The film follows a private investigator in Los Angeles who becomes embroiled in a complex mystery after picking up a female hitchhiker. KMD Retro Classics; all your favourites due back. Hammer, wounded, struggles to his feet, and looks for Velda. Kiss Me Deadly departs from other Mike Hammer films in that Hammer never carries a gun. The film follows a private investigator in Los Angeles who becomes embroiled in a complex mystery after picking up a female hitchhiker who has escaped from a psychiatric hospital. Synopsis. When Hammer comes into the room, Gabrielle shoots him. KISS ME DEADLY. Brazen and bleak, KISS ME DEADLY is a film noir masterpiece as well as an essential piece of cold war paranoia, and it features as nervy an ending as has ever been seen in American cinema. Kiss Me Deadly delivers the 'white-hot thrills' and 'blood-red kisses' promised by its publicity, as well as reminding us whence Tarantino stole his best riffs. Robert Aldrich. This is explained when Lt. Murphy tells Hammer his PI license and gun permit have been revoked. They have Velda locked up in a bedroom and they have the box. [5], The screenplay was loosely adapted by A. I. Bezzerides with contributions from Aldrich, though it "made no effort to follow the book’s convoluted plot, [though] both are structured around [a] search for a mysterious box."[6]. Brazen and bleak, Kiss Me Deadly is a film noir masterwork as well as an essential piece of cold war paranoia, and it features as nervy an ending as has ever been seen in American cinema. Based on the cover, I was expecting a book with gratuitous sex. When the Ark of the Covenant in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark is opened, the shot of Rene Belloq's face melting is directly inspired by that of Gabrielle opening the suitcase. In the film Southland Tales, Richard Kelly pays homage to the film, showing the main characters watching the beginning on their television and later the opening of the case is shown on screens on board the mega-Zeppelin. The consensus states, "An intriguing, wonderfully subversive blend of art and commerce, Kiss Me Deadly is an influential noir classic". Homage is paid to the glowing suitcase MacGuffin in the 1984 cult film Repo Man, the film Ronin, and in Tarantino's film Pulp Fiction. Kiss Me Deadly (1955) Pages: The Story (continued) After a dissolve, Hammer is in almost the same position, but in a dominating clench and kiss with a lustful, forcefully aggressive Velda in the center of the room. I've never really gotten the hang of Valentines. [Her name is Velda Wakeman - Wake Man. Brazen and bleak, Kiss Me Deadly is a film noir masterpiece as well as an essential piece of cold war paranoia, and it features as nervy an ending as has ever been seen in American cinema. [3][4]. Kiss Me Deadly is so wild it’s practically an anti-noir, Ralph Meeker’s cool evil provoking a protagonist of the nastiest kind. Hammer goes to the apartment of Lily Carver, who says she was Christina's roommate and lover. Many of the locations disappeared in the urban development of the late 1960s, although a few remain. Sign in to check out Check out as guest . The screenplay also departs from Spillane's novel, replacing the mafia conspiracy at the center of the novel with an apparent case of espionage and a mysterious suitcase serving as the film's MacGuffin. Kiss Me Deadly is a 1955 film about a doomed female hitchhiker who pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit." Femme fatale style for those of us who prefer the evil queen in the fairytales. After several cars pass her by, the woman sees another car approaching, and to make sure either the car stops - or, she's killed, she stands in the path of an on-coming car. The pace never lets up--we're not even 15 minutes into the movie and there's already been a murder, a mysterious letter, an attempt to kill Hammer, and, of course, a … Most of the villains are bad by reputation rather than by anything on the page and all attractive females fall in love with Mike. The Matrix/Runout numbers are the same. A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit". We start in the credit sequence where this woman seems to be running for her life. Despite initial critical disapproval, it is considered one of the most important and influential film noirs of all time. Details about LITA Lita Ford VHS Kiss Me Deadly 80's Rock and Roll Hair Metal. [18] In 1997, the original ending was restored after the missing footage was discovered in the vaults of the Directors Guild. Femme fatale style for those of us who prefer the evil queen in the fairytales. In the event that you simply don't have enough information from brands you liked a post from once in your life about how they are dealing with being in a pandemic, you can read up on KMD's issues here ;) [16] A digitally restored version of the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection in June 2011, and also includes the alternate ending. He retrieves a book of poetry from