Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Mickey Spillane (novel)
A.I. Bezzerides (writer)

Release Date:

18 May 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Film-Noir | Crime

Tagline:

"I don't care what you do to me, Mike - just do it fast!"

Plot:

A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit."

Plot Keywords:

Fall Down Stairs | Crime Commission | Pistol | Pacific Coast Highway | Overdose

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Ralph Meeker	...	Mike Hammer
Albert Dekker	...	Dr. G.E. Soberin
Paul Stewart	...	Carl Evello
Juano Hernandez	...	Eddie Yeager
Wesley Addy	...	Lt. Pat Murphy
Marian Carr	...	Friday
Maxine Cooper	...	Velda
Cloris Leachman	...	Christina Bailey
Gaby Rodgers	...	Gabrielle
Nick Dennis	...	Nick
Jack Lambert	...	Sugar Smallhouse
Jack Elam	...	Charlie Max
Jerry Zinneman	...	Sammy
Leigh Snowden	...	Cheesecake
Percy Helton	...	Doc Kennedy
Mady Comfort	...	Nightclub Singer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mort Marshall	...	Ray Diker
Strother Martin	...	Harvey Wallace
Sam Balter	...	Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Eddie Beal	...	Sideman (uncredited)
Marjorie Bennett	...	Manager (uncredited)
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Carmen Trivago (uncredited)
Leonard Bremen	...	Man in Parked Car (uncredited)
Robert Cornthwaite	...	FBI agent (uncredited)
Yvonne Doughty	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
Jesslyn Fax	...	Horace's Wife (uncredited)
John George	...	Popcorn Vendor (uncredited)
Joe Hernandez	...	Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Art Loggins	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Mara McAfee	...	Nurse (uncredited)
James McCallion	...	Horace (uncredited)
Silvio Minciotti	...	Mover (uncredited)
Ben Morris	...	Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Leonard Mudie	...	Athletic Club Clerk (uncredited)
Paul Richards	...	Attacker (uncredited)
Bing Russell	...	Police Detective (uncredited)
James Seay	...	FBI agent (uncredited)
Robert Sherman	...	Gas Station Man (uncredited)
Kitty White	...	Vocalist in club (opening credits) (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Aldrich

Writing credits
Mickey Spillane		(novel "Kiss Me Deadly")
A.I. Bezzerides		(writer)

Produced by
Robert Aldrich	....	producer
Victor Saville	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Frank De Vol		(as Frank Devol)

Cinematography by
Ernest Laszlo

Film Editing by
Michael Luciano

Casting by
Jack Murton

Art Direction by
William Glasgow

Set Decoration by
Howard Bristol

Makeup Department
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (as Bob Schiffer)

Production Management
Jack R. Berne	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert H. Justman	....	assistant director (as Robert Justman)
Mark Sandrich Jr.	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jack Solomon	....	sound

Music Department
Frank De Vol	....	conductor
Albert Harris	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Robert Sherman	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Parklane Pictures Inc.

Distributors

• United Artists (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Shochiku Company (1955) (Japan) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS) (widescreen)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Kinokuniya (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
• Park Circus (2006) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Barcino Barcino Films S.A. (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Cinema Classics (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (VHS)
• United Artists (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Complete Film Service  photographic effects
• Complete Film Service  titles

Also Known As:

Mickey Spillane's Kiss Me Deadly (USA)

Runtime:

106 min | USA:104 min (original version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Glen Glenn Sound)

Certification:

West Germany:18 (nf) | Australia:M | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:(Banned) | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) | Germany:18 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | UK:A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Angel's Flight Railway, Bunker Hill, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Parklane Pictures Inc.

Trivia:

Memo from United Artists: Mickey Spillane's name must be above the title and in the same type style as appears on the "Kiss Me Deadly" Signet Book Jacket.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Nick discovers Hammer's Corvette, a crew member's reflection is visible in the driver-side door.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mike Hammer: You almost wrecked my car! Well? Get in!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Exhumed (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

RATHER HAVE THE BLUES

Deadly Combination of Noir and Pulp

Saw "Kiss Me Deadly" at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica as part of the Film Noir Festival which happens every year there. First time viewing, and expectations were high. We were lucky enough to have the first assistant director from the film, and Maxine Cooper who played Velda waved at us from the back of the cinema. However, the pre-film discussion was lackluster and a missed opportunity. The film itself was a gripping, complex tale, where neither the characters nor the audience knew what was going on. This Mike Hammer-played unconvincingly by big muscled, Beach boy looking Ralph Meeker is an opportunist with a heart of gold, a cad with a conscience, a bully with a soft streak. His sidekick and secretary Velda, didn't have the femme fatale aura I would have expected. However, there are a host of other character actors who flit in and out of the film who are worth the price of admission: Nick Dennis as Nick, Hammer's idiosyncratic car mechanic (va va voom); Leigh Snowden as Hammer's fastest pick-up ever and Cloris Leachman in a small but pivotal role, in her first film. Where the film falls down is in its central intrigue: 'the "great whatsit' which Hammer and everyone else in the movie is chasing, has a dated, ho-hum quality once the cat is out of the bag. Apparently the film was controversial in its day and the studio may or may not have been behind the changing of the ending at the time "Kiss Me Deadly "was issued. According to our presenter the final 5 minutes were confusingly cut to satisfy the U.S. Government. We got to see the film as originally intended by the director, but there's nothing there now which warrants the fuss made 50 years ago. In fact, the supposed "incredible" ending I've read about in other reviews played cheesily to me, to use a classic film critique term. Still, "Kiss Me Deadly" is worth seeing, as much for its foibles as its accomplishments, as well as for its wonderful glimpses into downtown Los Angeles, and Bunker Hill before the skyscrapers replaced its Victorian tenements.