Kiss of Death (1947)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Ben Hecht (screenplay) and
Charles Lederer (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 August 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

It will mark you for life as it marked him for... Betrayal

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.

Plot Keywords:

Psychopath | Beautiful Woman | Stairs | New York | Wheelchair

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins

Cast

Victor Mature	...	Nick Bianco
Brian Donlevy	...	Asst. Dist. Atty. Louis D'Angelo
Coleen Gray	...	Nettie
Richard Widmark	...	Tommy Udo
Taylor Holmes	...	Earl Howser, Attorney
Howard Smith	...	Warden
Karl Malden	...	Sgt. William Cullen

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | UK:A (original rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #12356) | UK:12 (DVD rating) (2005) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

14th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Originally, Patricia Morison played Victor Mature's wife, who is attacked and raped by a gangster who is supposed to be watching out for her while Mature is in prison, and afterwards commits suicide by sticking her head in the kitchen oven and turning on the gas. Both scenes were cut from the original print at the insistence of the censors, who wanted no depiction of either a rape or a suicide, so although Morison's name appears in the credits, she does not appear in the film at all. Mention is made later in the film about Mature's wife's suicide and a now obscure reference is made by Nettie that the unseen gangster Rizzo contributed to the wife's downfall.

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]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The A-Team: Water, Water Everywhere (#2.10)" (1983)

Great noir

Kiss of Death was an engaging and suspenseful film noir thriller. Standout performances were delivered from Victor Mature and Richard Widmark among others. Widmark as the sadistic Udo had a particularly memorable turn. This film actually reminded me quite a bit of the Humphrey Bogart film, The Enforcer, at least the first twenty minutes of that equally good crime drama. In both movies, the turning of evidence by witnesses for the state and their protection figure prominently. Unfortunately, the witness in The Enforcer isn't as lucky as Nick Bianco. One other note: the great Karl Malden has a small role in this film as a junior detective. Both Kiss of Death and The Enforcer get a solid 8/10.