the dead woman's apartment and reads aloud several lines from Rosetti's poem, "Remember," as he tries to figure out what that something might be. Kiss Me Deadly (TV Movie 2008) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. I was pleasantly surprised to find that while there is sex mentioned, it's never in an 'over-done, over the top' descriptive kind of way. Indie Pop Rock with a female lead and harmonizing male vocals, groovy bass lines, keys, saxophones, and sharp lyrical content. With his dying words, Soberin urges Gabrielle not to open it. LITA Lita Ford VHS Kiss Me Deadly 80's Rock and Roll Hair Metal. [11], Rotten Tomatoes reports that 97% of its critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 8.1/10, based on 37 reviews. Gabrielle shoots Soberin to get the box for herself. Kiss Me Deadly (1955) Pages: The Story (continued) The private detective's next interview takes place in the Hillcrest Hotel, a cheap boarding hotel, with opera singer Carmen Trivago (Fortunio Bonanova) - a friend of the murdered Nicholas Raymondo. You can feel Hammer's hatred for the many-tentacled creature that the mob is and his determination to chop off the heads of this h The screenplay was written by Aldrich and A. I. Bezzerides, based o… Kiss Me Deadly Synopsis: A frightened woman is running barefoot on a highway, trying desperately to flag a car. "Kiss Me Deadly" straddles the bi-line and tries to cater to gays and straights but fails to satisfy either appetite. Gabrielle screams and bursts into flames. This implied that Hammer and Velda perished in the blaze, which some have interpreted as an apocalyptic ending. Kiss Me Deadly In desperation, she finally throws herself into traffic, and the car she stops belongs to detective Mike Hammer. [18], Contemporary film scholars have named Kiss Me Deadly as one of the most influential exemplars of American film noir, with praise for its bleak and nihilistic tone, its version of pulp fiction archetypes, and its twist ending. Kiss Me Deadly is 1955 American film noir produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, and Wesley Addy. [12], Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released the film on VHS as part of their "Vintage Classics" collection in 1999,[15] and on DVD in 2001, with the alternate ending as a Special Feature. Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2020. The "shiny blue suitcase" is mentioned with other famous MacGuffins in Guardians of the Galaxy. [8] "The great whatsit", as Velda refers to the object of Hammer's quest, turns out to be a mysterious valise, hot to the touch because of the dangerous, glowing substance it contains, a metaphor for the atomic bomb. I heard you like video (OK, stats show video is the way to go) so I've some extremely unfiltered, very much worn-with-opaque-tights ranges to show you! [19][17][20][21], Kiss Me Deadly has been cited as a stylistic predecessor of the French New Wave. "[4], This article is about the 1955 film. 106. Influence creeps from the shadows, the striking links to Pulp Fiction and Se7en being the least of it. The “Film Noir Reader” references how Kiss me Deadly is a true sensory explosion from the beginning. Christina asks him, whatever happens, to "remember me," alluding to a poem by Christina Rossetti. Kiss Me Deadly - elegant retro lingerie for femme fatales Sarcasm, wit, feminism...and damn good retro lingerie. Cloris Leachman and Ralph Meeker in Kiss Me Deadly (1955). Mike Hammer is a tough private investigator who, with the assistance of his associate and lover Velda, typically works on "penny-ante divorce cases". Hammer comes to in a hospital with Velda hovering over him. / Street Date June 19, 2001 / 14.95 Starring Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, Wesley Addey, Marian Carr, Nick Dennis, Jack Elam, Jack Lambert, Maxine Cooper, Cloris Leachman, Gaby Rodgers Cinematography Ernest Laszlo Art Direction William Glasgow I tell you Spillane didn't like what I did with his book. Although he is held at gunpoint, pistol whipped, and even shot, he complies with the gun ban, relying only on his fists to hammer people into submission or worse. The film has been noted as a stylistic precursor to the French New Wave, and has been cited as a major influence on a number of filmmakers, including François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Alex Cox, and Quentin Tarantino. Kiss me twice Come on pretty baby kiss me deadly Had a few beers getting high Sitting watching the time go by uh-huh It ain't no big thing Nothing to eat and no T.V. With Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez. Hammer goes back to the beach house and finds Lily, now revealed to be an imposter named Gabrielle, together with Soberin. I ran into him at a restaurant and, boy, he didn't like me".