Killer's Kiss (1955)

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

This little film captured my attention from the start and held it for the entire 67-minute running time, a tribute to Kubrick's early talent. I even prefer it to his rambling epics, like "2001: A Space Odyssey" and beyond. Contrary to many other opinions, I find the acting top-notch. Jamie Smith is a charismatic hero, Irene Kane is just pretty enough and naive enough to play the damsel in distress, and Frank Silvera exudes sliminess and menace. What makes them seem awkward is the unmatched overdubbing and stilted voice-overs, particularly by Kane in her flashback where she sounds like she's reading a Daphne DuMaurier Gothic novel.Photography and locations in no way call attention to the film's low budget. In fact they're what make this film so absorbing. The climactic fight in the mannequin warehouse has an eeriness that was later borrowed in Blake Edwards' "Experiment in Terror."Overall, a great film that can hold it's own against some of Kubrick's best achievements.

This is Stanley Kubrick's second film, and it's significantly better then Fear and Desire, his first film. The plot revolves around Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith) a struggling boxer who meets Gloria Price (Irene Kane) when he saves her from gangster Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera). As Davey and Gloria's relationship blossoms, Rapallo gets angry and set's out for revenge. The film shows us these two struggling people and how they are both looking for better lives. The cinematography of this movie is excellent. If you've seen some of Kubrick's photos of New York when he was working for Look magazine, you'll see a lot of that imagery here. The film starts out slowly but escalates faster and faster as it goes. Killer's Kiss is a top notch film noir and it really works. I recommend it.

Few have captured the glitter and grub of a cityscape better than this 70-minutes of neon and alleyways. The plot's all over the place, along with choppy editing and so-so acting. Thus, the storyline leaves a lot to be desired. Nonetheless, the visuals are consistently striking, from crowded dancehall to jagged rooftop. Clearly, Kubrick's sense of compositional artistry has already kicked in. And judging from the slick flashback of The Killing (1956), a lot was learned from this project. Sure the movie's done on the cheap and Kubrick has to do everything but cater the food. Still, the imagination is rich and pervasive at a time when Hollywood was arguably most straitjacketed. Despite the many flaws (god-awful musical scoring), this slender film put Kubrick on the movie-making map. Not surprisingly, his next film The Killing would provide a lot more to work with. All in all, the production remains a treat for the eye, if not for the ear; that is, if you believe urban dour can be made compelling.

A severely underrated film-noir that turned out to be far more engaging than expected, Killer's Kiss is no masterpiece in my opinion but it did serve its purpose well as a warm up feature for director Stanley Kubrick's talents before he started churning out one masterpiece after another until the very end of his legendary film career & is as experimental as his other features.The story revolves around Davey Gordon; a 29-year old boxer well past his prime, who's waiting at the train station for his girl and in an extended flashback recounts the happenings of his recent past. Filmed on a shoe-string budget, it presents Stanley Kubrick in charge of the responsibilities of director, cinematographer & editor all by himself, at which he impresses greatly.The film employs many unconventional & new tricks of shooting a picture from start to finish and exhibits the remarkable eye for detail Kubrick has when it comes to camera placement & lighting. Editing also never lets the uncertainty go out of the story & music manages to fit its accompanying sequences rather well. Performance by the cast isn't anything special but every one chipped in fine in their given roles.On an overall scale, Killer's Kiss is a very well crafted & firmly composed film which over the years has influenced cinema in a number of ways with its narrative structure & inventive use of camera angles. But since Kubrick went on to achieve even greater prominence in his later films, Killer's Kiss seems to be faced with no choice but to accept a rank provided at the back. Don't miss it.