El beso del asesino

A young Stanley Kubrick's bare-budget film - perhaps his first "mainline" movie - shows him still in the minor leagues but very close to making it to the Major Leagues. In fact, he did so the following year with "The Killing," a film noir that still ranks among the best. At any rate, this is an opportunity to see Kubrick at work right before he "makes it" in the business.

With an almost-nothing budget you aren't going to draw too many professional actors, and that certainly was the case here, but still is worth watching. It's definitely a "B" noir that is more melodrama than crime until the ending when it gets very, very suspenseful featuring a chase over New York City rooftops and then into abandoned warehouses.

Jamie Smith and Irene Kane are the stars and if you've never heard of them, it's probably because they weren't exactly Humphey Bogart and Bette Davis, acting-wise. The other star, Frank Silvera, at least is a name I recognized.

Overall, the best feature may be the camera-work. It gives us a preview of the visual talents that Kubrick would bring to the big screen in following decade. On its own merits, if you are a film noir fan, you'll want this in your collection.

"Killer's Kiss" (1955), acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick's second feature film, starred Jamie Smith, Irene Kane and Frank Silvera.

The story looks like it was partly inspired by Robert Siodmak's The Killers (1946): A boxer called on the slide Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith), is awakened from a dream (a stunning piece of surrealism, it's only fault being that it is too short) by the screams of Gloria Price (Irene Kane), who lives on the other side of his apartment block, as her lecherous boss Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera) forces himself on her. Gordon goes to her help, but Rapallo escapes. He falls in love with Gloria, a "dancer" at a nightclub run by Rapallo, but in doing so, he faces Rapallo's wrath and his deadly vengeance.

While the plot may be slightly run-on-the-mill stuff, the movie as a whole is certainly not. Shot on the streets of New York by Kubrick himself, the picture benefits enormously by this "breathing" quality, making the story more believable as it's set and shot in a real place, a rare practice at the time (one wonders if Kubrick did this for purely aesthetic reasons: the budget of the movie was only $40,000 or so, extremely cheap even then for a movie). The camera-work is very high contrast black and white, all the automobiles surfaces gleaming and enabling the tower blocks Gordon rushes past during the final look dark and foreboding. He also inserts a few stylistic shots like Gordon looking through a fish-bowl; but Kubrick uses these sparingly so they always look unexpected. Along with the beautiful cinematography, the action is the highlight of this motion picture: a violent and ruthless boxing match early on, shot with a hand-held camera is exciting and brutal; capturing what the sport is really like. Another set piece is justifiably famous: a climatic fight between Gordon and Rapallo in a mannequin store house with fire-axes.

But there are flaws, flaws than cannot be overlooked even if one is kind to the young Stanley Kubrick and very lenient. First and foremost is the acting: Irene Kane as the woman who sparks off all the trouble is desperately weak and is hard to see why a Rapallo lust after her and Gordon falls in love with her so quickly. Silvera is excellent as our villain and Smith, while nothing special, is good enough for his part, but because Kubrick opted to film the movie "silent" and then put in the sounds in post-production, not only do you have errors like cars driving in the background but no noise issuing forth from them, but the performances are made rather stilted and the dialogue spoken doesn't always match up to their lips. The motion picture is in (a needless) flashback, so we are given a redundant voice-over and the ending in the train-station is overly-sentimental and it is not only alien to the world of noir, but alien also to Kubrick. Despites these flaws, the movie reminds an enjoyable, at times very exciting, film noir that isn't just for Kubrick buffs.

Few have captured the glitter and grub of a cityscape better than this 70-minutes of neon and alleyways. The plot's all over the place, along with choppy editing and so-so acting. Thus, the storyline leaves a lot to be desired. Nonetheless, the visuals are consistently striking, from crowded dancehall to jagged rooftop. Clearly, Kubrick's sense of compositional artistry has already kicked in. And judging from the slick flashback of The Killing (1956), a lot was learned from this project. Sure the movie's done on the cheap and Kubrick has to do everything but cater the food. Still, the imagination is rich and pervasive at a time when Hollywood was arguably most straitjacketed. Despite the many flaws (god-awful musical scoring), this slender film put Kubrick on the movie-making map. Not surprisingly, his next film The Killing would provide a lot more to work with. All in all, the production remains a treat for the eye, if not for the ear; that is, if you believe urban dour can be made compelling.

This film, directed by Stanley Kubrik, is not seen often these days. It was a surprise that it was shown recently on cable as it gave all of Mr. Kubrik's fans the opportunity to watch one of his early works.

