Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)

Fugitive Bill Saunders and lonely nurse Jane Wharton are crossed by fate when he hides out in her apartment.

Director:

Norman Foster

Writers:

Leonardo Bercovici (screenplay), Ben Maddow (adaptation),

Stars:

Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, Robert Newton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Fontaine	...	Jane Wharton
Burt Lancaster	...	William Earle 'Bill' Saunders
Robert Newton	...	Harry Carter
Lewis L. Russell	...	Tom Widgery
Aminta Dyne	...	Landlady
Grizelda Harvey	...	Mrs. Paton (as Grizelda Hervey)
Jay Novello	...	Sea Captain of Pelicano
Colin Keith-Johnston	...	Judge
Reginald Sheffield	...	Superintendent
Campbell Copelin	...	Publican
Leyland Hodgson	...	Tipster (as Leland Hodgson)
Peter Forbes	...	Young Father

Storyline

Bill Saunders, disturbed ex-soldier, kills a man in a postwar London pub brawl. Fleeing, he hides out in the apartment of lonely nurse Jane Wharton. Later, despite misgivings about his violent nature, Jane becomes involved with Bill, who resolves to reform. She gets him a job driving a medical supplies truck. But racketeer Harry Carter, who witnessed the killing, wants to use Bill's talents for crime.

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Plot Keywords:

nurse | fugitive | card trick | prisoner of war | veteran | 

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Taglines:

A HUNTED MAN...A LOVE-HAUNTED WOMAN! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Unafraid

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Norma Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lancaster wanted to retain the novel's title in order to capitalize on its success. Universal and the MPAA had problems with it, so the studio tested "Blood on My Hands" and "Blood on the Moon." It eventually premiered under the more innocuous "The Unafraid" but eventually reverted back to the book's original title.

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Goofs

The story takes place in England, where automobiles and trucks are right-hand drive; but the truck Bill drives is left-hand drive.

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Quotes

Judge: [to Bill Saunders] ... furthermore, although these appear to be first offenses, in view of the brutal nature of the assault, I have no alternative but to direct that you receive eighteen lashes of the cat-o'-nine-tails.

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Connections

Referenced in Watching the Detectives (2007)

User Reviews

Anemic melodrama

Now here's a title that raises expectations! Only to dash them in the end. Lancaster and Fontaine are engaging as always, but ultimately can't save this muddled movie. The story just never catches fire or rings true, not helped by a bogus Foggy London Town setting that evokes Sherlock Holmes more than postwar England. You almost expect Dick van Dyke to come sliding down the chimney. Also Robert Newton's bad guy turn is more comical than menacing; basically he just reprises his Bill Sykes role from Oliver Twist. Not half, guv! This might have been forgivable in a 30's movie, but you'd think they would have moved on by 1948. Also the ending must be one of the blandest cop-outs in cinema history. In the end, it's just one more also-ran movie.