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KISS ME DEADLY (1955) (****)

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This deceptive film-noir/crime yarn brings gumshoe Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker, PATHS OF GLORY) into a murder mystery that involves some pretty shady characters. The tale starts out as a fairly competent detective tale, but that is all just set up for the stellar ending that is totally unexpected and quite powerful. When most films of this nature have their hard-boiled detectives soften up by the end of the film, this flick does the exact opposite to startling and thrilling extents.

The events of the film begin when Mike picks up Christina Bailey (Cloris Leachman, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW) by the lonely roadside. Then when Christina gets murdered and Mike almost loses his life along with her, he is determined to discover what he can get out of the deal for himself. This is where he enlists the female skills of his long-suffering girl/partner Velda (Maxine Cooper, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?).

No one seems to think much of Mike because he is involved in shady frame jobs between husbands and their wives. As the film progresses, we discover more and more that Mike is actually quite skilled at what he does, but we also see how reckless he is as well. In his desire to get the big score, he doesn’t think about how his actions and requests will endanger or affect the people in his life.

The acting in the film isn’t going to win any awards, but Meeker does capture the tone really well. He’s just awesome when he gets determined about his mission. Director Robert Aldrich paces the film perfectly. The ending twist is handled in such a way that it brings the entire film up to a new level. Plus, the character threads are all brought together without forcing any turn around in the characters. The black and white cinematography, especially some of shot framing, compliments the tone of the film and builds suspense wonderfully.

I’ve seen three of Aldrich’s films — ULZANA’S RAID and WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? as well — and loved them all. His resume also includes the original THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, THE LONGEST YARD and THE DIRTY DOZEN. I think I can say that I’m an Aldrich fan now. This film is a total classic and a landmark in the history of film-noir. A must see for all film fans!

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Rick DeMott
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Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks