Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysAPA Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)

Kiss of Death

  • 19471947
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
8.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Kiss of Death (1947)
Trailer for this black and white classic
Play trailer2:21
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Film-Noir

Nick Bianco is caught during a botched jewellery heist. The prosecution offer him a more lenient sentence if he squeals on his accomplices but he doesn't roll over on them. Three years into ... Read allNick Bianco is caught during a botched jewellery heist. The prosecution offer him a more lenient sentence if he squeals on his accomplices but he doesn't roll over on them. Three years into the sentence an event changes his mind.Nick Bianco is caught during a botched jewellery heist. The prosecution offer him a more lenient sentence if he squeals on his accomplices but he doesn't roll over on them. Three years into the sentence an event changes his mind.

IMDb RATING
7.4/10
8.3K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Henry Hathaway
  • Writers
    • Ben Hecht(screen play)
    • Charles Lederer(screen play)
    • Eleazar Lipsky(story)
  • Stars
    • Victor Mature
    • Brian Donlevy
    • Coleen Gray
Top credits
  • Director
    • Henry Hathaway
  • Writers
    • Ben Hecht(screen play)
    • Charles Lederer(screen play)
    • Eleazar Lipsky(story)
  • Stars
    • Victor Mature
    • Brian Donlevy
    • Coleen Gray
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 93User reviews
    • 52Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 3 wins & 2 nominations total

    Videos1

    Kiss of Death
    Trailer 2:21
    Kiss of Death

    Photos131

    Victor Mature in Kiss of Death (1947)
    Victor Mature, Richard Widmark, and Brian Donlevy in Kiss of Death (1947)
    Victor Mature, Richard Widmark, and Tito Vuolo in Kiss of Death (1947)
    Victor Mature and Coleen Gray in Kiss of Death (1947)
    Karl Malden, Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, and Millard Mitchell in Kiss of Death (1947)
    Brian Donlevy in Kiss of Death (1947)
    Karl Malden, Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, and Millard Mitchell in Kiss of Death (1947)
    Victor Mature and Coleen Gray in Kiss of Death (1947)
    Victor Mature and Richard Widmark in Kiss of Death (1947)
    Kiss of Death (1947)
    Kiss of Death (1947)
    Victor Mature and Coleen Gray in Kiss of Death (1947)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Victor Mature
    Victor Mature
    • Nick Biancoas Nick Bianco
    Brian Donlevy
    Brian Donlevy
    • Assistant D.A. Louis D'Angeloas Assistant D.A. Louis D'Angelo
    Coleen Gray
    Coleen Gray
    • Nettie Cavalloas Nettie Cavallo
    Richard Widmark
    Richard Widmark
    • Tommy Udoas Tommy Udo
    Taylor Holmes
    Taylor Holmes
    • Earl Howseras Earl Howser
    Howard Smith
    Howard Smith
    • Wardenas Warden
    Karl Malden
    Karl Malden
    • Sgt. William Cullenas Sgt. William Cullen
    Robert Adler
    Robert Adler
    • Detectiveas Detective
    • (uncredited)
    Rollin Bauer
    Rollin Bauer
    • Sing Sing Guardas Sing Sing Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Bellaver
    Harry Bellaver
    • Bull Weedas Bull Weed
    • (uncredited)
    Dennis Bohan
    • Guardas Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Nina Borget
    • Cashieras Cashier
    • (uncredited)
    Susan Cabot
    Susan Cabot
    • Restaurant Patronas Restaurant Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Alexander Campbell
    Alexander Campbell
    • Train Conductoras Train Conductor
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Carter
    Harry Carter
    • Detectiveas Detective
    • (uncredited)
    Dort Clark
    Dort Clark
    • Man in Caras Man in Car
    • (uncredited)
    Eva Condon
    • Nun at Orphanageas Nun at Orphanage
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Cooke
    • Taxi Driveras Taxi Driver
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Henry Hathaway
    • Writers
      • Ben Hecht(screen play)
      • Charles Lederer(screen play)
      • Eleazar Lipsky(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Cry of the City
    7.2
    Cry of the City
    Born to Kill
    7.2
    Born to Kill
    The Street with No Name
    7.1
    The Street with No Name
    Where the Sidewalk Ends
    7.6
    Where the Sidewalk Ends
    The Blue Dahlia
    7.1
    The Blue Dahlia
    Road House
    7.2
    Road House
    The Glass Key
    7.0
    The Glass Key
    I Wake Up Screaming
    7.2
    I Wake Up Screaming
    Call Northside 777
    7.4
    Call Northside 777
    Criss Cross
    7.4
    Criss Cross
    Night and the City
    7.9
    Night and the City
    Murder, My Sweet
    7.5
    Murder, My Sweet

