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Movies / On DVD / Kiss Me Deadly
Kiss Me Deadly

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Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

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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.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

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

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jun 19, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Kiss Me Deadly

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

In the dingy, black-and-white halls of the film noir pantheon, they've a special place set aside for Kiss Me Deadly.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/27/09
Channel 4 Film

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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/27/09
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The trail leads to a series of amorous dames, murder-minded plug-uglies and dangerous adventures that offer excitement but have little clarity to let the viewer know what's going on.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/30/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The brutality of the film’s characters and its scenario are shocking enough today, but in 1955, they were gobsmacking.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

No review available.

comment Comment
02/29/08
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

Dazzling film noir masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television | comment Comment
08/09/07
Michael E. Grost
Michael E. Grost
Classic Film and Television

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.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
06/24/06
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Observer [UK]
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
05/30/06
BBC

Never was Mike Hammer's name more fitting than in Kiss Me Deadly, Robert Aldrich's blisteringly nihilistic noir.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
05/01/06
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Slant Magazine

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.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Jessica Winter
Jessica Winter
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
06/15/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

It's not the greatest thriller ever, but Kiss Me Deadly is classic film noir.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
04/15/05
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

No review available.

comment Comment
01/07/05
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Best exemplifies a curious cross between "art" and pulp fiction.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/26/04
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
05/29/04
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
New Times

Intriguing cold war thriller. Meeker was born to play Mike Hammer.

comment Comment
05/23/04
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
Nitrate Online

...maybe the most subversive of all films noir, encompassing everything from atomic femme fatales to masculinity amok and the Bomb.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
05/14/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Perversely fascinating and completely unsettling.

comment Comment
08/27/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
 
 
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