Kiss of Death (1947) Online

This was a 1940s film noir with a little bit different slant: the main character "Nick Bianco" (Victor Mature) being a caring father. Here's a guy torn between being a crook most of his life and the damage it did to him mentally, but at heart a real softie who is desperate to go straight and just be a regular family guy with everyone leaving him alone. In the story, he turns "stoolie" so he can earn that freedom and be that family man.

Among film noir buffs, however, this film is noted more for Richard Widmark's debut as the sadistic "Tommy Udo." One of the most famous noir scenes of all time is "Udo" throwing an old lady in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs! Widmark puts on a fake pair of choppers giving him an exaggerated overbite to go along with his insane little giggle. He also calls everyone a "squirt." His over- the-top performance puts a lot a spark into this film which, otherwise would have wound up more as a melodrama.

Two other actors have key roles in here: Brian Donlevy and Colleen Gray (making her credited film debut, too1). Donlevey plays a character who never see in modern-day films: a compassionate district attorney who goes out of his way to help "Nick." It's refreshing to see, for a change. Gray becomes Nick's love interest and is a very appealing wholesome type, as are the two sweet little girls Nick had with his former wife who killed herself while Nick was in prison. Gray becomes the step-mother.

Although not spectacular, the film is entertaining, especially the suspenseful last 20 minutes. It's quite dated in spots but Widmark's character alone is worth investigating this film if you've never seen it. I'm surprised there aren't more reviews of this.

Henry Hathaway does a bang-up job directing this taut, realistic gangster noir. With the exception of a couple of domestic scenes with Mature and his family, this film never lets up. In one of the most unique film debuts, Richard Widmark steals the show with his portrayal of the giggling, psychopathic killer Tommy Udo. There is no doubt about who is the star of this movie. Victor Mature gives a fine performance as the basically decent guy who turns "stoolie" and for whom you have sympathy and the rest of the cast is strong in support.....but it is Widmark who mesmerizes you with his performance. The oft cited senseless violence of the "wheelchair pushed down the stair" scene is still one that makes you turn away. The real life New York City setting adds more realism and the black and white cinematography is excellent, capturing shadows which foretell the violence that is coming. Look for Karl Malden in a small part, early in his career. This is a classic of the noir genre and should be added to your film library.

Richard Widmark belongs to a select few players who from their screen debut became instant stars. No bit parts, no walk-ons, Widmark's first feature role netted him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and stardom.

Widmark's portrayal of Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death shocked audiences nationwide. When Widmark tied up Mildred Dunnock and threw her down a flight of stairs, gasps aplenty came from audiences. That maniacal giggle became his trademark and fodder for impressionists from then on in. Widmark in fact had to really convince his bosses at 20th Century Fox that he was capable of more than being a psychopathic killer.

Widmark was fourth billed in this film and so dominates it that it's forgotten that Victor Mature is the lead and contributes a good performance in his own right. Mature is a career criminal who was left holding the bag for his associates during a jewel heist. He refuses to rat them out and gets a stretch in prison for it. By his refusal to be a stoolie, Mature gains the friendship of Widmark who has a special hatred for the breed.

Things then go bad for Mature when his wife commits suicide and his two little daughters wind up in an orphanage. At that point he rethinks becoming a stoolie for District Attorney Brian Donlevy and the main action of the film begins.

Mature gives a very good performance of a man running out of options. He's caught between concern for his family and living up to the honor system that criminals have among themselves. Brian Donlevy, usually a villain, does a good job as the District Attorney.

One other performance is worthy of note. Though he only has a few scenes, criminal defense attorney Taylor Holmes is also a real stand out. His Earle Houser is definitely one of the sleaziest lawyers ever portrayed on the screen.

For all the many good performances Richard Widmark has given in his 91 years, his debut film turned out to be the only time he was ever nominated for an Oscar. That's a shame because I could think of a couple of other films like Night and the City, Pickup on South Street and Panic in the Streets that would have been worthy of consideration.

Hopefully the American Film Institute will give Widmark a Lifetime Achievement Award and soon.