    Storyline

    Edit
    Small-time crook Nick Bianco gets caught in a jewel heist and despite urgings from well-meaning district attorney D'Angelo, refuses to rat on his partners and goes to jail, assured that his wife and children will be taken care of. Learning that his depressed wife has killed herself, Nick informs on his ex-pals and is paroled. Nick remarries, gets a job and begins leading a happy life when he learns one of the men he informed on, psychopathic killer Tommy Udo, has been released from custody and is out for revenge against Nick and his family. —Doug Sederberg <vornoff@sonic.net>
    • district attorney
    • death of wife
    • prison visit
    • shot multiple times
    • parolee
    • 75 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • It will mark you for life as it marked him for... Betrayal
    • Genres
      • Crime
      • Drama
      • Film-Noir
      • Romance
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • Approved
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Film debut of Richard Widmark.
    • Goofs
      When Assistant District Attorney D'Angelo comes to the cell to talk to Bianco, Udo is sharing the cell with Bianco. D'Angelo then again proposes a deal for Bianco to turn in his accomplices in exchange for leniency; however, Udo is still in the cell within hearing distance. A District Attorney proposing a deal to a prisoner in the presence of another prisoner is highly unrealistic and against policy. As a precaution, these deals are proposed in private to safeguard the inmate's life.
    • Quotes

      Tommy Udo: I wouldn't give you the skin off a grape.

    • Alternate versions
      For the theatrical release in Manitoba, the shot of the woman in the wheelchair going down the staircase had to be shortened.
    • Connections
      Edited into Myra Breckinridge (1970)
    • Soundtracks
      Street Scene
      (uncredited)

      Music by Alfred Newman

    User reviews93

    Review
    Top review
    "Somebody's Doing Some Squealing"
    Nick Bianco is a smalltime robber who finds himself facing a long prison sentence. He is offered a deal which presents him with a tough dilemma. Can he reform? Does he have it in him to turn his back on his criminal pals? Is he capable of leading a useful life?

    Manhattan is itself the very essence of film noir. What Lorca called "the extrahuman architecture and furious rhythm" of The City, this totally manmade environment, is both impressive and somehow sinister. Borrowing from German Expressionism, the makers of noir saw the Metropolis as a twentieth-century emanation of the Frankenstein theme - that by industrialising, we have created our own worst nightmare. In "Kiss Of Death" we get the obligatory Manhattan skyline, but more significantly Bianco's new home, outside which his little girls roller-skate, is overshadowed by brooding spans of bridges. No matter how Bianco may love his domestic idyll, The City is in him and around him, and he cannot escape "that good old hoodlum complex".

    The screenplay by gifted noirists Hecht and Lederer is excellent. Complex strategy, both in Di Angelo's plans to outwit the witness-intimidators, and Nick's final showdown with the bad guy, is conveyed effortlessly to the viewer. The little touches by which Nick gains our sympathy (unfair treatment in the workplace, his good handwriting, etc.) are expertly laid. The scene in which Di Angelo gradually undermines Nick's hostility is a particularly fine piece of writing. Though a major criminal trial forms a plot pivot, the writers resist the temptation to wallow in courtroom drama. We see nothing of the trial, and the movie is slicker and tauter for it. In a similar vein, mobster Pete Rizzo is important to the story, but never actually appears onscreen. His presence would only slacken the narrative rhythm. The fact od Nettie's marriage is communicated to the viewer with elegant concision, and her happy home life is shown symbolically, without being dwelt upon.

