Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 03:10:11

Fast paced detective yarn

This review is from: Kiss Me Deadly (DVD) No detective can get to the facts faster than Mike Hammer.Years ahead of its time when made in 1955 "Kiss Me Deadly" still makes a timeless point, but I won't spoil the ending. The story is mysterious and women add to the intrigue. Ralph Meeker is the best actor that ever played Mike Hammer, and Mickey Spillane remains among the best and definitely the most unique of detective story writers.The film is black and white but that's okay. The quality of the DVD is excellent, the sound tract, too.

Borboletta 2012-05-24 12:17:35

Absolutely brilliant, years ahead of it's time

I was absolutely blown away by the time I finished watching this movie. Ipurchased the DVD which has both endings, and have since read up quite abiton this...Kiss Me Deadly influenced an entire generation of avant gardeEuropean film directors, despite being largely ignored as a flashy"drive-in" movie here in the conservative United States of the time. Thismovie has made it into my all-time Top Ten list. A definite must-see, youwill be shocked if you see it without reading any of the critical reviews.Essentially, what starts out as a typical Mike Hammer film noir turns intosomething very, very different by the end...

2012-05-22 11:26:33

a late discovery

Great photography (reminded me of the Third Man - studied angles, perfect use of BW) and 1950's sets. The script is somewhat unbelievable and loose and the actors second rate, but who cares.

Jynne 2012-05-22 05:09:15

Great Film Noir

Great film noir--as others have stated, it was years ahead of its time [itgot away with quite a bit despite the Hays Code]. It's a shame there aren'tmore movies like it. If you rent it, be sure to get the copy that showsBOTH endings. Also, it was nice to hear Nat King Cole sing during theopening credits.

2012-05-21 06:34:13

A good 50's detective story, but not great.

This review is from: Kiss Me Deadly [VHS] (VHS Tape) The best thing about this film is the acting of Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer. He does a great job. But the plot runs slowly and the ending is not credible. It's not a bad movie but I fail to see how it is rated a classic.

2012-05-20 15:57:40

Kiss kiss bang bang with a message

Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me Mike, mouths the blonde with the gun just before the bitch plugs our hero. Well, he had it coming. First of all he picked up a blonde hitchhiker (cup size C). Then he wants to find out why she gets done over, why this happens, and why that happens. He is not very well read, though he gets to read some poetry by Christina Rossetti and listen to a bit of classical music and wander through an contemporary art gallery. There seems to be a subtext that evil is associated with culture and wealth whilst the ordinary good guy schmuck ends up with a bullet in the belly and a brunette cup size B. Nothing boring about this very well photographed, well written, kiss kiss bang bang film, with a message for the masses - there are some things best left in the box, including plutonium. Great characters in every role too, including what may be one of Jack Elam's earliest efforts.

ironside 2012-05-19 04:55:08

"Kiss Me Deadly" revealed the developed of Aldrich style…

"Kiss Me Deadly" had few similarities with Spillane's story about agang of dope traffickers… Instead Aldrich reworks the plot so that thecriminals are mixed up in the theft of priceless and high1y dangerousradioactive material which they are planning to smuggle to an unnamedpower… The complicated story begins with Hammer picking up a scaredgirl on a lonely road at night and continues through the girl'ssubsequent death, a kidnapping and a series of very brutal killings…Spillane's Mike Hammer remains the ultimate in violent private eyes…The killings seem to matter less than the sadism… One scene in whichHammer deliberately breaks the irreplaceable records of an Italianopera lover in order to get the information he wants is more repellentthan any of the murders in the film… Furious but stylish, "Kiss Me Deadly" is a film of great power andstays unique for its mixing of art and pulp fiction…

2012-05-18 18:43:48

Noirs Noir

One might have noticed the opening credits which scrolled from the bottom of the screen upwards.Have you ever seen a film do that?Ralph Meeker plays Hammer at his nastiest. Albert Dekker as Dr. Soberin plays it for effect. There are metaphors here galore..in the end she had to open the box of the great whatsit..what does that imply to the viewer.? Screenplay by A.I. Bezzerides..and its a corker..