Kiss of Death was an engaging and suspenseful film noir thriller. Standout performances were delivered from Victor Mature and Richard Widmark among others. Widmark as the sadistic Udo had a particularly memorable turn. This film actually reminded me quite a bit of the Humphrey Bogart film, The Enforcer, at least the first twenty minutes of that equally good crime drama. In both movies, the turning of evidence by witnesses for the state and their protection figure prominently. Unfortunately, the witness in The Enforcer isn't as lucky as Nick Bianco. One other note: the great Karl Malden has a small role in this film as a junior detective. Both Kiss of Death and The Enforcer get a solid 8/10.

This film is "required reading" in the study of gangster films, mostly because of Richard Widmark's exceptional and truly frightening performance as Tommy Udo. Interestingly enough, 43 years later, actor Joe Pesci would also terrify movie audiences with his portrayal of another psychopathic gangster, who also had the rather benign name of 'Tommy'. However, unlike Pesci, Widmark never had another particularly memorable gangster role after this one.

While a lot of the story is realistic, some of it is far-fetched - mainly, the end. Only a complete lunatic would even think of walking into the headquarters of a gangster that he had just testified against and expect to come out alive. However, the tension in that restaurant confrontation scene is effective, and I suppose for the era in which this film was made, it was necessary to have the 'good hero' face down the 'bad bully' and put him in his place. In reality, of course, it just doesn't happen that way in the world of crime.

But what makes this film is Widmark, and to give an idea of just how effective he was, when this film first came out, a real-life NYC mobster(Joey Gallo) would watch it and earnestly try to imitate Widmark's style and mannerisms, thereby enhancing his own skill in intimidating others. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Kiss of Death (1947)

Three Reasons for Greatness: Plot, Polish, and Victor Mature

1) Victor Mature gives a impassioned, inward-looking performance to die for. 2) The story is gripping, and reasonable, and pits the lone man trying to go right against all the forces that all of us face: the system, the bad guys, and our own mistakes. 3) The studio system is at its technical best and supports the story with polished, professional acting, camera-work, direction, and sound.

In the general sense, these are actually pretty basic things that every movie might have: a lead we can identify with, a great story, and well made. Kiss of Death lacks only those rare qualities of originality in some other noir films, like we see in Sunset Boulevard or Detour, to keep it from the stratosphere. But it's better than most by far.

Mature, throughout, is not portrayed as a criminal type, "One of those mugs that don't belong to human society," as Donlevy says as Assistant D.A. Bianco has good handwriting, he has composure, he loves his kids. And a great small reinforcement happens when he goes to the orphanage to see them and the nun looks at him and his two cop guards and asks, "Which one of you gentlemen is Mr. Bianco." The camera lets us pan over them and we see them as the same.

And he mildly says, "That's me." Mature is really amazing in a role that could have been hammed up or stiffened up. His large, meaty presence is presented with a kind of innocence, as if he is the victim in this life process going on all around him that he has no control over. The movie asserts the truth in this at the start--he has tried to get work for a year as an ex- con, and social stigma stands in his way, leading to the jewel heist as an act of desperation. Furthermore, Mature is more principled than anyone ought to be, refusing to rat until he's been lied to by those he was protecting with silence. In a way, he gradually rises to a kind of folk hero status, in this very private, limited way, affecting only a handful of people, but doing so flawlessly.

Of course, it's Richard Widmark (in his very first film) who makes Mature practically a saint by being an unrepenting psychopath. The ten seconds it takes him to grab an old woman in a wheelchair, tie her up with an electric cord, and roll her screaming down the stairs is justifiably famous. Even though you know it's coming, it's about as heartless as anything in the movies, and played with economy, not dwelling on it, just punching you in the stomach. And watch him contort and fall in the last scene where he's shot in the street. This is the kind of thing the French auteur directors drooled over.

The photography is interesting for being ultimately conservative and superb at the same time. The camera is almost always level, framed with geometric precision, using light to create depth and complexity, sometimes shooting through windows or screens to add to the visual complexity, but rarely or never using strong angles off of vertical, or zeroing in on a face or hand so closely it fills the screen. These are all carefully executed shots, and scenes, and it is editing with equal precision. In all, the movie is a model not of daring and pizazz, but of adhering to the rules so perceptively, it sparkles. It's possible this was partly done to heighten its documentary realism, but Norbert Brodine is a conservative shooter at heart, so between him and Hathaway's workingman's approach, we would expect what we see here.

