Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

RyothChatty ridiculous rating

GazerRise Fantastic!

Whitech It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

JohnHowardReid Kiss of Death, is an amazingly brutal yet honest movie. How it got past American censors in 1947 was always a real mystery to me until Elia Kazan explained to me how it was achieved . Apparently, the original movie was lavishly endowed with scenes that would be sure to really infuriate the censors. But in addition, the movie also contained scenes that were almost as striking but slightly less liable to bring down the full wrath of these censors. So under the censor's direction, but strenuously fighting all these requests, many cuts were made as a compromise. But the movie still contained enough strong material to bring down the wrath of censors overseas who promptly responded by cutting the film to ribbons!. Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer spared no punches in their original seamy script. They managed to get away with it in the States by throwing the censors a sop when they eliminated all the scenes involving Patricia Morison, who played Maria Bianco (Nick's wife), plus Robert Keith (the judge), and Jay Jostyn (the D.A.). I hoped that these scenes would be restored in Fox's DVD release, but unfortunately, no such luck!

poe426 From the opening shot, it's clear that KISS OF DEATH isn't just another guns 'n' gals thriller: we see a "SHOOTING SCRIPT" (identified as such by its title); placed upon said script, a handgun. Not a bad way to begin a noir thriller, eh? Victor Mature as Nick Bianco is a hood with personal ethics that preclude him ratting out his accomplices in a botched jewelry store robbery. Three years into his stretch, however, he learns that his wife has committed suicide and his two children have been sent to an orphanage. When the prison warden asks Mature if he "plays ball," Mature replies, "I'm going to." The D.A. sets a trap for Mature's accomplice, Rizzo, but Howser, Mature's crooked lawyer, sends the psychotic Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) to silence Rizzo. But Rizzo ain't home when Udo arrives... so Udo ties Rizzo's invalid mother into her wheelchair with a length of electrical cord and shoves her down the steps. It's a particularly brutal scene, and is justifiably (in)famous. Things take a few more twists and turns before it's all over, but Mature isn't as impressed with the D.A. and his minions as he is with Udo: "He's NUTS, and he's smarter than you are," he snaps contemptuously. KISS OF DEATH is nigh flawless and deserves its status as a topnotch film noir. (Ruminating briefly, I've come up with a list of what I think are probably the top ten most memorable fictional but non-supernatural madmen and troubled women: Colonel Kurtz in APOCALYPSE NOW; Norman Bates in PSYCHO (and PSYCHO II); "John Doe" in SEVEN; "Zodiac" in DIRTY HARRY; Dennis Hopper in BLUE VELVET; Betty Davis in WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?; Kathy Bates in MISERY; Robert Mitchum in NIGHT OF THE HUNTER; Ernest Borgnine in EMPEROR OF THE NORTH; and the entire in-bred family in THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE (the ORIGINAL version). Honorable mentions go out to the Killbillies in DELIVERENCE; the faceless trucker in DUEL; Ernest Borgnine in the original WILLARD; Boris Karloff in BEDLAM and THE BLACK CAT; Orson Welles in TOUCH OF EVIL; the kid in THE BAD SEED; the bandit leader in FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE; Paul Stewart in THE WINDOW and the Captain in Val Lewton's GHOST SHIP.)

blanche-2 Victor Mature had no illusions about his acting; when he was rejected for membership to a golf club because he was an actor, he said, "I'm no actor, and I've got 65 movies to prove it." However unpretentious he was, when he was cast in the right role, he came off well, as he does here in the noir "Kiss of Death." Mature plays Nick Bianco, a con who becomes a stool pigeon for the D.A. (Brian Donlevy) so that he can get a parole and retrieve his kids from an orphanage. He marries a friend of his late wife's (Coleen Gray) and uses another name so that his kids won't be tainted by his old criminal life. It all goes well until he has to testify in court against Tommy Udo. Then his life and that of his family are in grave danger."Kiss of Death" is notable for being the auspicious debut of Richard Widmark, and few actors have had such a powerful introduction to an audience. As the sadistic Tommy Udo, Widmark's raw laugh and smirk are chill-inducing. His famous scene - maybe the most famous scene of his career, as well as being a famous scene, period - occurs when he throws an old woman in her wheelchair down a flight of stairs. And laughs. A fantastic performance.The beautiful Coleen Gray plays Nettie, Nick's wife. Despite her looks and good acting, Gray never achieved big stardom, though she had some excellent roles. I wonder if she just wouldn't play ball with Zanuck. Now 89, she is an attractive woman who continues to make public appearances, usually at screenings of the film "Nightmare Alley." Here she's perfect as a loving, worried woman. She also narrates.Mature gives a solid performance as Nick -- he was really in his métier here and in films like "I Wake Up Screaming," though he graduated (or was demoted) to beefcake roles in period pictures later on. He had the physique but he wasn't a great actor and somehow, it was more apparent in those movies.I feel very privileged to have met and spoken with Coleen Gray and to have heard the remarkable Richard Widmark speak in person, so I have an affection for this film. Even if I didn't, it's still good and well worth seeing.