Charles H 2012-05-17 14:36:50

overrated but somewhat interesting

The film the French critics fell in love with because of its obsession with the dark side of man and it's philosophical overtones is also a fairly straightforward sleazy dime novel film. The second half is better than the first.

shafatqadri 2012-05-17 00:54:23

Perfect Noir--- Thumbs Up

'Kiss Me Deadly'' was ignored when first released but now seems to be atouchstone, a sacred object in the film world. 'Kiss Me Deadly' is thedefinitive, apocalyptic, nihilistic, science fiction film noir of alltime at the close of the classic noir period. Being a huge fan of filmnoir I bet that this movie is a perfect example of this genre.People always talk about good endings in film and a lot of these filmsstick in the mind. By comparison, the beginning of a film is rarelytalked about or remembered.The film opens with a striking pre-credits sequence. A pair of nakedfeet stumbles and runs down the middle of a lonely highway at night. Anear-hysterical, panting, barely-clothed woman with closely-croppedhair who wears only a white trenchcoat, rasps and breathes heavily onthe highly-amplified soundtrack as she helplessly tries to flag downpassing cars that flash by her. Desperate to get one of the cars tostop she strategically positions herself in the middle of the road bystanding and holding her arms out in a V as a two-seated Jaguar sportscar/convertible approaches and blinds her in its high-beamedheadlights. The driver swerves to avoid the apparition while applyinghis screeching brakes. His tires squeal as he pulls sharply off theroad into a swirling cloud of dust and barely misses running her down.I consider it a perfect opening and the opening which is still talkedabout in the film circuits even today.Hard-hitting detective Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) takes on thugs andatomic secrets in Robert Aldrich's fast-paced thriller 'Kiss MeDeadly', an adaptation of the Mickey Spillane novel. The night goesawry for Hammer soon after he picks up a scantily clad hitchhiker(Cloris Leachman). The next thing he knows, he's assaulted by a coupleof goons and the sultry drifter turns up dead. As Hammer tracks downthe murderers, he realizes he is involved in an internationalconspiracy .'Kiss Me Deadly' boasts nightmarish imagery, a careening,sinuous plot and an unforgettable shock ending.Filmed in a scant three weeks, 'Kiss Me Deadly' was a late entry intothe film noir genre, but it turned out to be one of the mostmemorable.It's pretty doubtful that anyone at the time realized howimportant Kiss Me Deadly would loom in coming years. It was lionized byFrench critics, hailed by French New Wave directors and went on toinfluence everyone from Martin Scorsese to Quentin Tarantino, StevenSoderbergh to countless up-and-coming directors. I recommend it toanybody who wants to understand just what the whole noir craze isabout.

2012-05-16 15:50:38

"Kiss Me Deadly (1955) ... Ralph Meeker ... Robert Aldrich (Director) (2001)"

United Artists presents "KISS ME DEADLY" (18 May 1955) (106 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Regarded by many critics as the ultimate film noir, and by many more as the finest movie adaptation of a book by Mickey Spillane, Kiss Me Deadly stars Ralph Meeker as Spillane's anti-social private eye Mike Hammer. While driving down a lonely road late one evening, Hammer picks up a beautiful blonde hitchhiker (Cloris Leachman), dressed in nothing but a raincoat. At first, Hammer assumes that the incoherent girl is an escaped lunatic; his mind is changed for him when he and the girl are abducted by two thugs. The men torture the girl to death as the semiconscious Hammer watches helplessly. He himself escapes extermination when the murderers' car topples off a cliff and he is thrown clear. Seeking vengeance, Hammer tries to discover the secret behind the girl's murder. Among those who cross his path in the film's tense, tingling 106 minutes are a slimy gangster (Paul Stewart), a turncoat scientist (Albert Dekker), and the dead woman's sexy roommate (Gaby Rodgers). All clues lead to a mysterious box -- the "Great Whats it," as Hammer's secretary Velda (Maxine Cooper) describes it. Both the box and Velda are stolen by the villains, at which point Hammer discovers that the "Whats it" contains radioactive material of awesome powers. The apocalyptic climax is doubly devastating and we now know there are two endings to the film just recently discovered.Ralph Meeker made an excellent contribution as Mike Hammer. He dominates the film with his presence. Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Mirian Carr, Maxine Cooper and especially Cloris Leachman, in her screen debut, make this film the favorite it has become.Director Robert Aldrich transcends Kiss Me Deadly's basic genre trappings to produce a one-of-a-kind melodrama for the nuclear age.Under the production staff of:Robert Aldrich [Director/Producer]Mickey Spillane [novel "Kiss Me Deadly"]A.I. Bezzerides [Screenplay] Victor Saville [Executive Producer]Frank De Vol [Original Music] Ernest Laszlo [Cinematographer]Michael Luciano [Film Editor] BIOS:1. Robert Aldrich [Director]Date of Birth: 9 August 1918 - Cranston, Rhode IslandDate of Death: 5 December 1983 - Los Angeles, California2. Ralph Meeker [aka: Ralph Rathgeber]Date of Birth: 21 November 1920 - Minneapolis, MinnesotaDate of Death: 5 August 1988 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Californiathe cast includes:Ralph Meeker - Mike Hammer Albert Dekker - Dr. G.E. Soberin Paul Stewart - Carl Evello Juano Hernandez - Eddie Yeager Wesley Addy - Lt. Pat Murphy Marian Carr - Friday Maxine Cooper - VeldaCloris Leachman - Christina Bailey Gaby Rodgers - Gabrielle Nick Dennis - Nick Jack Lambert - Sugar SmallhouseJack Elam - Charlie MaxMr. Jim's Ratings:Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 StarsPerformance: 5 StarsStory & Screenplay: 5 StarsOverall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]Total Time: 106 min on DVD ~ United Artists ~ (06/19/2001)

