In the dingy, black-and-white halls of the film noir pantheon, they've a special place set aside for Kiss Me Deadly.
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:25
Rotten:1
Average Rating:8/10
Consensus: An intriguing, wonderfully subversive blend of art and commerce, Kiss Me Deadly is an influential noir classic.
Theatrical Release:16-06-2006
Synopsis: Hard-hitting detective Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) takes on thugs and atomic secrets in Robert Aldrich's fast-paced thriller KISS ME DEADLY, an adaptation of the Mickey Spillane novel. The night... Hard-hitting detective Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) takes on thugs and atomic secrets in Robert Aldrich's fast-paced thriller KISS ME DEADLY, an adaptation of the Mickey Spillane novel. The night goes awry for Hammer soon after he picks up a scantily clad hitchhiker (Cloris Leachman). The next thing he knows, he's assaulted by a couple of goons and the sultry drifter turns up dead. As Hammer tracks down the murderers, he realizes he is involved in an international conspiracy--one that could cost him his life. Generally considered to be the best of the many films centering on Spillane's classic protagonist and lauded as a primary inspiration and building block for the French Nouvelle Vague, KISS ME DEADLY boasts nightmarish imagery, a careening, sinuous plot, and an unforgettable shock ending. [More]
Starring: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Cloris Leachman
Starring: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Cloris Leachman, Maxine Cooper, Gaby Rodgers, Jack Elam, Strother Martin, Jack Lambert
Director: Robert Aldrich
Director: Robert Aldrich
Screenwriter: A. I. Bezzerides
Producer: Robert Aldrich
Composer: Frank DeVol
Reviews for Kiss Me Deadly
A crucial influence on what would become the French new wave, an irresistibly seedy trip through the Los Angeles underworld, and a valuable artifact of Cold War anxiety.
Kiss Me Deadly delivers the 'white-hot thrills' and 'blood-red kisses' promised by its publicity, as well as reminding us whence Tarantino stole his best riffs.
Noir taken to its most nihilistic extreme, with an atomic menace that guarantees a memorably explosive climax.
This independently produced low-budget film was a shining example for the New Wave directors -- Truffaut, Godard, et al -- who found it proof positive that commercial films could accommodate the quirkiest and most personal of visions.
As volatile and disturbing today as it was some 50 years ago, Kiss Me Deadly consistently surprises with its uncompromising content.
It's a B-picture. Still, no amount of badly post-synchronized dialogue can mask the technical and aesthetic prowess that Aldrich shows here.
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