep his family safe? Despite not featuring on the top billing, it's Widmark who steals the scenes here as the wide-eyed and maniacal character who just oozes a sense of evil that's compelling to watch. It's that achievement that manages to elicit something akin to emotion from the usually wooden Mature as the tension mounts and the solid story advances steadily for quite a gripping ninety minutes that's darkly photographed and scored.
griggs79
_Kiss of Death_ is OK. However, it certainly didn’t wow me. The plot’s solid, and Widmark’s unhinged performance steals the show, but it drags in places and feels a bit stiff overall. Classic noir vibes, but there’s nothing here I hadn’t seen before. It's worth a watch but certainly isn’t essential viewing.
Movie Recommendation
The Shootist1976-07-21Afflicted with a terminal illness John Bernard Books, the last of the legendary gunfighters, quietly returns to Carson City for medical attention from his old friend Dr. Hostetler. Aware that his days are numbered, the troubled man seeks solace and peace in a boarding house run by a widow and her son. However, it is not Books' fate to die in peace, as he becomes embroiled in one last valiant battle.More...
Jane Eyre1943-12-24After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meet the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Mr. Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Mr. Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?More...
Coma1978-01-06When relatively healthy patients begin having 'complications' during simple operations and ending up in comas, a concerned doctor defies her male superiors when she suspects a secret plot.More...
Kiss of Death1995-04-21Jimmy Kilmartin's an ex-con who's trying to go straight. But he can't say no to a quick driving job because his so-called friend's life is threatened. The job is for Little Junior Brown, a violent and powerful villain. When things go wrong, Jimmy is left to do the time, and his whole life is turned upside-down, but if that wasn't enough, the cops won't leave Jimmy alone when he gets out... They want Little Junior Brown.More...
The Blue Dahlia1946-04-16Soon after a veteran returns from war, his cheating wife is found dead. He evades police in an attempt to find the real murderer.More...
While the City Sleeps1956-04-19Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".More...
Song of the Thin Man1947-08-28Society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles investigate a murder in a jazz club.More...
Born to Kill1947-04-30A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with a hotheaded murderer.More...
Carrie1952-07-17In the late 1890s, the ambitious, innocent Carrie arrives in Chicago’s South Side and stays with her nagging, dullish married sister. She then runs for help to traveling salesman Charles Drouet. She soon becomes his mistress, but falls in love with married restaurant manager George Hurstwood.More...
Somewhere in the Night1946-06-12George Taylor returns from WWII with amnesia. Back home in Los Angeles, while trying to track down his old identity, he stumbles onto a three year old murder case and a hunt for a missing $2 million.More...
Lucky Miles2007-07-19It's 1990 and an Indonesian fishing boat abandons Iraqi and Cambodian refugees in a remote part of the Western Australia. Although most are quickly caught by officials, three men with nothing in common but their misfortune and determination to escape arrest, begin an epic journey into the heart of Australia.More...
A Picture With Yuki2019-03-15A married couple move to Bulgaria in order to start in vitro procedures. Both of them happen to take part in a tragic incident in which a child loses it's life.More...
Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man1973-07-26After facing defeat at the hands of Cristaldi the magician, Dracula is back to seek revenge and rule the world. With the help of Wolfman and his legion of followers, victory seems eminent. Professor Cristaldi, a descendant of the magician, is warned about Dracula's plans and calls upon El Santo and Blue Demon in the hopes that they can put the infamous Count and the werewolf down for good.More...
Longing2006-02-15An average, everyday metalworker and volunteer firefighter content in his marriage to his childhood sweetheart finds his emotions unexpectedly stirred when he falls for a pretty waitress from a nearby town.More...
Araguaia2015-12-09There is no descriptionMore...
Slightly Scarlet1956-02-29Kleptomaniac Dorothy Lyons is paroled from prison into the custody of her sister June, secretary to "reform" politician Frank Jansen. Ben Grace, associate of crime boss Sol "Solly" Caspar, sees this as a way to smear Jansen's campaign. Seductive Dorothy will do anything to get what she wants, which includes having a good time with Ben-- whom June is now in love with.More...
Niagara1953-01-26Rose Loomis and her older, gloomier husband, George, are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The couple befriend Polly and Ray Cutler, who are honeymooning in the area. Polly begins to suspect that something is amiss between Rose and George, and her suspicions grow when she sees Rose in the arms of another man. While Ray initially thinks Polly is overreacting, things between George and Rose soon take a shockingly dark turn.More...
Courageous2011-09-30Law enforcement officers Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, and their partners stand up to the worst the streets have to offer with confidence and focus. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood. They know that God desires to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, but their children are beginning to drift further and further away from them. When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God... and to their children?More...