The copy that was shown is amazing in that it has been kept, or probably restored, with great care. Stanley Kubrik was a genius; he probably knew more about movies than many other of his contemporaries. Yet, his legacy is somehow meager, only sixteen full length features in almost fifty years as a director.

Killer's Kiss shows the Manhattan of 1955 like it has never been seen in other movies made in the city. Mr. Kubrik's attention to detail and style overshadows the story. The main problem is his screen play, it never involves the viewer in what he is seeing. This is exacerbated by the voice over one hears over the action. We never know what makes these people tick, much less what's going on in their heads at any given moment.

The story is told in a flashback. We see Davy waiting at the old Pennsylvania Station for the train that is to take him to Seattle. He had planned to leave with Gloria, but she seems never to appear; for all we know, he might be waiting in vain.

The streets of Manhattan come alive in the brilliant black and white cinematography by Mr. Kubrik, himself. That old New York that is no longer around, is captured by Mr. Kubrik in such brilliant detail that we mourn the fact those buildings and institutions are not around any more. The night scenes around Times Square, especially the stairway leading to the dance hall have a style that brings some of Edward Hooper's work to mind. Mr. Kubrik deserves credit for filming on location and never making it feel as though those scenes have been fixed to give that effect. In fact, that's where Kubrik's genius comes into play, we realize he had an eye for making things real.

The acting is not the main focus of this film. Frank Silvera makes a menacing Vincent, the mobster and dance hall owner. Jamie Smith and Irene Kane, go through the paces, but they don't convey to the viewer the passion that is supposed to be going on between them.

This movie should be seen by the serious moviegoer as it shows Mr. Kubrik's tremendous talent. It might be a minor film, in comparison to his best work, but being one of his first movies, one can clearly see what will come later.

In 1955 a young man, who had produced a couple of 35mm. shorts and a feature which were so little known that they were never even shown in England, made a suspense thriller… From the fact that he co-produced it, wrote it, directed it and did the photography and editing himself you may deduce that he had more talent than backing… The movie was called "Killer's Kiss," and the multi-talented man who made it was the young Stanley Kubrick…

"Killer's Kiss" is a fascinating movie to look back as it is a notable thriller in its own right… It is a film about lonely people; alone people, which is not quite the same thing; their roots almost severed from a past which was once good and is now lost; solitary in the impartial big city at the end of the line…

It starts with a confident, quiet slowness that few directors would dare in the frenetic Seventies… It takes its time to develop, and for nearly half the film you can't guess what the plot is going to be… But this carefully measured film gives you a deep feeling for the characters and their context that leaves you, even after all the suspense, with an overwhelming feeling of the humanity of the movie…

The narrator, Davy Gordon (Jamie Smith) is a young and fading boxer, past it, but not defeated in his heart… The girl Gloria Price (Irene Kane), who lives in the same apartment block, has, like him, no family nor friends… She's come down to working as a dance partner in a shabby hall run by a baddie called Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera).

Kubrick slowly, and movingly, shows the two principals taking the downgrade: Davy fighting a losing bout in the ring while Gloria is trying to push off some heavy passes from Rapallo…

Even he, Rapallo, is made human, understandable… When he stands in his shadowed office, making up his mind to some malice, his eyes fall on cozy family photographs in nice domestic frames that he takes the trouble to keep there; and, when his mind is made up, he gestures irritably, guiltily, as if knowing he's letting them down and trying weakly to dismiss summarily aside their silent reproaches…

The whole story is condensed into three days… Yet it seems to have the natural, inevitable pace of real life; and the moments briefly taken out for little touches of New York street scenes add to the reality and place it in a context of truth…

Very little violence is actually shown except in Davy's boxing match which, in just a few minutes, gives a better feeling than most movies of what it's like to lose a fight in the ring… But, in spite of all, you're on the edge of your seat and you're glad to be there…

There is a classic chase over the rooftops, but even here there are human touches that kill cliché… These villains are not supermen, any more than Davy is: they can stumble on a fire escape, and not for laughs; one of them can fall as you or I would fall and drop out with a twisted ankle…

The suspense is not lessened by these touches: it is increased, because it is more real, seems less contrived…

"Killer's Kiss" was a first-class suspense film that foreshadowed conscious and technique that Kubrick was to take to the limit in later years… And, after all, the ending was fair enough for the Fifties… In the Seventies, Gloria would probably have got raped by the railway porter, and there'd have been a lot of unlovely detail and no suspense at all