    Richard Widmark is simply marvellous as Tommy Udo, the creepy psycho. His oscillation between manic levity and unhinged viciousness is fascinating to watch. The scene where Udo humiliates his "moll" Buster is a masterpiece of cruelty which tells us a great deal about both characters.

    As the intelligent bulwark of right-thinking society, Brian Donlevy gives a memorable performance in the role of Assistant District Attorney Louie Di Angelo. Coleen Gray is ideal in the part of Nettie, the thoroughly nice girl who falls for Nick. She even takes over the movie's narration, making an interesting shift in tone from terse, authoritative male voice to the softer 'social conscience' theme of which her character is the embodiment.

    And the film is not afraid to espouse the liberal cause. Nick loves his children, and a heartless, uncaring society won't give him a job. He is wrong to stage the hold-up to get money for Christmas presents, but what choice have we hypocrites left him? "Nobody's cried over me for a long time," says Nick. We believe him.

    Henry Hathaway brings quiet assurance to the directing. The suspense is developed masterfully in two key places, neither sequence relying on dialogue at all for its emotional power. The first is the interminable elevator ride at the start of the film, and the second is Nick's long vigil near the end, as he waits alone for his nemesis to arrive.

    Earl Howser is played by Taylor Holmes in a superb depiction of a crooked attorney, the glad-handing, glib-tongued "eminent shyster with connections". In the second conference at Osning, the unctuous Howser says "Sit down, son, sit down," then casts a wily look at Nick which reveals his reptilian cunning.

    Hathaway and his Director of Photography, Norbert Brodine, have come up with one of the best, and best-looking, of all films-noirs. The unrelenting geometry of the wall bricks in the cell area, and the daunting shadow of the bars, represent symbolically the way in which an unyielding society has caged Nick Bianco and closed down his options. Osning's rigid architecture, shot in exaggerated perspective, is the emblem of society's inflexibility. Shadows of prison bars slant across characters' faces. We are all enclosed and limited by the industrial monster which we have created. The prisoners carry out meaningless work in the machine shop, the crazily spinning bobbins standing for the barren bustle of modern life, and the ubiquitous twine the web of capitalism in which we unfortunates are ensnared. The clang and rumble of el-trains invades living-rooms, the heartbeat of the evil giant entering every facet of our lives.

    "Kiss Of Death" was shot in genuine locations rather than on studio sets, and the use of real buildings gives it an interesting look. Doorways are used throughout the film for clever dramatic effects. Nick's first kiss with Nettie is shot through a doorway, suggesting furtiveness, putting the viewer in the position of a disapproving janitor. The doorway of the bordello opens to Udo, but is slammed in Nick's face. He does not belong here. A moment of sincere mutual affection between Di Angelo and Nick - the only one in the film - happens in a doorway, as if these two men from different worlds can only ever coincide in this transitory way. At the orphanage, a doorway allows us to glimpse a stained-glass crucifix just as Nick is about to embrace his daughters - and redemption. The reunion with Conchita and Rosaria is very moving, and beautifully acted by Mature.

    Verdict - A Superior Noir.
    helpful•10
    1
    • stryker-5
    • Jul 7, 2000

    FAQ1

    • Why are Patricia Morison and Robert Keith billed on the film's poster? They don't seem to be in it.

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 1947 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Blind Date
    • Filming locations
      • 14th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,520,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 39 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    ‘Willy’s Wonderland’ VOD Review
    ‘Willy’s Wonderland’ VOD Review
    Feb 12Nerdly
    Review: "Brighton Rock" (1948) Starring Richard Attenborough; Blu-ray Special Edition
    Review: "Brighton Rock" (1948) Starring Richard Attenborough; Blu-ray Special Edition
    Jun 3Cinemaretro.com

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Kiss of Death (1947)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Kiss of Death (1947) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The 10 Most Anticipated Marvel and DC Movies
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    2022 TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.