[7]. This is the place where you can check out all the latest news, photos, music and videos. Katherine Hamilton - Unique Full Bust Fit, https://www.facebook.com/kissmedeadlyfans, https://www.youtube.com/user/KissMeDeadlyLingerie/, https://www.instagram.com/kissmedeadlylingerie/. I totally agree with this. Sometime after its first release, the ending was altered on the film's negative, removing 82 seconds of footage showing the escape, and instead superimposing "The End" over the burning house. Kiss Me Deadly grossed $726,000 in the United States and $226,000 overseas. She came to me in early April She came like late spring Does sometimes My heart was taken so Like December snow Her endless, … Kiss Me Deadly Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 568 1955 / B&W /1:66 widescreen / 106 min. Hammer fends off Charlie Max and Sugar Smallhouse, two of Evello's henchmen, and then confronts Evello, who is initially impressed by Hammer's brazenness and offers to work out a deal, but swiftly retracts the offer. Revamped; the best-selling continuity collection! Item Information. It was first published in 1952 and, at that time, it was shocking for its violence. Starring: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Wesley Addy, Marion Carr, Mort Marshall, Robert Cornthwaite, Maxine Cooper, Cloris Leachman 715515082815 Trailer. Thugs waylay them, and Hammer hears Christina screaming as she is tortured to death. 2.0 out of 5 stars Pathetic. He decides to investigate Christina's death believing that it "must be connected with something big." Kiss Me Deadly is a short book made too long by all of the self-righteous monolog. It also features Maxine Cooper and Cloris Leachman appearing in their feature film debuts. United States, 1955. (where Hammer finds the radioactive box; still standing). The gumshoe's subsequent investigation into the woman's death doubles as a lacerating indictment of modern society's dissolution into physical/moral/spiritual degeneracy – a reversion that ultimately leads to nuclear apocalypse and man's return to the primordial sea – with the director's knuckle-sandwich cynicism pummeling the genre's romantic fatalism into a bloody pulp. Together, the pair flee the burning house, helping each other along the beach to the ocean as the house explodes behind them. One evening, Hammer is forced to suddenly stop his sports car by Christina, an escapee from a nearby psychiatric hospital, who is running along the road in her bare feet, wearing nothing but a trench coat. Thanks for visiting the new home of Kingswood Records recording artists Kiss Me Deadly! 3 talking about this. Discover releases, reviews, credits, songs, and more about Lita Ford - Kiss Me Deadly at Discogs. The film received the condemnation of the Kefauver Commission, which accused it of being "designed to ruin young viewers", a verdict that director Aldrich protested. Lily tells Hammer she is in hiding and asks Hammer to protect her. This takes everything we’ve come to expect from the genre and subverts in an unflinching horror-house fashion. This page was last edited on 11 February 2021, at 14:26. [18] François Truffaut has acknowledged its influence on his "elliptic" filmmaking style,[18] as has Jean-Luc Godard. The Doris;... Stay up to date on the latest product releases, special offers & news by signing up for our newsletter. [9], Although a leftist at the time of the Hollywood blacklist, Bezzerides denied any conscious intention for this metaphor in his script, saying that "I was having fun with it. Crime, Film noir, Mystery. Kiss Me, Deadly is his seventh novel overall and his sixth Mike Hammer novel. The thugs then push Hammer's car off a cliff with Christina's body and an unconscious Hammer inside. Sydna Magee. Helpful. In this atomic adaptation of Mickey Spillane’s novel, directed by Robert Aldrich, the good manners of the 1950s are blown to smithereens. She is after a mysterious box that, she believes, has contents worth a fortune. LITA Lita Ford VHS Kiss Me Deadly 80's Rock and Roll Hair Metal. [17], The original ending of the American release of the film shows Hammer and Velda escaping from the burning house, staggering into the ocean as the words "The End" come over them on the screen. There are at least two different label versions: One white - the other white an blue. Much to the derision of the local police, Hammer makes his living mostly by blackmailing adulterers, he or his secretary sometimes seducing and entrapping the targets themselves, a practise perhaps made even worse because Hammer seems to exploit the genuine affection that Velda feels for him on order to get her participation. Sarcasm, wit, feminism...and damn good retro lingerie. I was pleasantly surprised by 'Kiss Me Deadly'; it definitely held true to the old saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover". Parish, James Robert and Michael R. Pitts. The screenplay was written by Aldrich and A. I. Bezzerides, based on the 1952 crime novel Kiss Me, Deadly by Mickey Spillane. Hammer gives her a ride. Hammer's friend, Nick the auto mechanic, is then murdered. Report abuse. Aldrich's sadistic, fatalistic masterpiece is impossible to forget". In 