Kiss of Death

1947

Kiss of Death

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

88%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 17

75%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 2,052
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Kiss of Death Photos

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Movie Info

Based in part on a true story, Kiss of Death is given a veneer of reality by being filmed on location in New York, per the insistence of director Henry Hathaway..Victor Mature plays Nick Bianco, a cheap crook who commits a Christmastime jewelry store heist with his gang, and manages to get the rap while the others slip by the police unnoticed. Nick refuses to testify on the others, and gets sent up the river for 20 years for robbery. Before he goes to prison, he's assured by the criminal element that his wife and children will be taken care of while he's behind bars (thanks in no small part to his refusal to testify), but this is a blatant lie: during his incarceration, he learns that the family has gone broke, his wife committed suicide and his children have been sent to an orphanage. Furious, Nick summons district attorney Louie d'Angelo (Brian Donlevy) and makes an unusual deal: parole, in exchange for his willingness to squeal on the others. Louie expresses particularly strong interest in nabbing sadistic mob torpedo Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark, in his chilling screen debut), and helps secure Nick's release with the understanding that Nick will ingratiate himself with Tommy. This he does, spending inordinate amounts of time with the psychopath and earning the man's trust. Meanwhile, Nick also falls in love with Nettie (Colleen Gray), marries her, and regains custody of his two young daughters. The family moves to a small house together (with Nick living under an assumed name), but Louie realizes that his cover will soon be blown. To make matters even more complicated, Louie soon comes calling and pressures Nick into testifying against Tommy. Nick hesitates, given his concern that Tommy will come after him as soon as police surveillance lifts. Moreover, Tommy has a few nasty tricks of his own, however, and vows to make life as difficult as possible for Nick. This is the film in which Widmark's character gigglingly pushes a wheelchair-bound old lady down a flight of stairs. Reviewer James Agee said it best: "You feel that murder is the kindest thing he is capable of". The film made Widmark a star--and also convinced him to start lobbying immediately for good-guy roles so that he wouldn't be typecast as maniacal killers for life. Kiss of Death was remade as the 1958 western The Fiend Who Walked the West, then re-remade under its original title in 1994, with David Caruso in the Mature role and Nicolas Cage in the Widmark part, and the violence and nudity dramatically elevated to conform with the times.
  • Rating:
    NR
  • Genre:
    Classics, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
  • Directed By:
    Henry Hathaway
  • Written By:
    Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    20th Century Fox

Cast

Victor Mature
as Nick Bianco
Brian Donlevy
as Assistant D.A. Louis D'Angelo
Richard Widmark
as Tommy Udo
Coleen Gray
as Nettie
Karl Malden
as Sgt. William Cullen
Howard I. Smith
as Warden
Taylor Holmes
as Earl Howser
Howard Smith
as Warden
Anthony Ross
as Williams
Mildred Dunnock
as Ma Rizzo
Millard Mitchell
as Max Schulte
Temple Texas
as Blondie
Jack Smart
as Skeets
Wendell Phillips
as Pep Magone
John Kullers
as Prisoner
Anne Grey
Robert Keith
as Judge
Victor Thorley
as Sing Sing Guard
Billy O'Leary
as Policeman
Rollin Bauer
as Sing Sing Guard
Arthur Foran Jr.
as Sing Sing Guard
James Doody
as Sing Sing Guard
Bernie Sell
William Zuckert
as Sing Sing Guard
Paul Lilly
as City Jail Guard
Herbert Holcombe
as City Jail Guard
Steve Roberts
as Guard
Jack Rutherford
as Policeman
George Smith
as Policeman
Dennis Bohan
as Guard
Gregg Martell
as Guard
Pat Malone
as Policeman
Richard Midgley
as Guard
Iris Mann
as Congetta
Marilee Grassini
as Rosaria
Anthony Norman McKay
as Capt. Dolan
Harry M. Cooke
as Taxi Driver
Richard Taber
as Taxi Driver
Jesse White
as Taxi Driver
Robert Karnes
as Hoodlum
Harry Carter
as Detective
Robert Adler
as Detective
Charles McClelland
as Detective
Yvonne Rob
as Customer
Carl Milletaire
as Customer
Gloria O'Connor
as Girl
Consuela O'Connor
as Girl
Harold Crane
as Mr. Moremann
Mel Ruick
as Moremann's Assistant
John Marley
as Al
Lee Sanford
as Chips Cooney
John Stearns
as Harris
Eda Heinemann
as Mrs. Keller
Eva Condon
as Nun
Irene Shirley
as Nun
Mary Jane Morrison
as Mother Superior
Alexander Campbell
as Train Conductor
George Shelton
as Waiter
David Fresco
as Waiter
Harold Gary
as Doorman
Dort Clark
as Man in Car
Arthur Kramer
as Mr. Sulla
Perc Launders
as Lieutenant
Nina Borget
as Cashier
Don Giovanni
as Gangster
Tito Vuolo
as Luigi
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Critic Reviews for Kiss of Death

All Critics (17) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (2)

View All Critic Reviews (17)

Audience Reviews for Kiss of Death

  • Oct 24, 2010
    An all-star cast with a heart-felt story, but it could have done a better job at presenting the story or something, I just felt it could have been better in some way. Still, I think this is a good movie, and very worth seeing.
    Aj V Super Reviewer
  • Jul 11, 2010
    Henry Hathaway's classic film noir is powerful and intensely captivating. It tells the tale of a small-time hoodlum, Nick Bianco, played marvelously by Victor Mature in the best lead performance of his career. He is convicted of a jewel heist and sent to prison, then after serving three years because he was double crossed by his shyster lawyer, he then learns that his wife has comitted suicide, and that his children have been sent away to an orphanage, so he then makes a deal with the assistant district attorney played superbly by Brian Donlevy, and is paroled, but it's not going to be easy for Nick, he must testify against a giggling sadistic killer named Tommy Udo, that works for the mob, played with great menace by Richard Widmark, who makes his remarkable Oscar nominated screen debut as the psychotic Udo. This film made a star out of Widmark and he completely dominates it. There is a infamous, shocking scene where Udo pushes a helpless crippled old lady in wheelchair down a flight of stairs to her death, so she won't squeal! Beautiful black & white cinematography by Norbert Brodine. A gripping exciting crime drama. Highly Recommended.
    Danny R Super Reviewer
  • Mar 14, 2010
    This is billed as a film noir, but it plays more as a crime drama. Victor Mature plays Nick Bianco, a robber who agrees to "snitch" on his cohorts in a heist in order to see his young daughters. It's a decent suspense film, but it is most memorable not for the main story but rather for the character of Johnny Udo, a giggling psycho played by Richard Widmark in his first role. What Johnny does to the old lady in the wheelchair is now the stuff of film legend. Widmark steals every scene he's in, which admittedly isn't hard since Victor Mature isn't much of an actor and I found Colleen Gray to be kind of a dull presense. But the film is still a damn sight better than a lot of others I could name.
    Cindy I Super Reviewer
  • Jul 01, 2009
    This entire film is Richard Widmark! The story isn't bad, but the love story is horrendous.Victor Mature does a great job as the leading man and brings some freshness as a tough guy who loves his family. I have seen some Film Noir done a lot better and the movie is saved because the last half hour is great(except for the L.A.Confidential ending). As I said this is Widmark's movie and he was nominated for a Oscar for this role. This movie made him a star and his performance in this film is still talked about today. It must have been shocking to see a bat-shit crazy homicidal maniac like Tommy Udo in 1947.The censors and the studio cut this film up and if Hathaway got his way with the film it would have been darker and way ahead of it's time.
    cody f Super Reviewer
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