David 2012-05-16 05:14:41

One of the Greatest American Movies

The casting is offbeat and the acting superb. The camera-work isinventive and the movie looks great. The music is eclectic and the useof sound is innovative. And the movie can you scare you to death.Interestingly, what I remember from the first few viewing is theending, in which Gaby Rogers opens the Pandora's box and the screen isfilled with a blinding light. In the version I've just seen, that kindof happens but it ends with Mike Hammer and his Girl Friday Velda safefrom the atomic explosion, watching in terror from the ocean.Whatever the ending, this is the "Citizen Kane" of noirs. In myopinion, it is far superior to Welles's quirky and imaginative "Touchof Evil." Everything in it is wild and new and crazy and scary.This role fits Ralph Meeker like the proverbial glove. He was a dashingscreen presence, who made all too few movies. The other major figuresare played by relative unknowns. But who can ever forget this sleekVelda or the duplicitous Pandora figure -- or Cloris Leachman, in thefirst role most people know her for -- the desperate hitchhiker at themovie's start who holds the key to destruction and is named afterChristina Rosetti? This is a movie no one who's seen it could possiblyforget.

kakaako 2012-05-13 10:42:22

Trash, well financed trash.

How did Mike Hammer live - in a penthouse with a GOLF BAG stashed inthe corner next to a big screen cathode ray tube TV and a snazzyfireplace? Nah, he'd knock back a bottle of rye and twenty unfilteredCamels on the couch or floor of his fly-specked office or in the stinkof a lousy downtown LA flop house, wiping the dried red crust and oilsmeared mud off his face, that's how. Spillane wrote trash paperbacks,for sure, but how do you make it worse? Give some desperate schemingproducer a blank check because he thinks any Film Noir titled crap willsell at the box office, add some over-the-hill hot tomatoes and justgenerally screw-up the story-line by some retard, drugged out screenwriter, that's how!

2012-05-13 03:52:30

One of the best of the genre!

This is easily one of the most outstanding pieces of film noir ever made. Ralph Meeker, (An actor who usually played bad guys.), plays a very anti-heroic Mike Hammer. The Mike Hammer that Meeker portrays is greedy and sadistic. He takes great pleasure inflicting pain on others, and stepping on as many toes as possible to get what he wants. With a lead character as trashy as the one Meeker portrays you can only imagine how cold-blooded the rest of the people in this movie are. "Kiss Me Deadly" is one of the more rarely seen classic detective pictures; this is a shame. From the very first shot of this picture, you can feel the crime-detective genre being pushed and beaten into directions no one has ever seen before.There are some people who did not understand the ending of this picture. It's simple: "Be careful what you go looking for, you might not like what you find."This is one wonderfully stylish, suspensful, and unusual motion picture. You owe it to yourself to check it out!

david david 2012-05-12 06:02:01

Classic Spillane - only not so !!!!

This is a great film. Full of Spillane's touches and excesses andfeaturing a brilliant performance by Ralph Meeker as the quintessentialanti-hero Mike Hammer, a thug for every occasion. Trouble is that thereis much anti-Spillanestuff going on too. Director Aldrich hatedSpillane's book so much he played around with it and turned it into akind of satire on cold war thrillers and Eisenhower era attitudes. Thefilm portrays Hammer as a real sleaze bag with no redeeming features.OK, the Hammer of the books wasn't a nice guy but Spillane knew that,Aldrich misses the point somewhat by turning into a character to loathewhereas the literary Hammer always has a side of him you can identifywith, even if you don't like to admit it. Aldrich redeems himself withsome fantastic direction and some solid story telling. This a greatlatter day noir, though not as good as the first version of 'I, TheJury' made a few years earlier.

2012-05-12 02:12:47

Classic Movie, Recieved in a Timely Fashion

It was exactly what I wanted, and it arrived quickly.