1999, Kiss Me Deadly was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Be sure to check out the different pages on our site and sign up for the newsletter before you leave. Lyrics to 'Kiss Me Deadly' by The Brian Setzer Orchestra. The plot twists are more confusing than confounding. Price: US $12.50. Condition: Very Good. Then the movie ends with the ending of a life of the woman who opened the box that burned Hammer earlier in the movie. Carl's thugs kidnap Hammer and take him to an isolated beach house, where another of their associates, Dr. G. E. Soberin (revealed to be Christina and Nick's murderer), injects him with sodium pentothal before interrogating him. She then opens the box, which emits a blinding light and piercing sound. For the Mickey Spillane novel, see, French box office results for Robert Aldrich films, "Preserving the Silver Screen (December 1999) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin", "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress", The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kiss_Me_Deadly&oldid=1006181684, United States National Film Registry films, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The Hill Crest Hotel, NE corner of Third and Olive Streets (Italian opera singer's home), The Donigan 'Castle', a Victorian mansion at 325 S. Bunker Hill Avenue (where Cloris Leachman's character lived, used for interior and exterior shots), Apartment Building, 10401 Wilshire Boulevard, NW corner of Wilshire and Beverly Glen (Hammer's apartment building; still standing), Carl Evello's Mansion, 603 Doheny Road, Beverly Hills, California, Clay Street, an alley on Bunker Hill beneath, Club Pigalle, 4800 block of Figueroa Avenue (the black jazz nightclub that Hammer frequents), Hollywood Athletic Club, 6525 W. Sunset Blvd. I wanted to make every scene, every character, interesting. Hammer later arrives at the lavish mansion of gangster Carl Evello, who is also seeking the mysterious box. He also readily resorts to violence, whether he's defending himself against the thugs Evello sends to kill him, breaking a potential informant's treasured record to get him to talk, or roughing up a coroner who has the temerity to demand payment in return for a key that Christina had apparently swallowed before her death. 'Remember me'? [22] In the 1960s, both filmmakers touted the film as the single American film "most responsible for the French New Wave."[22]. Verified Purchase. Kiss Me Deadly - Femme Fatale Style; Bettie Page - Classic Pin-up; Harlow & Fox - Vintage, Luxe Fuller Bust; Playful Promises - Flirty & Quirky; Wolf & Whistle - Style & Sass; Katherine Hamilton - Unique Full Bust Fit; Hustler - Unapologetically Sexy; Loulette Lingerie - BEES! Her first speaking part in films is unforgettable, if brief. In October 1954 Robert Aldrich announced he would produce and direct two Mickey Spillane stories the following year, for Parklane Productions, an independent company owned by Victor Saville. Directed by Robert Aldrich. Hammer kills Carl and Sugar and escapes, but when he goes to his friend Lieutenant Murphy for help, Murphy warns him off, hinting that it all has to do with a top-secret government experiment akin to the Manhattan Project. The stories would be Kiss Me, Deadly and My Gun Is Quick. The backside of the covers are also slightly different regarding the catalog numbers. It also features Maxine Cooper and Cloris Leachman appearing in their feature film debuts. Kiss Me Deadly remains one of the great time capsules of Los Angeles, much of it filmed in the downtown neighborhood of Bunker Hill. In 1999, Kiss Me Deadly was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Critics have generally viewed the film as a metaphor for the paranoia and fear of nuclear war that prevailed during the Cold War era. Directed by. The film has been described as "the definitive, apocalyptic, nihilistic, science-fiction film noir of all time – at the close of the classic noir period". "[10], Film critic Nick Schager wrote, "Never was Mike Hammer's name more fitting than in Kiss Me Deadly, Robert Aldrich's blisteringly nihilistic noir in which star Ralph Meeker embodies Mickey Spillane's legendary P.I. In 1999, Kiss Me Deadly was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Complete your Lita Ford collection. Kiss Me Deadly MGM Home Entertainment 1955 / B&W / 1:66 flat letterbox / 106 min. referencing Kiss Me Deadly, LP, Album, RP, 206 728, 206 728-270. Lita Ford - Kiss Me Deadly (Live at Wembley 1989) - YouTube The film further departs from the book by portraying Hammer not so much as a sleuth of the hardboiled school than as a sleazy, narcissistic bully, perhaps the darkest private detective in film noir. Saville turned over control to Aldrich because he was busy on The Silver Chalice. Read more. Kiss Me Deadly is 1955 American film noir produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, and starring Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, and Wesley Addy.