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A Kiss Before Dying (1956) 6.8
A ruthless college student resorts to murder in a futile attempt to marry an heiress. Director:Gerd Oswald |
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Title: A Kiss Before Dying (1956)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Robert Wagner | ... |
Bud Corliss
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| Jeffrey Hunter | ... |
Gordon Grant
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Virginia Leith | ... |
Ellen Kingship
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| Joanne Woodward | ... |
Dorothy ('Dorie') Kingship
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| Mary Astor | ... |
Mrs. Corliss
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| George Macready | ... |
Leo Kingship
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| Robert Quarry | ... |
Dwight Powell
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Howard Petrie | ... |
Howard Chesser, Chief of Police
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Bill Walker | ... |
Bill, the Butler
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Molly McCart | ... |
Annabelle Koch
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Marlene Felton | ... |
Medical Student
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Student Bud Corliss is wooing Dorother Kingship purely for her father's mining fortune. When he finds she is pregnant he realises she is likely to be disinherited, so cleverly stages her suicide. After a couple of months her sister back home finds evidence to question the suicide verdict, but by then has a new boyfriend of her own... Written by Jeremy Perkins <jwp@aber.ac.uk>
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
12 June 1956 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Amor, Prelúdio de Morte See more »Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.55 : 1
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Bud Corliss: Crying isn't going to help.
Dorothy Kingship: I just can't help it.
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Music by Lionel Newman
Lyrics by Carroll Coates
Sung by Dolores Hawkins
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Did You Know?
Quotes
[first lines]Bud Corliss: Crying isn't going to help.
Dorothy Kingship: I just can't help it.
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Soundtracks
"A Kiss Before Dying"Music by Lionel Newman
Lyrics by Carroll Coates
Sung by Dolores Hawkins
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Young woman attempts to solve the mysterious death of her sister, which was ruled a suicide. Unfortunately, this is no delicious, Nancy Drew-styled mystery, for the sleuthing is done almost entirely off-screen, and the details we're privy to (like the fact her sister was wearing something old-new-borrowed-& blue when she died) are skimmed over second-hand. The main focus is on Robert Wagner's sociopath, but we don't get much background information on him. Director Gerd Oswald sets up a long sequence in a college chemistry supply lab which goes no place, skirting major plot-issues and personality points in the meantime. The script, based upon Ira Levin's far-fetched novel, eliminates an entire third sister and rushes along Levin's carefully-mounted scenario until it becomes nothing more than a summary of the book. The small town college landscape is vividly captured however, and Lucien Ballard's cinematography is rich (despite a slim budget). Later remade with Matt Dillon and Sean Young--whom Virginia Leith (here playing Ellen) eerily resembles! ** from ****