Killer's Kiss
Encyclopedia
Killer's Kiss is a 1955
film noir
directed by Stanley Kubrick
and written by Kubrick and Howard Sackler
. It is the second feature film directed by Kubrick. The film stars Jamie Smith, Irene Kane and Frank Silvera
.
New York
boxer
in the end of his career, and his relationship with his neighbor, taxi dancer
Gloria Price (Irene Kane), and her violent employer Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera
).
The drama begins with Davey in his apartment room, mentally preparing for a big fight against Kid Rodriguez. On the other side of the building, across the courtyard, he gazes upon Gloria, an attractive taxi dancer, getting ready for work. As they both walk out of the building, they run into each other, they notice each other but say nothing. Gloria is picked up by her boss Vincent.
As Davey is losing his fight, Gloria is dealing with her boss in his office as he tries to kiss her repeatedly.
That evening Davey is awakened by screams coming from Gloria's apartment. As he looks across the courtyard, he sees that Gloria is being attacked by Vincent. He runs to her room, but Vincent has made his getaway. Davey comforts Gloria and she goes to sleep comfortable that Davey is in the room to protect her. However, Vincent is not deterred, and proceeds to interfere in their lives. When they decide to leave town, Davey and Gloria arrange to get money they are each owed. Gloria tries to get money from Vincent at the dance hall, and Davey asks his manager to meet him there as well. When a street performer steals Davey's scarf, he chases after him. Davey's manager arrives but does not see Davey. Vincent sends two goons out to rough Davey up, but they mistake the manager for Davey and kill him in the alley.
Vincent kidnaps Gloria and has his two goons hold her hostage. Davey returns to Gloria's apartment and sees the police across the courtyard in his apartment. They assume he killed his manager. Davey leaves to rescue Gloria, but he is captured and restrained as well. leading to a chase and confrontation in an abandoned warehouse full of mannequins. During the struggle, Davey kills Vincent and rescues Gloria. He and Gloria are cleared of all charges by the police, and Davey buys a train ticket back to the West Coast. At the train station, Davey assumes she will not join him, but at the last minute, Gloria rushes in, and they kiss.
from circulation over his displeasure for it. Kubrick was 26 years old when he directed this movie, and had to borrow $40,000 from his uncle, who owned a drug store in New York.
Kubrick began to shoot the film with sound recorded on location, as was common practice in Hollywood. However, frustrated by the intrusion of the microphone into his lighting scheme, Kubrick fired his soundman and decided to post-dub the entire film as he had with his first film.
The film is notable for its location shots in the old Penn Station
, which was demolished in 1963.
Against Kubrick's wishes, United Artists required that the film be recut with a happy ending
.
magazine gave the film a mixed review, and wrote, "Ex-Look photographer Stanley Kubrick turned out Killer's Kiss on the proverbial shoestring. Kiss was more than a warm-up for Kubrick's talents, for not only did he co-produce but he directed, photographed and edited the venture from his own screenplay [originally written by Howard O. Sackler] and original story...Kubrick's low-key lensing occasionally catches the flavor of the seamy side of Gotham
life. His scenes of tawdry Broadway, gloomy tenements and grotesque brick-and-stone structures that make up Manhattan
's downtown eastside loft district help offset the script's deficiencies."
More recently, New York Times
film critic Janet Maslin
reviewed the film, and wrote, "Killer's Kiss brought the director onto more conventional territory, with a film noir plot about a boxer, a gangster and a dance hall girl. Using Times Square and even the subway as his backdrop, Mr. Kubrick worked in an uncharacteristically naturalistic style despite the genre material, with mixed but still fascinating results. The actress playing the dance hall girl, billed as Irene Kane, is the writer Chris Chase, whose work has frequently appeared in The New York Times. Jamie Smith plays the boxer, whose career is described as 'one long promise without fulfillment.' In the case of Mr. Kubrick's own career, the fulfillment came later. But here is the promise."
1955 in film
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
and written by Kubrick and Howard Sackler
Howard Sackler
Howard Oliver Sackler , was an American screenwriter and playwright who is best known for writing The Great White Hope . The Great White Hope enjoyed both a successful run on Broadway and, as a film adaptation, in movie theaters...
. It is the second feature film directed by Kubrick. The film stars Jamie Smith, Irene Kane and Frank Silvera
Frank Silvera
Frank Alvin Silvera was an American actor and theatrical director.-Career:Silvera was born in Kingston, Jamaica to a Spanish Jewish father and Jamaican mother. His family later emigrated to the United States, settling in Boston where Silvera attended English High School and Northeastern Law School...
.
Plot
The film revolves around Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith), a 29 year old welterweightWelterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in the end of his career, and his relationship with his neighbor, taxi dancer
Taxi dancer
A taxi dancer, or taxi for short , is a paid dance partner in a partner dance. For official purposes in the US, their occupation was referred to as "dancer", when they worked in taxi-dance halls that had all the necessary business permits...
Gloria Price (Irene Kane), and her violent employer Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera
Frank Silvera
Frank Alvin Silvera was an American actor and theatrical director.-Career:Silvera was born in Kingston, Jamaica to a Spanish Jewish father and Jamaican mother. His family later emigrated to the United States, settling in Boston where Silvera attended English High School and Northeastern Law School...
