Parklane Pictures Inc.

United Artists

Not part of a collection.

Kiss Me Deadly

Name: Kiss Me Deadly
Released: 1955-04-28T00:00:00.000000Z
Rating: 7.2

Blood red kisses! White hot thrills! Mickey Spillane’s latest H-bomb!

1955 • 106 min • ★ 7.2 (416) • Released

Crime Mystery Thriller

One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his car to crash. When Hammer returns to semi-consciousness, he hears Christina being tortured until she dies. Hammer, both for vengeance and in hopes that "something big" is behind it all, decides to pursue the case.

IMDb ↗

Original title: Kiss Me Deadly
Language: EN
Country: US
Budget: $410,000
Revenue: $726,000

Reviews & Ratings 1

John Chard

Mar 3, 2020 · via TMDB

★ 9.0

Yesterday I was looking for a thread, today I'm looking for a piece of string. Mike Hammer is driving down a dark highway when a half naked blonde forces him to stop, this event sends Hammer spiralling on a journey that may have a cataclysmic consequence for all involved. Kiss Me Deadly is a harsh movie, it contains an array of characters that are dislikable in the extreme, nobody can be trusted, and everyone on the surface appears to be selfish in their respective motivations. Taking in torture, murder, violence on tap, and a wonderful mystery plot, it's not hard to see why the film has gained a massive reputation as the years have rolled by - where although it's brutish in substance, the film is a damn riveting piece of work. Ralp Meeker is excellent as Hammer, a character who refuses to lay down, he gets knocked down constantly, but he gets back up tougher than before, he becomes the kind of hard boiled guy who hits first and then asks questions later. The direction from Robert Aldrich is perfect, off-kilter camera work drags the viewer into this skew-whiff world that Hammer has entered, and we often only see shots of the bad guys torsos so as to make them faceless thugs. It's down right aggressive film making that hits the requisite thriller mark. Kiss Me Deadly has influenced many others since its release, be it "Repo Man" or "Pulp Fiction", the impact is still being felt today. Containing a much talked about ending (both the restored and alternate endings work on differing levels to many), it's a film that leaves things up for discussion and debate, but what we do know for sure is that it's explosive and crowns what is now firmly established as a crime classic from the film noir splinter of film making styles. 8.5/10

User reviews courtesy of TMDB.

Keywords 7

beach house black and white convertable film noir hitchhiker mike hammer private detective

Cast 25

Ralph Meeker

Mike Hammer

Albert Dekker

Dr. G.E. Soberin

Paul Stewart

Carl Evello

Juano Hernández

Eddie Yeager

Wesley Addy

Lt. Pat Murphy

Marian Carr

Friday

Maxine Cooper

Velda

Cloris Leachman

Christina Bailey

Nick Dennis

Nick

Jack Lambert

Sugar Smallhouse

Jack Elam

Charlie Max

Leigh Snowden

Cheesecake

Percy Helton

Doc Kennedy

Marjorie Bennett

Manager

Strother Martin

Harvey Wallace

John George

Popcorn Vendor (uncredited)

Fortunio Bonanova

Carmen Trivago

Nat King Cole

Self - Singer (voice)

Leonard Mudie

Athletic Club Clerk (uncredited)

James McCallion

Horace

Robert Cornthwaite

FBI Agent

Silvio Minciotti

Mover

Paul Richards

Attacker

Jesslyn Fax

Horace's Wife

James Seay

FBI Agent

Crew 8

Ernest Laszlo

Director of Photography

Robert Aldrich

Director

Michael Luciano

Editor

Victor Saville

Executive Producer

Robert Aldrich

Producer

Frank De Vol

Original Music Composer

Mickey Spillane

Novel

A.I. Bezzerides

Screenplay

Gallery

Videos

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US Release Dates 3

Apr 20, 1955

New York City, New York

Premiere

Apr 28, 1955

Theatrical

May 18, 1955

Los Angeles

Theatrical