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