Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

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

Release Date:

18 May 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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:

Mike Hammer | Hospital | Mechanic | Hitchhiker | Cliff

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)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (new 35mm print)
• United Artists (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1955) (France) (theatrical) (as Les Artistes Associés )
• Cinema Classics (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (VHS)

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 | Italian | Spanish

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:

Cloris Leachman's first theatrical film role.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: (At 1:10:00) The singer is shown standing with both hands on the microphone stand. When Hammer is sitting at the bar, during the same song, the singer is shown in a reflection playing a piano and not singing, though she is still heard singing.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Soundtrack:

RATHER HAVE THE BLUES

Tough and surreal Noir classic gets better and better with age.

'Kiss Me Deadly' is an overlooked crime gem that has proved to be a major influence on subsequent film makers from the French New Wave to cult classics 'Repo Man' and 'Pulp Fiction'. It's a movie which gets better and better with age. Director Robert Aldrich manages to put lots of style and interesting touches which sometimes border on the surreal into this toughest of tough guy movies. Ralph Meeker ('Paths Of Glory', 'The Dirty Dozen', 'The Anderson Tapes') is well cast as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer. Meeker's Hammer is brutal and his performance really makes this one work. The supporting cast are all very good too, especially Albert Dekker ('The Wild Bunch') as Dr Soberin and Maxine Cooper as Hammer's "assistant" Velda. Also keep an eye out for the debut of Cloris Leachman is the striking opening sequence. The "great whatsit" which Hammer searches for is one of the great movie gimmicks, and the ending will blow you away - literally. I loved this movie from beginning to end. I think it ranks alongside 'Out Of The Past' (Tourneur), 'The Asphalt Jungle' (Huston), 'Double Indemnity' (Wilder), 'The Killing' (Kubrick) and 'The Killers (Siegel)' as one of the greatest and most influential American crime movies, and I'm sure Scorcese and Tarantino would be the first to agree. Highly recommended.