2012-05-11 10:48:41

Nuclear age film noir

Director Robert Aldrich's "Kiss Me Deadly" is an offbeat production based on the Mickey Spillane novel which in 1955 came at the tail end of the film noir era. The film is a juxtaposition of the dark moody noir genre with the embryonic atomic age.Ralph Meeker playing narcissistic, unscrupulous private investigator and Spillane anti-hero Mike Hammer becomes involved in a plot that is beyond his normal scope. Hammer who generates most of his business through divorce inquests, uses both the charms of his sexy assistant Velda played by Maxine Cooper and his own to embellish his cases.Hammer is tooling along a deserted highway in his signature sports car when he almost runs over a young Cloris Leachman clad only in a trenchcoat and little else. He stops to pick her up and soon learns that she's escaped from an asylum. Driving together they are forced off the road and abducted by a gang lead by a faceless heavy recognizable only by a pair of fancy shoes. Leachman who reveals some mysterious secrets to Hammer in previous conversation, is tortured to death. She's then placed along with Hammer in his car and they are pushed off a cliff. Hammer survives the ordeal but gets the idea that he's stumbled into a scheme that has potential for immense financial rewards. Using his investigative talents and utilizing an array of associates such as auto mechanic Nick, played by Nick Dennis and Cooper, Hammer comes into contact with a wide variety of sketchy villains including Leachman roommate Lily played by Gaby Rodgers.We finally learn that the prize that the bad guys are after is contained within a well insulated black case and apparently contains some radioactive material. The tastefully shoed head of the gang is revealed to be Albert Dekker playing the arcane Dr. Soberin who is in cohoots with Gaby Rodgers.In the wild and memorable finale with bullets flying in Dekker's beach house and Hammer wounded, Rodgers is warned not to open the case. In a scene reminiscent of Pandora's box, her curiousity gets the best of her and after shooting Dekker, opens the case creating an unexpected fiery cataclysm.

RARubin 2012-05-11 01:55:21

A-Bomb Exposure

Mike Hammer catches cheaters in the act by throwing himself or his sexy50's doll into the mix, breaking marriages one way, or another. Thecops think he's a jerk and I guess he is. Still, Hammer has style, nicesuits, haircut, and sports cars. Get ready for 77 Sunset Strip knockoffs. Yeah, love those sports cars, an open seat Jaguar or a gorgeous55 Corvette. It doesn't rain in LA, so who needs a top.Cloris Leachman is definitely not in the Mary Tyler Moore show as shehas escaped from a mental hospital only to hitchhike her way intoHammer's roadster. Things go down hill from there as Hammer is luredinto the biggest caper of his sordid career.In the 50's, if you're going to show in a Drive-in movie or a localone-horse town, you give the folks something steamy to think aboutlater, but really the cheese is under a hoop skirt where it belongs.Give the boys a peek and it's whoopee time for Mr. and Mrs. America.Ah, the 1950's, no wonder they had a baby boom.Oh, and the big secret that the mob boys are knocking bodies over for,it's a variation on The Maltese Falcon with a little A-Bomb exposure.

robin_davidson 2012-05-09 15:08:49

Would like to know how David Lynch rates this one

On my most recent viewing the director I was most reminded of was DavidLynch, and the films Mullholland Drive and Wild at Heart. I mean, atthe most obvious, compare the beginning of Mullholland Drive; and thelook chosen for Isabella Rossellini in Wild at Heart compared with GabyRodgers as Lily. There is also something of the same messing with themechanics of film making (sound, camera angle, cuts) to profoundlydisturbing effect. A twisting of narrative, too; above all a sublimefloating of narrative events above a hidden but cast-iron solidunderpinning of logic. The performances share some of the samequalities: Meeker inhabits Hammer sleekly, as if the role wereskin-tight; yet others, especially Rodgers and Wesley Addey, have alooser feel, as though the characterisations were uncertain forinitially unknown reasons. This too draws me back (or forward) toLynch.

2012-05-09 01:27:38

Brilliant realist late film noir

Kiss Me Deadly seems light years ahead of the studio made film noirs of just ten years earlier. Seventy-five per-cent of it is shot on location in Los Angeles circa mid fifties. Likewise the performances by Ralph Meeker and company are gritty and disturbingly honest. Meeker is the master of understatement and his Mickey Spillane is by far the quintessential reading of this pulp detective. Meeker inhabits his roles so thoroughly it's hard to pick him out in his various screen performances. The great fun of this cienimatic ride is following Spillane thru seedy L.A. and meeting the underworld characters, B-girls, and working-class joes that populate his world. Hold on to your hats for the surprise ending as Spillane follows the links to the contraband he was hired to find.