(1947)
4
Brendon Hanley
The 1947 version of Kiss of Death is best remembered for Richard Widmark's screen debut as a sadistic, tittering killer, but the film holds up well on its own as an example of film noir. It also features one of Victor Mature's best performances. Mature was traditionally considered more of a sex symbol than an actor, but his role in Kiss of Death backed up his fine work the year before as Doc Holliday in John Ford's My Darling Clementine. The typical but compelling noir plot -- based on the Oscar-nominated story by Eleazar Lipsky -- is given an impressive dose of realism courtesy of the on-location shoot in New York City, which differentiated the film from the stylized studio claustrophobia of most noirs, while maintaining the genre's trademark tension and suspense. Widmark, who would be remembered throughout his career for his role as the wonderfully named Tommy Udo, deserved the plaudits he received, including his only Academy Award nomination. Kiss of Death was remade as the Western The Fiend Who Walked the West in 1958 and again in 1995 with the original title, directed by Barbet Schroeder and starring David Caruso and Nicolas Cage.
Kiss of Death on AllMovie
Kiss of Death (1947)
