Killer's Kiss (1955)

Ready to catch a train to his hometown, a washed up boxer tells us about the strange and twisty events that happened to him the past couple of days.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writer:

Stanley Kubrick (story)

Stars:

Frank Silvera, Irene Kane, Jamie Smith

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Frank Silvera	...	Vinnie Rapallo
Jamie Smith	...	Davey Gordon
Irene Kane	...	Gloria Price
Jerry Jarrett	...	Albert
Mike Dana	...	Gangster
Felice Orlandi	...	Gangster
Shaun O'Brien	...	Landlord
Barbara Brand	...	Taxi Dance Lady
David Vaughan	...	Conventioneer #1
Alec Rubin	...	Conventioneer #2
Ralph Roberts	...	Bouncer #1
Phil Stevenson	...	Bouncer #2
Arthur Feldman	...	Policeman #1
Bill Funaro	...	Taxi Driver
Skippy Adelman	...	Mannequin Factory Owner

Storyline

Prize-fighter Davy Gordon intervenes when private dancer Gloria Price is being attacked by her employer and lover Vincent Raphello. This brings the two together and they get involved with each other, which displeases Raphello. He sends men out to kill Davy, but they instead kill his friend. Gloria is soon kidnapped by Raphello and his men, and it is up to Davy to save her.

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Plot Keywords:

railway station | dancer | boxer | taxi dancer | dance hall | 

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Taglines:

Exposed! The mobs, molls, and mayhem of New York's clip-joint jungle!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Killer's Kiss

Filming Locations:

3156 Perry Avenue, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Minotaur Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Scenes from the movie are among those comprising the 30-second "Open All Night" montage on Turner Classic Movies. The montage is frequently shown prior to feature films that air in the middle of the night Eastern Time on the network.

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Goofs

When Vinnie drives Davy to the loft, they take a lift up to at least the second floor. However, when Davy jumps through the loft window, he falls only one story.

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Quotes

Davy Gordon: Something's happened.
Gloria Price: Yes, I know.
Davy Gordon: Do you know?
Gloria Price: Sure. You kissed me.
Davy Gordon: Is that all?
Gloria Price: That's all I saw, and I was watching all the time.

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Connections

Featured in Room 237 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Love Theme from the Song "Once"
by Norman Gimbel and Arden E. Clar (as Arden Clar)

User Reviews

A Kubrick film at only 67 minutes - can you believe it?

It's just over an hour long and even so we have the trademark Kubrick opening, where he takes his own sweet time in letting us know what the film is about but somehow draws us in all the same. Look: it's an hour long, and it's a slight, hour-long kind of story. Don't expect anything more. I think there's also rather clearly a moment when Kubrick realised that he didn't know how he was going to end it all - to be honest, I have a sneaking suspicion that a similar thing happened on "2001", "Eyes Wide Shut" and even "Dr. Strangelove". In each of these cases it was the prompt for a daring and unconventional conclusion. I wish I could say that was the case here.

This doesn't prevent it from being involving while it lasts. Kubrick once again demonstrates the he could point a camera at anything at all and make it interesting - the images are amazing, yet entirely functional. If you have ever loved any black-and-white camera work you'll love this. It's also a masterpiece of violence-without-violence, if you know what I mean. It deserves to be more well-known than it is.