In the Heat of the Night1967-08-02African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.More...
Nosferatu1922-02-16The mysterious Count Orlok summons a happily married real estate agent to his castle, located up in the Transylvanian mountains, to finalise a terrifying deal.More...
Similar Movies
Baby's Day Out
1994-07-01Baby Bink couldn't ask for more: he has adoring (if somewhat sickly-sweet) parents, lives in a huge mansion, and he's just about to appear in the social pages of the paper. Unfortunately, not everyone in the world is as nice as Baby Bink's parents—especially the three enterprising kidnappers who pretend to be photographers from the newspaper. Successfully kidnapping Baby Bink, they have a harder time keeping hold of the rascal, who not only keeps one step ahead of them, but seems to be more than a little bit smarter than the three bumbling criminals.The American Friend
1977-06-24Tom Ripley, an American who deals in forged art, is slighted at an auction in Hamburg by picture framer Jonathan Zimmerman. When Ripley is asked by gangster Raoul Minot to kill a rival, he suggests Zimmerman, and the two, exploiting Zimmerman's terminal illness, coerce him into being a hitman.Daylight
1996-12-06A group of armed robbers fleeing the police head for the New Jersey Tunnel and run right into trucks transporting toxic waste. The spectacular explosion that follows results in both ends of the tunnel collapsing and the handful of people who survived the explosion are now in peril. Kit Latura is the only man with the skill and knowledge to lead the band of survivors out of the tunnel before the structure collapses.Freeway
1996-08-23Following the arrest of her mother, Ramona, young Vanessa Lutz decides to go in search of her estranged grandmother. On the way, she is given a ride by school counselor Bob Wolverton. During the journey, Lutz begins to realize that Bob is the notorious I-5 Killer and manages to escape by shooting him several times. Wounded but still very much alive, Bob pursues Lutz across the state in this modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.Hard Rain
1998-01-16An armored car driver tries to elude a gang of thieves while a flood ravages the countryside.Something Wild
1986-11-07A free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-con husband shows up.Extreme Measures
1996-09-27Guy Luthan, a British doctor working at a hospital in New York, starts making unwelcome enquiries when the body of a man who died in his emergency room disappears. After the trail leads Luthan to the door of an eminent surgeon at the hospital, Luthan soon finds himself in extreme danger people who want the hospital's secret to remain undiscovered.Dead or Alive
1999-11-27Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.Blue Iguana
2018-08-23He's a low level criminal with no future and just out of prison. She's a low level lawyer never noticed by others, a lost soul without a life. Their anger and hostility makes them serious criminals. Love happens in the strangest of places.Fatal Attraction
1987-09-18A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.Key Largo
1948-07-16A hurricane swells outside, but it's nothing compared to the storm within the hotel at Key Largo. There, sadistic mobster Johnny Rocco holes up - and holds at gunpoint hotel owner James Temple, his widowed daughter-in-law Nora, and ex-GI Frank McCloud.Dei Mudder sei Gesich...
1996-12-31Kermet, Ögrem and Lorenzo meet in prison after committing different crimes. They escape and steal a car to meet Albaner. Lorenzo leaves them to get a haircut. While he is away, the others get into trouble...Tough Guys
1986-10-03Harry Doyle and Archie Lang are two old-time train robbers, who held up a train in 1956 and have been incarcerated for thirty years. After serving their time, they are released from jail and have to adjust to a new life of freedom. and soon realize that they still have the pizzazz when, picking up their prison checks at a bank, they foil a robbery attempt.Taxi
2004-10-06A mouthy and feisty taxicab driver has hot tips for a green and inept cop set on solving a string of New York City bank robberies committed by a quartet of female Brazilian bank robbers.City Hall
1996-02-16The accidental shooting of a boy in New York City leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.Deuces Wild
2002-05-03In 1950s New York City, a bad and bloody gang war is about to erupt on the dysfunctional streets of Brooklyn between the Deuces and the vicious Vipers.Animal 2
2007-09-04Now serving a life sentence for murder, James "Animal" Allen returns to fighting for cash in order to help his troubled son on the outside. However, with his newfound fame as a fighter, Animal uncovers a jailhouse conspiracy that threatens to cause racial tensions to explode.Traitor
2008-08-23When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer Samir Horn.Brighton Rock
1948-01-09Centring on the activities of a gang of assorted criminals and, in particular, their leader – a vicious young hoodlum known as "Pinkie" – the film's main thematic concern is the criminal underbelly evident in inter-war Brighton.Gen-X Cops
1999-06-18Four young officers of the Hong Kong Police are joined together to fight against organised crime using all possible means, even if this would lead them to break the law… Their first assignment is to eliminate a gang of criminals who have stolen a shipload of explosives.