seymourblack-1 "Kiss Of Death" is a tense crime drama which tells the story of a criminal whose main preoccupations and motivations centre on his family. The plot is unveiled in a style which utilises both neo-realist and expressionist elements and the many scenes filmed on location in the actual places referred to in the story are very effective and contribute strongly to the authenticity of the events depicted. The original story was based on actual events and was written by Eleazar Lipsky who himself had previously been a New York Assistant District Attorney. The use of a documentary style to deliver a very human story could've been regarded as incongruous but this potential problem was avoided by using a sympathetic narration by Coleen Gray."Kiss Of Death" is notable for the fact that it provided Richard Widmark with his sensational screen debut which was so successful that it almost immediately elevated him to star status and won him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Eleazar Lipsky was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story.After carrying out a jewellery robbery, Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) is caught by the police as he tries to make his getaway. Assistant DA Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy) encourages him to inform on his three accomplices who had successfully escaped from the crime scene, in exchange for a reduced sentence. Nick has a wife and two daughters but being confident that they would be looked after by his lawyer and accomplices when he is in prison, refuses to co-operate.Three years later, after his wife commits suicide and his daughters are placed in an orphanage, Nick is visited by Nettie (Coleen Gray) who used to be his girls' babysitter. She tells him that his wife had been attacked by one of his gang, Pete Rizzo and this provokes him into offering the Assistant DA all the information he had previously withheld. Due to the passage of time since the crime, the offer of a reduced sentence is no longer available but Nick does get to visit his girls if he agrees to provide some useful details about another unsolved case. Nick obliges by telling D'Angelo about an earlier robbery he carried out with Rizzo and then goes on to tell his lawyer that Rizzo had been the police's informer.Nick's lawyer, Earl Howser (Taylor Holmes) then contacts hit man Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) who goes to Rizzo's home and gets angry when he's told by Rizzo's crippled mother that her son isn't in. In his fury, he binds Ma Rizzo up with some cable and despatches her, in her wheelchair, down a flight of stairs, killing her in the process. Nick had known Udo in prison and after meeting him again, gains enough information from him about the murder he'd carried out for D'Angelo to take the case to court. Nick, who by this time is married to Nettie and is settled in a regular job, bravely testifies but the work of a clever mob attorney ensures that Udo is acquitted. This puts Nick in mortal danger and sets the story up for its powerful finale.In the introduction to the movie, it's explained that as an ex-con, Nick had found it impossible to get a job and with Christmas approaching and no money for presents for his wife and children, he took part in the jewellery store robbery. This predicament is something with which most people can immediately empathise and as such provides a compelling start to this fine movie. Equally riveting, are the brilliantly tense sequences, particularly those seen when the gang are making their escape from the crime scene, when Nick waits nervously for Udo to come and hunt him down and also in the run up to the scene in which Nick and Udo have their final confrontation. The murder of Rizzo's mother is incredibly shocking and Udo's insane giggling is chilling.All the acclaim Richard Widmark received for his portrayal of Udo was thoroughly justified and his depiction of this psychopathic, drug fuelled maniac with his trademark giggle and crazy eyes is exceptional. Victor Mature's performance is perfectly understated as it conveys Nick's basic decency and stoicism without ever becoming maudlin or self-pitying. He was a man whose principles as a criminal prevented him from co-operating with the police, however, when a conflict arose between these principles and his family values, the latter took precedence. Coleen Gray is also faultless as the bubbly, good natured Nettie.