The movie is not a great social commentary despite the suggestion at the beginning that it might explore the causes of crime, and despite its use of actual New York State locations for all the shooting. But it doesn't want to be. It leverages well worn clichés because that's the quickest way to get us to relate to the man trying to get his life straight. That's all its about, really. Even in the voice-over by his eventual new wife, heard at the beginning and end, we hear a tale about one man only.

This is one of the better remembered crime films of the forties, and boasts excellent direction by Henry Hathaway, a good script by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer, and fine New York location photography by Norbert Brodine. Victor Mature plays a small-time crook who's enlisted by an assistant D.A. to infiltrate a gang of criminals whose leader, played by Richard Widmark, in his movie debut, is a psychopath with a very bent sense of humor. Psycho killers were relatively new to movies in the forties, and Widmark's may be the most famous of the lot. One can see his influence in films for years to come, as any number of actors made their debuts playing similar roles. No one surpassed Widmark for sheer sadism, however, as when he ties up an old lady in a wheelchair and sends her tumbling down a flight of stairs. This remains his most famous role, and when his obituary is written, the author, if he knows his movies at all, will mention it in the first sentence. Kiss Of Death is a decent crime story, at times very tense, but not otherwise exceptional. Surprisingly, Victor Mature gives a warm, emotional performance in the leading role, and Widmark's villainy would not have been so nearly as effective without this. How dull this picture might have been had Dana Andrews or Mark Stevens played this part.

Richard Widmark as a giggling, heartless hoodlum pushing a wheelchair bound old lady down the stairs, that's what everyone remembers of this superb classic. The film follows luckless Nick Bianco (Victor Mature's best role), a NYC holdup man who is caught during an Xmas season hit. Sent to prison, he needs to be near his now parentless children (His wife committed suicide). He becomes an informant, and is released. Widmark, as hoodlum Tommy Udo (All film fans have no trouble remembering that name) targets stoolie Mature for death. The film begins (with the failed robbery) and ends (the showdown between Widmark, Mature and DA Brian Donlevy) with superb suspense sequenses played almost silent.

Widmark will ALWAYS be remembered for his role as Tommy Udo in this film! The skinny kid with the stupid laugh & no conscience, pushing a wheel-chaired lady down a flight of stairs! He switches emotions in a heartbeat! EERIE! Victure Mature is really the star of this movie & he looks GREAT in every scene! Those crisp suits & those hats! When he has to turn informant so his now-motherless kids can have him back at home instead of in "the big house", Udo goes after him with a vengeance. The tension between these two is combustible! I LOVE this film! Brian Donlevy is very good as the D.A. "Nick Bianco" (Mature) must do business with in order to be free. It works!

Henry Hathaway directed this revenge story that stars Victor Mature as Nick Bianco, a small-time crook sent to prison after a jewel heist who refuses to inform on his gang, because of his wife. After learning his wife committed suicide, and knowing he was double-crossed, Nick does cooperate with the D.A.(played by Brian Donlevy) and gets paroled. He then remarries, to a woman named Nettie(played by Coleen Gray) and gets a job. Things are fine, until one of the old gang he informed on named Tommy Udo(played by Richard Widmark in his film debut) comes calling, hell-bent on revenge... Unremarkable story on the whole, except for one thing: Widmark's unforgettable performance as ruthless and giggling killer Tommy Udo, one of cinema's most memorable villains, with that iconic scene of his pushing the poor wheelchair-bound woman down the stairs while he laughs maniacally being most memorable. He steals the film, and his performance was Oscar-worthy.

Adapted from a story by Eleazar Lipsky, Kiss Of Death is a tough, even frightening Crime/Noir picture that has a gritty realistic feel. Helped enormously by director Henry Hathaway shooting the whole picture in New York, Kiss Of Death is also notable for being the searing debut of Richard Widmark. With no intention of soft soaping the story, the makers cunningly lure us viewers onto the seamy New York streets. Thus with the New York locations as expertly used as they are by Hathaway, Kiss Of Death attains a documentary style similar to other notable genre pictures like Call Northside 777 (also Hathaway).

