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Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Director: Robert Aldrich

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From Time Out London

Condemned on its release as harmful to minors, Robert Aldrich’s late contribution to the B-noir tradition, by way of Mickey Spillane, couldn’t quite find its audience in 1955. But it now stands as 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. After a mysterious woman (debutante actress Cloris Leachman) flags down Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) on a highway and is subsequently murdered, the downmarket private dick reads this chance encounter as his ticket to the big time, and he sniffs out a trail of intrigue through many a gutter and back alley to an unbelievable secret. Cold, calculating, even downright nasty, the antihero Hammer would be focus-grouped right out of existence if he were screenwritten today. And with its delectable period detail and the magnificent compositions and rich depth of field achieved by Aldrich and his cinematographer, Ernest Laszlo, ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ demands to be seen on the big screen. Go now.

Author: Jessica Winter

Time Out London Issue 1869: June 14-21 2006

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User reviews of this film

peter said...

Posted on Dec 02 2009 10:39 Saw movie at Randwick cinema Sydney in 1960. Dis oriented at times, and difficult to follow, the film is a however a watershed in Hollywood film makers, and the cinematograhy is first class. Some acting is poor thoigh fortuantely Ralph Meeker is excellent. Highly recommended.

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