The Death Kiss

Another pleasant surprise from a 50 set Mystery Classic DVD package put out by Treeline Films. The Death Kiss is a diverting early 30's murder mystery set against the backdrop of a Hollywood studio movie production.This viewer enjoyed the knowing glimpse of the inner workings of a studio...the "Old Country" Jewish studio boss(with the fractured English and acute cost consciousness),the Big Star actress with a rocky private life,and the amateur sleuth screen writer.The whole cast , in this not exactly big budget film, is first-rate(a little too broad on the comedy relief). Good looking. likable chap David Manners plays the writer, and seems to be having a lot of fun doing so(what's with these David Manners bashers? My God, you'd think he was as bad as George Raft -The All-Time Worst "actor").) Bela Lugosi is earnest but somewhat out of place here.The Death Kiss keeps you guessing and is a nice flash-back to "Talkies" and actual "ice" in the ice box. Take a look....

Not bad little cheapie, an early talkie about a murder in a movie studio. Enough clues to go on, some good red herrings, and only a couple of holes in the plot. Of course, to film buffs, Lugosi is the main attraction, but his part is small and his accent distracts. Interesting peeks at working movie company in the 30s.

So who fiddled with the props. Heart-throb actor Brent was only supposed to get shot with blanks. But now he lies on the sound stage floor, deader than the proverbial doornail.

As a whodunit, the movie's only moderately interesting. As a peek inside a filming crew, the movie's fascinating. But as a subtext of studio politics, the movie's a subtle insider glimpse.

To me, the film's highpoint comes when the studio head Grossmith stumbles for words for the press, only to be interrupted by his flowery pr man who dishes out the pr pablum in high-falutin' style. I'm wondering how much of that is aimed at the relatively uneducated likes of Louis B. Mayer at MGM or Jack Warner at Warner Bros. Then too, note how the real crime-solving sleuth is not an executive type, but a screenwriter (Manners) instead. Now how do you suppose that decision ended up in the script. Sometimes being a lowly screenwriter has its hidden perks.

Anyway, it's certainly different to catch Lugosi not making a meal out of somebody's neck. Still, I kept wanting to tell people not to stand too close. Then there' s the luscious Adrienne Ames (Marcia) who can go toe-to-toe with any Hollywood beauty of that day or this. Too bad she died so young. And, of course, there's Manners who started out as annoyingly smug when outsmarting the coppers. I'm glad he eased eventually into someone more likable.

All in all, the movie's worth catching up with for its insider look at movie-making, 1930's style.

Here's another important early detective movie. It is important because it is early in the life of talkies (just two years after, really); it is a mystery (which was just being invented cinematically); and it is "folded."

That last means that it is a movie. And it is about a movie. All the characters except the hapless police detective are part of the movie within, which is also called "The Death Kiss." That designated detective is our usual surrogate: in the outer film trying to suss out the inner.

The murder in question is a murder in the movie within that is "real," meaning it is also in the outer movie. The real detective turns out to be the writer of the inner movie. I am not sure if this is the first appearance of this particular device. I would appreciate hearing if it is not. If it is, this film is of enormous importance. If not, it is still important, though for enjoyment purposes, well its pretty far down the list.

I'm tentatively making this a "worth watching," but if I confirm that it is the first talking with a movie with written by the same guy that writes the outer movie, I'll elevate it to a four.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

"The Death Kiss" has been played up in recent years as a suggested horror film starring Bela Lugosi. In fact it is an interesting little murder mystery with Lugosi playing only a supporting role. Directed by first time director Edwin L. Marin, it contains many little plot twists to keep the viewer's interest.

In the opening scene for example, a man is shot down as he leaves a posh night club following an unsolicited "death kiss' from an attractive woman. It turns out that we were in fact watching the shooting of a movie. It also turns out that the actor who was "shot", Myles Brent (Edmund Burns) was really killed. So we are introduced to another of those Hollywood "behind the scenes" stories.

Detectives Sheehan (John Wray) and Sgt. Hilliker (wade Boheler) arrive on the scene. Turns out that Brent had been shot with a .38 caliber pistol while the props used in the scene were .45 caliber containing blanks. And, the actress who administered the "death kiss", Marcia Lane (Adrienne Ames) had been married to Brent.

Studio mystery writer Franklyn Drew (David Manners) takes it upon himself to investigate the case. He discovers where the shot came from and reports it to the cops. With the help of bumbling stdio guard "Gully" Gulliver (Vince Barnett) he continues his investigation.

Several suspects including Studio Boss Leon A. Goldsmith (Alexander Carr), Studio Manager Joseph Steiner (Lugosi), Director Tom Avery (Edward Van Sloan) as well as, Marcia Lane are investigated. Circumstances point to the guilt of Marcia and Drew, who has a romantic interest in her, works to find the real killer.

Needless to say, director Marin throws in several red herrings along the way. In the process he gives us an entertaining little (though low budget) mystery thriller.

As I mentioned earlier, Bela Lugosi is restricted to but a few scenes, most of which have him glaring at the other characters with those piercing stares. Manners and Ames make an attractive hero and heroine respectively. Its hard to believe but Lugosi, Manners and Van Sloan had appeared together a year earlier in Lugosi's signature film, "Dracula". Lugosi you would have thought, would have gone on to bigger and better things, however, he chose to appear in several low budget poverty row quickies in the years following his success in "Dracula".

Not bad for a poverty row thriller.