IMDb > Kiss of Death (1947)

Kiss of Death (1947) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   2,091 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Henry Hathaway
Writers:
Ben Hecht (screenplay) and
Charles Lederer (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Kiss of Death on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
27 August 1947 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller more
Tagline:
It will mark you for life as it marked him for... Betrayal more
Plot:
With his law-breaking lifestyle in the past, an ex-con, along with his family, attempt to start a new life, unknowing a betrayed someone from the past is bound to see otherwise. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Actor Widmark Dies
 (From WENN. 26 March 2008, 12:11 PM, PDT)
Actor Richard Widmark Dies at 93
 (From IMDb News. 26 March 2008)
User Comments:
Powerful Film-Noir more (56 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Victor Mature ... Nick Bianco

Brian Donlevy ... Assistant D.A. Louis D'Angelo
Coleen Gray ... Nettie

Richard Widmark ... Tommy Udo
Taylor Holmes ... Earl Howser--Attorney
Howard Smith ... Warden

Karl Malden ... Sgt. William Cullen
Anthony Ross ... 'Big Ed' Williams
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
98 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Colour:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
UK:12 (DVD rating) (2005) | UK:A (original rating) | West Germany:16 (nf) | USA:Approved (PCA #12356) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15
Filming Locations:
14th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA more
Company:
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Jesse White's film debut. more
Quotes:
Tommy Udo: I'm askin' ya, where's that squealin' son of yours?
[weird laugh]
Tommy Udo: You think a squealer can get away from me? Huh?
[crazy laugh]
Tommy Udo: You know what I do to squealers? I let 'em have it in the belly, so they can roll around for a long time thinkin' it over. You're worse than him, tellin' me he's comin' back? Ya lyin' old hag!
[maniacal laugh]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers (2009) (TV) more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful.
Powerful Film-Noir, 30 December 2007
8/10
Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In the New York Christmas, the family man Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) has bad luck and criminal record, and can not find a honest job. He is caught in a jewelry heist, but he does not accept the proposal of the Assistant District Attorney Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy) to be a squealer and denounce his accomplices and he goes to prison. Three years later, his depressed woman commits suicide and his two daughters are sent to an orphanage. Nick makes a deal with Mr. D'Ángelo and rats his former partners; then he marries Nettie (Collen Gray), moves to another to town with a new identity, where he finds a honest job. However, when the psychopathic killer Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) is sentenced not-guilty in a trial where Nick was forced to testimony against the criminal, the desperate Nick uses one last attempt to save his family from the psychotic killer.

"Kiss of Death" is a powerful film-noir, with an engaging and credible plot, fantastic direction of Henry Hathaway and great performances of Victor Mature and Richard Widmark. Among the movies that I have watched of the great actor Richard Widmark, this is his best performance and he really deserved his nomination to the Oscar. His sadistic character is really a scary cold-blood killer. The black and white cinematography is amazing, with great use of shadows valorized by the image of the DVD. Karl Malden in the beginning of his successful career has a minor participation. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Beijo da Morte" ("Kiss of the Death")

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