A Kiss Before Dying (1956)

Director:

Gerd Oswald

Writers:

Lawrence Roman (screenplay)
Ira Levin (novel)

Release Date:

12 June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

A ruthless college student resorts to murder in a futile attempt to marry an heiress.

Plot Keywords:

Heiress | College Student | Murder | Vitamin Pills | Dark Alley

Cast

Robert Wagner	...	Bud Corliss
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Gordon Grant
Virginia Leith	...	Ellen Kingship
Joanne Woodward	...	Dorothy ('Dorie') Kingship
Mary Astor	...	Mrs. Corliss
George Macready	...	Leo Kingship
Robert Quarry	...	Dwight Powell
Howard Petrie	...	Howard Chesser, Chief of Police
Bill Walker	...	Bill, the Butler
Molly McCart	...	Annabelle Koch
Marlene Felton	...	Medical Student
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Ivers	...	Student at Murder Scene (uncredited)

Directed by
Gerd Oswald

Writing credits
Lawrence Roman		(screenplay)
Ira Levin		(novel)

Produced by
Robert L. Jacks	....	producer

Original Music by
Lionel Newman

Cinematography by
Lucien Ballard

Film Editing by
George A. Gittens		(as George Gittens)

Art Direction by
Addison Hehr

Set Decoration by
James Roach

Makeup Department
Louis Hippe	....	makeup artist
Kay Shea	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Frank Parmenter	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sid Sidman	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Buddy Myers	....	re-recording (as John Myers)
Frank Webster	....	sound

Stunts
Joan Bartlett	....	stunt rider & swimmer: Virginia Leith (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Evelyn Carruth	....	wardrobe
Henry Helfman	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Billy May	....	orchestrator
Nelson Riddle	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Dolores Rubin	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Crown Productions (presents)

Distributors

• United Artists (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (released thru) (as United Artists Corporation)
• United Artists (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company  we gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of

Also Known As:

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording) | 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints)

Certification:

UK:12 | Norway:16 (1956) | USA:Approved (certificate #17419) | West Germany:18 (nf) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company:

Crown Productions

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bud Corliss:Crying isn't going to help.
Dorothy Kingship:I just can't help it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bowser Makes a Movie (2005)

Soundtrack:

A Kiss Before Dying

Upscale Ed Wood?

Robert Wagner as a psychopathic killer, Jeffrey Hunter as a math teacher/cop, Joanne Woodward as a clinging dishrag, Virginia Leith as a sexy prospective victim and Mary Astor as a dowdy mom? It's so strange I began to wonder if it was some kind of demented masterpiece. It starts with perky titles promising a silly romantic comedy, then has a long dialogue scene between Bob and Joanne all in one take, a tumble by a pregnant woman that *doesn't* result in a miscarriage (surely a movie first), and indescribably odd moments like a sixtyish woman in a see-through blouse sashaying through an intense dialogue scene that pauses to honor her passing, and a postal clerk whose delicate cough serves as a Pinteresque interruption to an otherwise inconsequential line. It was Gerd Oswald's first movie and as far as I can tell he never did anything of note after-wards, but he might have been an Ed Wood buried under a studio budget. It's on DVD and should be seen in its original Cinemascope glory.