"Kiss of Death" Review

 

by Daniel White

Yes, Richard Widmark pushes poor Mildred Dunnock down a flight of steps in one of the most notorious scenes ever filmed. But Henry Hathaway's Kiss of Death (1947) has much more to recommend it than just that unsettling scene. Hathaway himself should be reason enough to watch this above-average film noir. A prolific director who helmed everything from a Shirley Temple vehicle to John Wayne Westerns, Hathaway is responsible for his share of flicks. Another reason is the on location filming. Shot almost entirely in New York City, the movie benefits immensely from the built-in credibility that comes from moving out of a sound stage and onto a city street.

The overripe Victor Mature stars as Nick Bianco, a two-bit hoodlum who gets busted for a jewel caper gone bad. Initially resistant to turning stool pigeon, Nick changes his mind after the sudden suicide of his wife. With a solid screenplay co-authored by the man who invented the gangster film, Ben Hecht, Kiss of Death is well-paced with moments of great suspense. Unfortunately, the censors got their grubby little hands on it and the scenes with Patricia Morison as Nick's first wife were deleted. With her rape and subsequent suicide removed, the flick loses some of its punch.

Hallelujah and hoooray, they left Richard Widmark's sadistic turn as Tommy Udo largely untouched. In his film debut, Widmark is magnetic. Though his Udoesque mannerisms would get annoying in the future, here he is startling and shocks accordingly. I have never been a big fan of Victor Mature, but his presence is not as noxious as usual, probably from being in such close proximity to the fevered intensity of Richard Widmark. If Mature is a hot house orchid, Widmark is a voracious urban weed strangling everything in sight.

The ending is weak, I'm sure the persistent, persnickety censors tampered with that as well. But all in all, Kiss of Death is a decent thriller that delivers a solid bang for your buck. Produced by Twentieth Century Fox with the wispy Coleen Gray playing Nettie, Mature's love interest-turned-wife, and the dogged Brian Donlevy as the Assistant DA, Kiss of Death is currently available on YouTube.