Movie Review: Killer's Kiss (1955)
Synopsis: A once-promising boxer, Davey Gordon, loses yet another fight and decides he should move back to Seattle to work on his uncle's ranch. That same night, he saves his next-door neighbor, Gloria Price, from an attempted rape by her boss, Vinnie Rappalo. The two fall in love and Gloria decides to go with Davey to Seattle. However, when they attempt to collect their final paychecks, a series of events lead to Gloria being kidnapped and Davey being accused of murdering his manager.
Who's in it? The movie stars Jamie Smith, Irene Kane, Frank Silvera, Jerry Jarrett and Felice Orlandi.
Review: I came across Killer's Kiss on Screenpix's 25 movies to watch before you die list last night and, while I wasn't sure if I'd be interested in watching it at first, decided to do so after seeing it was written and directed by Stanley Kubrick. I watched it this morning and, while I could clearly tell it was a Kubrick movie and understand why it made that list, my opinion of it was a bit mixed.
The characters in the film are somewhat compelling, and I liked how the film told their story through an artistic camera lens rather than just relying on exposition. Some of that art was visually pleasing too, I especially loved Gloria (Kane) telling her story against the backdrop of a ballerina performing on stage and how Davey's (Smith) final fight was shown almost in its entirety, allowing the audience to see he still had the will but his body was no longer able to withstand the punishment.
I thought the overall story was also interesting as well - two down-on-their-luck people finding each other and choosing to find a better life together only to have a villain, Rappalo (Silvera) do everything he can to prevent that from happening. I'm not even sure if Rappalo actually loved Gloria or just loved having power over her, just that it was clear he wasn't going to let her leave without a fight. While a lot of movies like this have predictable endings, this was one that could either end happily or tragically.
My biggest complaint about the movie and the reason I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have thought is it is very slow paced. As I said, Kubrick's artistic touch dominates the film but not always in a good way. It takes more than 40 minutes in this 67-minute-long film to even get to the main conflict and then feels a bit rushed from that point forward.
Some of this couldn't be helped. For example, I'm not sure if the movie would be the same if Gloria didn't tell the story about her sister, giving a deep dive into her character. Other parts of the movie, such as the drawn-out scene with the harmonica-playing thieves, probably could have been trimmed to move the story along a little quicker.
Final Opinion: I didn't hate the movie and as mentioned, it does a great job of showcasing Kubrick's talents as a director. I just wish the story would have gotten a bit more priority over the art and been a bit faster paced.
My Grade: B-
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1955:
Movie Review: Alias John Preston (1955)
Movie Review: 5 Against the House (1955)
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