The Naked Kiss (1964)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writer:

Samuel Fuller (written by)

Release Date:

29 October 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Candy's Place--where all kinds of men find all kinds of sweets!

Plot:

Kelly (Constance Towers), a prostitute, finds redemption in the town of Grantville, where she arrives working as a medium-time seller...

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Prostitute | Bus Stop | Pedophilia | Brothel

Cast

Constance Towers	...	Kelly
Anthony Eisley	...	Capt. Griff
Michael Dante	...	J.L. Grant
Virginia Grey	...	Candy
Patsy Kelly	...	Mac, Head Nurse
Marie Devereux	...	Buff
Karen Conrad	...	Dusty
Linda Francis	...	Rembrandt
Bill Sampson	...	Jerry
Sheila Mintz	...	Receptionist
Patricia Gayle	...	Nurse
Jean-Michel Michenaud	...	Kip (as Gerald Michenaud)
George Spell	...	Tim
Christopher Barry	...	Peanuts
Patty Robinson	...	Angel Face

Also Known As:

The Iron Kiss

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #20645)

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Leon Fromkess-Sam Firks Productions

Trivia:

Both this and Samuel Fuller's previous movie Shock Corridor (1963) were rejected for UK cinema certificates and remained unavailable until 1990.

Quotes:

Kelly: I saw a broken down piece of machinery. Nothing but the buck, the bed and the bottle for the rest of my life. That's what I saw.

Movie Connections:

References Shock Corridor (1963)

Soundtrack:

Little Child (Mon enfant)

The Naked Kiss is one of the reasons why I love B movies

B movies lack money so they have to compensate everywhere else; they take chances and risks and try to patch the holes with creativity. Most of them stink but there are a few true gems and this movie definitely belongs in the jewelry case.

This film is ostensibly about a hooker trying to go straight but it's really about the dark subcultures of our world which feed on the urges "normal" people must deny to maintain civilization.

Mainstream Hollywood loves the shiny parts of those subcultures, the random encounters, sexy young things and "pimps up, hos down" trappings of that darkness. But when it comes to showing the whole of the poisonous ecosystem, the popreligion-fueled evangelistas and their sycophantic bean counters in the MPAA and studio system have no interest in acknowledging, much less depicting, its existence.

The studios are happy to show you the yards of sweaty flesh and the figurative hunt/kill part of the act but the process someone goes through to try and get out of that world? Oh, that's a NC-17 art-house flick starring Jennifer Jason Leigh. The mainstream producers prefer to focus on what they think you want in a drama: achingly beautiful people living in penthouse apartments on a plumber's salary acting out plots lifted from "Search for Tomorrow". But what about real drama, the infinite and often-lost battle that stems from the eternal, fundamental conflict between what we wish and what we are? Save it for Sundance.

This movie is far from perfect but it gets so many points for originality and effort I'm giving it 9/10. It tells a difficult story with a very offbeat lead (a strong woman), a underused setting (I was one of those kids in the orthopedic ward for about a year in the mid-70s and when I saw them performing that odd yet haunting musical number I was really moved) and slightly unusual viewpoint and style (shoe-cam, the use of Beethoven, etc).

Constance Towers strikes the right note of bravery and inner strength without turning into a hard-hittin' miracle woman caricature and Grant strikes just the right note for playing a molester; despicable in action but also showing that basic human need to give and receive love, even in his twisted way. Griff moves the plot along, not the greatest acting chops but he hits the marks and reads the lines.

Definitely worth a rent. Check it out.