IMDb > Kiss of Death (1947)

Kiss of Death (1947) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   2,091 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Henry Hathaway
Writers:
Ben Hecht (screenplay) and
Charles Lederer (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Kiss of Death on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
27 August 1947 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller more
Tagline:
It will mark you for life as it marked him for... Betrayal more
Plot:
With his law-breaking lifestyle in the past, an ex-con, along with his family, attempt to start a new life, unknowing a betrayed someone from the past is bound to see otherwise. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Actor Widmark Dies
 (From WENN. 26 March 2008, 12:11 PM, PDT)
Actor Richard Widmark Dies at 93
 (From IMDb News. 26 March 2008)
User Comments:
Vic and Dick In Old Manhattan more (56 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Victor Mature ... Nick Bianco

Brian Donlevy ... Assistant D.A. Louis D'Angelo
Coleen Gray ... Nettie

Richard Widmark ... Tommy Udo
Taylor Holmes ... Earl Howser--Attorney
Howard Smith ... Warden

Karl Malden ... Sgt. William Cullen
Anthony Ross ... 'Big Ed' Williams
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
98 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
UK:12 (DVD rating) (2005) | UK:A (original rating) | West Germany:16 (nf) | USA:Approved (PCA #12356) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15
Filming Locations:
14th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA more
Company:
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Often cited as Victor Mature's best performance. more
Quotes:
Tommy Udo: I'm askin' ya, where's that squealin' son of yours?
[weird laugh]
Tommy Udo: You think a squealer can get away from me? Huh?
[crazy laugh]
Tommy Udo: You know what I do to squealers? I let 'em have it in the belly, so they can roll around for a long time thinkin' it over. You're worse than him, tellin' me he's comin' back? Ya lyin' old hag!
[maniacal laugh]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Best of Film Noir (1999) (V) more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
15 out of 17 people found the following comment useful.
Vic and Dick In Old Manhattan, 23 September 2002
9/10
Author: telegonus from brighton, ma

This is one of the better remembered crime films of the forties, and boasts excellent direction by Henry Hathaway, a good script by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer, and fine New York location photography by Norbert Brodine. Victor Mature plays a small-time crook who's enlisted by an assistant D.A. to infiltrate a gang of criminals whose leader, played by Richard Widmark, in his movie debut, is a psychopath with a very bent sense of humor. Psycho killers were relatively new to movies in the forties, and Widmark's may be the most famous of the lot. One can see his influence in films for years to come, as any number of actors made their debuts playing similar roles. No one surpassed Widmark for sheer sadism, however, as when he ties up an old lady in a wheelchair and sends her tumbling down a flight of stairs. This remains his most famous role, and when his obituary is written, the author, if he knows his movies at all, will mention it in the first sentence. Kiss Of Death is a decent crime story, at times very tense, but not otherwise exceptional. Surprisingly, Victor Mature gives a warm, emotional performance in the leading role, and Widmark's villainy would not have been so nearly as effective without this. How dull this picture might have been had Dana Andrews or Mark Stevens played this part.

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