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Kiss Me Deadly

  • 1955
  • Approved
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
23K
YOUR RATING
Ralph Meeker in Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Watch Trailer
Play trailer2:15
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Film NoirCrimeMysterySci-FiThriller

A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".

  • Director
    • Robert Aldrich
  • Writers
    • Mickey Spillane
    • A.I. Bezzerides
  • Stars
    • Ralph Meeker
    • Albert Dekker
    • Paul Stewart
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    23K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Robert Aldrich
    • Writers
      • Mickey Spillane
      • A.I. Bezzerides
    • Stars
      • Ralph Meeker
      • Albert Dekker
      • Paul Stewart
    • 228User reviews
    • 139Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:15
    Trailer
    Cowboys! Detectives! Giant Bugs! B-Movie History!
    Clip 5:23
    Cowboys! Detectives! Giant Bugs! B-Movie History!
    Cowboys! Detectives! Giant Bugs! B-Movie History!
    Clip 5:23
    Cowboys! Detectives! Giant Bugs! B-Movie History!

    Photos117

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    + 111
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    Top cast42

    Edit
    Ralph Meeker
    Ralph Meeker
    • Mike Hammer
    Albert Dekker
    Albert Dekker
    • Dr. G.E. Soberin
    Paul Stewart
    Paul Stewart
    • Carl Evello
    Juano Hernandez
    Juano Hernandez
    • Eddie Yeager
    Wesley Addy
    Wesley Addy
    • Lt. Pat Murphy
    Marian Carr
    Marian Carr
    • Friday
    • (as Marion Carr)
    Marjorie Bennett
    Marjorie Bennett
    • Manager
    Mort Marshall
    Mort Marshall
    • Ray Diker
    Fortunio Bonanova
    Fortunio Bonanova
    • Carmen Trivago
    Strother Martin
    Strother Martin
    • Harvey Wallace
    Mady Comfort
    Mady Comfort
    • Nightclub Singer
    • (as Madi Comfort)
    James McCallion
    James McCallion
    • Horace
    Robert Cornthwaite
    Robert Cornthwaite
    • FBI Agent
    Silvio Minciotti
    • Mover
    Nick Dennis
    Nick Dennis
    • Nick Va Va Voom
    Ben Morris
    • Radio Announcer
    Jack Elam
    Jack Elam
    • Charlie Max
    Paul Richards
    Paul Richards
    • Attacker
    • Director
      • Robert Aldrich
    • Writers
      • Mickey Spillane
      • A.I. Bezzerides
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The Kefauver Commission, a federal unit dedicated to investigating corrupting influences in the 1950s, singled this out as 1955's number one menace to American youth. Because of this, Robert Aldrich felt compelled to conduct a writing campaign for the free speech rights of independent filmmakers.
    • Goofs
      At the beginning, Christina (Cloris Leachman) is shown running at the side of the highway, but the shots of only her feet show her running along the painted center line of the highway.
    • Quotes

      Mike Hammer: You're never around when I need you.

      Velda: You never need me when I'm around.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits scroll down instead of the usual up, resulting in needing to read them bottom to top.
    • Alternate versions
      Until 1997, all known copies in circulation of "Kiss Me Deadly" ended rather abruptly: the wounded Mike Hammer stumbling through the beach house looking for his partner Velda, and then there's a couple of brief shots of the house exploding and burning, with "The End" superimposed on the final shot. The music is cut off instead of fading out, and the screen turns black; it looks like Mike and Velda died in the blaze.
    • Connections
      Edited into American Cinema: Film Noir (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      Rather Have the Blues
      Sung by Nat 'King' Cole
      Written by Frank De Vol (uncredited)
      [Played on the car radio during the opening title card and credits]

    User reviews228

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10

    "Kiss Me Deadly" revealed the developed of Aldrich style

    "Kiss Me Deadly" had few similarities with Spillane's story about a gang of dope traffickers… Instead Aldrich reworks the plot so that the criminals are mixed up in the theft of priceless and high1y dangerous radioactive material which they are planning to smuggle to an unnamed power… The complicated story begins with Hammer picking up a scared girl on a lonely road at night and continues through the girl's subsequent death, a kidnapping and a series of very brutal killings…

    Spillane's Mike Hammer remains the ultimate in violent private eyes… The killings seem to matter less than the sadism… One scene in which Hammer deliberately breaks the irreplaceable records of an Italian opera lover in order to get the information he wants is more repellent than any of the murders in the film…

    Furious but stylish, "Kiss Me Deadly" is a film of great power and stays unique for its mixing of art and pulp fiction
    • Nazi_Fighter_David
    • Jan 16, 2009
    • Permalink

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    FAQ24

    • How long is Kiss Me Deadly?Powered by Alexa
    • Why are there two different endings?
    • Which one is the original ending?
    • What is the European ending?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 28, 1955 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Mickey Spillane's Kiss Me Deadly
    • Filming locations
      • Clay Street, Bunker Hill, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA(Mike parks his Corvette and takes the back steps up to the Hillcrest Hotel)
    • Production company
      • Parklane Pictures Inc.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $410,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $726,000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $952,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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