Killer's Kiss (1955)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writer:

Stanley Kubrick (story)

Release Date:

1 October 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

Her Soft Mouth Was the Road to Sin-Smeared Violence!

Plot:

As a man waits at a train station for his girl, he tells us about the recent past and we segue into a long flashback.

Plot Keywords:

Train Station | Dancer | Flashback Sequence | Director Also Cinematographer | Police

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Frank Silvera	...	Vincent Rapallo
Jamie Smith	...	Davey Gordon
Irene Kane	...	Gloria Price
Jerry Jarrett	...	Albert (the fight manager)
Mike Dana	...	Gangster
Felice Orlandi	...	Gangster
Shaun O'Brien
Barbara Brand
Skippy Adelman	...	Mannequin factory owner (as Julius Adelman)
David Vaughan	...	Conventioneer
Alec Rubin	...	Conventioneer
Ralph Roberts	...	Gangster
Phil Stevenson	...	Gangster
Arthur Feldman
Bill Funaro

Also Known As:

Kiss Me, Kill Me (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

67 min | Japan:43 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:T | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | UK:12 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 (re-rating) (2003) | Germany:18 | UK:A

Filming Locations:

Dumbo, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Minotaur Productions

Trivia:

Many scenes were photographed with a springwound Eyemo camera, which holds 100-foot loads of film. The Eyemo was borrowed from Max Glenn and was subsequently stolen from Stanley Kubrick's car. For many tracking shots, Kubrick and company used the back of a pickup truck in place of a dolly. Kubrick was on welfare during the making of this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Vinnie drives Davy to the loft, they take a lift up to at least the second floor. However, when Davy jumps through the loft window, he falls only one story.

Quotes:

Vincent Rapallo: Like the man said, "Can happiness buy money?"

Movie Connections:

References La regina di Saba (1952)

Grade A noir film . A good, clean guy, a girl who might not be trustworthy and an evil grasping, clutching mobster all collide for a top notch suspense thriller

I saw this film about two weeks ago on AMC. It was in the morning so there was no tag by Bob Osborne when it ended and since I did not catch the very beginning, I did not see the credits. I saw the boxing match and it was BRUTAL. What a fighter goes through was never conveyed more clearly and more succinctly. I remember Frank Silvera from other films (and it was his name that I looked up to find here at IMD. The actors were unknown and the two leads were not that convincing but the story was riveting. I was prepared for an ending suitable to the type of dark film it had been up to that point. I really liked the ending that was revealed. I came here to read comments on this little known film and was totally surprised to learn that Stanley Kubrick directed it. He told a story in a lean, sparse way that was different from the way he told later films but his genius was showing here. Bravo to all connected with this little gem!