).
The drama begins with Davey in his apartment room, mentally preparing for a big fight against Kid Rodriguez. On the other side of the building, across the courtyard, he gazes upon Gloria, an attractive taxi dancer, getting ready for work. As they both walk out of the building, they run into each other, they notice each other but say nothing. Gloria is picked up by her boss Vincent.
As Davey is losing his fight, Gloria is dealing with her boss in his office as he tries to kiss her repeatedly.
That evening Davey is awakened by screams coming from Gloria's apartment. As he looks across the courtyard, he sees that Gloria is being attacked by Vincent. He runs to her room, but Vincent has made his getaway. Davey comforts Gloria and she goes to sleep comfortable that Davey is in the room to protect her. However, Vincent is not deterred, and proceeds to interfere in their lives. When they decide to leave town, Davey and Gloria arrange to get money they are each owed. Gloria tries to get money from Vincent at the dance hall, and Davey asks his manager to meet him there as well. When a street performer steals Davey's scarf, he chases after him. Davey's manager arrives but does not see Davey. Vincent sends two goons out to rough Davey up, but they mistake the manager for Davey and kill him in the alley.
Vincent kidnaps Gloria and has his two goons hold her hostage. Davey returns to Gloria's apartment and sees the police across the courtyard in his apartment. They assume he killed his manager. Davey leaves to rescue Gloria, but he is captured and restrained as well. leading to a chase and confrontation in an abandoned warehouse full of mannequins. During the struggle, Davey kills Vincent and rescues Gloria. He and Gloria are cleared of all charges by the police, and Davey buys a train ticket back to the West Coast. At the train station, Davey assumes she will not join him, but at the last minute, Gloria rushes in, and they kiss.
Cast
- Jamie Smith as Davey Gordon
- Irene Kane as Gloria Price
- Frank SilveraFrank SilveraFrank Alvin Silvera was an American actor and theatrical director.-Career:Silvera was born in Kingston, Jamaica to a Spanish Jewish father and Jamaican mother. His family later emigrated to the United States, settling in Boston where Silvera attended English High School and Northeastern Law School...
as Vincent Rapallo - Jerry Jarrett as Albert (the fight manager)
- Mike Dana as Gangster
- Felice Orlandi as Gangster
- Skippy Adelman as Mannequin factory owner
- David Vaughan as Conventioneer
- Alec Rubin as Conventioneer
- Ralph Roberts as Gangster
- Phil Stevenson as Gangster
Background
This was Kubrick's second feature. Kubrick removed his first film Fear and DesireFear and Desire
Fear and Desire is a military action/adventure film by Stanley Kubrick. It is Kubrick’s first feature film and is also one of his least-seen productions...
from circulation over his displeasure for it. Kubrick was 26 years old when he directed this movie, and had to borrow $40,000 from his uncle, who owned a drug store in New York.
Kubrick began to shoot the film with sound recorded on location, as was common practice in Hollywood. However, frustrated by the intrusion of the microphone into his lighting scheme, Kubrick fired his soundman and decided to post-dub the entire film as he had with his first film.
The film is notable for its location shots in the old Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station (New York City)
Pennsylvania Station—commonly known as Penn Station—is the major intercity train station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. It is one of the busiest rail stations in the world, and a hub for inbound and outbound railroad traffic in New York City. The New York City Subway system also...
, which was demolished in 1963.
Against Kubrick's wishes, United Artists required that the film be recut with a happy ending
Happy ending
A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the protagonists, their sidekicks, and almost everyone except the villains....
.
Critical reception
When released, the staff at VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine gave the film a mixed review, and wrote, "Ex-Look photographer Stanley Kubrick turned out Killer's Kiss on the proverbial shoestring. Kiss was more than a warm-up for Kubrick's talents, for not only did he co-produce but he directed, photographed and edited the venture from his own screenplay [originally written by Howard O. Sackler] and original story...Kubrick's low-key lensing occasionally catches the flavor of the seamy side of Gotham
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
life. His scenes of tawdry Broadway, gloomy tenements and grotesque brick-and-stone structures that make up Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's downtown eastside loft district help offset the script's deficiencies."
More recently, New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
film critic Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
reviewed the film, and wrote, "Killer's Kiss brought the director onto more conventional territory, with a film noir plot about a boxer, a gangster and a dance hall girl. Using Times Square and even the subway as his backdrop, Mr. Kubrick worked in an uncharacteristically naturalistic style despite the genre material, with mixed but still fascinating results. The actress playing the dance hall girl, billed as Irene Kane, is the writer Chris Chase, whose work has frequently appeared in The New York Times. Jamie Smith plays the boxer, whose career is described as 'one long promise without fulfillment.' In the case of Mr. Kubrick's own career, the fulfillment came later. But here is the promise."
Awards
Wins- Locarno International Film Festival: Prize, Best Director, Stanley Kubrick; 1959.
External links
- Killer's Kiss film clip at You Tube
- Killer's Kiss at DVD Beaver (includes images)