Courtesy of Dvdsnapshot.com
It’s 1955. The Cold War is at its height and film noir is dominating cinema screens, sharing time with westerns, epics and musicals. With Kiss Me Deadly, director Robert Aldrich (who would go on to make Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? in 1962) and screenwriter A.I. Besserides let the two knock heads, using one of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer novels as a foundation.
Kiss Me Deadly is about as far from your standard noir as possible, even without the Cold War overtones. Mike Hammer, played by Ralph Meeker, is probably one of the most detestable, deranged and down-right stupid lead detectives ever. He is about as far from Bogart’s Philip Marlow (in The Big Sleep) and even Robert Mitchum’s Jeff Bailey (in Out of the Past) as you can get. Hammer carelessly knocks people out just by pushing them and his first response to the word “no” is to slam a wad of cash on the table. He makes detectives squirm – one even orders to have a window opened when Hammer leaves. Then, he makes out with any woman he sees. His violent reactions know no bounds, even stooping to slam an old man’s hand in a draw to get a key.
However, like your traditional noir, the actors that populate the film are a bizarre collection of characters, which always have their own reasons. Gabby Richards, who plays the film’s femme fetale, Gabrielle, is particularly interesting, with a sort of mumbling delivery and a look that screams psychotic. Cloris Leachman also makes her film debut as Christina, the girl that gets Hammer wrapped up in the story.
Criterion brings the film to Blu-Ray as part of their deal with MGM and Fox to distribute some United Artists titles. They did a fantastic job. Although I don’t own MGM’s original DVD, I did catch it on TCM, where they broadcast an older, more damaged version of the film. Criterion’s transfer, though, fixes those problems, but keeps enough grain that it still looks like a film from 1955. There are some scenes where damage is obviously visible, but this is still as good as it will ever look.
The number of supplements is a little light, highlighted by a strange appreciation by director Alex Cox and short documentaries on Mickey Spillane and A.I. Bezzerides. There is a neat feature on the Los Angeles locations used in the film, a new commentary with a couple of ‘noir specialists’ and the bizarre altered ending. The booklet is much more interesting, with an essay by J. Hoberman and Aldrich’s piece defending Kiss Me Deadly’s violence. Finally, the artwork is also fantastic, featuring publicity stills instead of film photography. (That’s why the image on the cover is not in the film.)
Kiss Me Deadly is essential for noir fans, even if it is far from the traditional film of that genre. The differences are what make this film great… and just so much fun.
8 Golden Eggs