Narrating the picture is Nettie (Coleen Gray in her first credited role), the second wife of Nick Bianco (Victor Mature). Telling of his rough and troubled life, we learn that Bianco was part of a gang who was caught during a jewelry robbery over the Christmas holiday. Lied to by his lawyer, Bianco learns during his prison term that his first wife has killed herself and that his darling two girls have been packed off to an orphanage. Fretting and desperate to see his girls, Bianco makes a deal with Assistant District Attorney Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy), where in exchange for is parole, he will rat out his old gang buddies. D'Angelo is mostly concerned with one man tho, sadistic murderer and boss, Tommy Udo (Widmark). Bianco must pal up to Udo and hope that he doesn't get found out, for if he does, Udo is sure to enact psychotic retribution on Nick and all those close to him.

Mature gives one of his finest shows as the pained Bianco forced to squeal, Gray as his second wife is sedate and effective and Donlevy as the crusading Assistant D.A. with a heart is as reliable as he always is. But all are playing second fiddle to Widmark, ferocious stare, dirty laugh and an unnerving falsetto voice, it announced Widmark to the cinematic world, garnered him a contract with Twentieth Century Fox and he never looked back afterwards. Some of his scenes are just mesmerising, including one that is as shocking as it is a lesson in villainy. Taut and tight scripting from the Hecht/Lederer partnership, with rounded characters and a sensible plot, Kiss Of Death is not to be missed by the Crime/Noir genre/style fan. 8.5/10

"Kiss Of Death" is a tense crime drama which tells the story of a criminal whose main preoccupations and motivations centre on his family. The plot is unveiled in a style which utilises both neo-realist and expressionist elements and the many scenes filmed on location in the actual places referred to in the story are very effective and contribute strongly to the authenticity of the events depicted. The original story was based on actual events and was written by Eleazar Lipsky who himself had previously been a New York Assistant District Attorney. The use of a documentary style to deliver a very human story could've been regarded as incongruous but this potential problem was avoided by using a sympathetic narration by Coleen Gray.

"Kiss Of Death" is notable for the fact that it provided Richard Widmark with his sensational screen debut which was so successful that it almost immediately elevated him to star status and won him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Eleazar Lipsky was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story.

After carrying out a jewellery robbery, Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) is caught by the police as he tries to make his getaway. Assistant DA Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy) encourages him to inform on his three accomplices who had successfully escaped from the crime scene, in exchange for a reduced sentence. Nick has a wife and two daughters but being confident that they would be looked after by his lawyer and accomplices when he is in prison, refuses to co-operate.

Three years later, after his wife commits suicide and his daughters are placed in an orphanage, Nick is visited by Nettie (Coleen Gray) who used to be his girls' babysitter. She tells him that his wife had been attacked by one of his gang, Pete Rizzo and this provokes him into offering the Assistant DA all the information he had previously withheld. Due to the passage of time since the crime, the offer of a reduced sentence is no longer available but Nick does get to visit his girls if he agrees to provide some useful details about another unsolved case. Nick obliges by telling D'Angelo about an earlier robbery he carried out with Rizzo and then goes on to tell his lawyer that Rizzo had been the police's informer.

Nick's lawyer, Earl Howser (Taylor Holmes) then contacts hit man Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) who goes to Rizzo's home and gets angry when he's told by Rizzo's crippled mother that her son isn't in. In his fury, he binds Ma Rizzo up with some cable and despatches her, in her wheelchair, down a flight of stairs, killing her in the process. Nick had known Udo in prison and after meeting him again, gains enough information from him about the murder he'd carried out for D'Angelo to take the case to court. Nick, who by this time is married to Nettie and is settled in a regular job, bravely testifies but the work of a clever mob attorney ensures that Udo is acquitted. This puts Nick in mortal danger and sets the story up for its powerful finale.

In the introduction to the movie, it's explained that as an ex-con, Nick had found it impossible to get a job and with Christmas approaching and no money for presents for his wife and children, he took part in the jewellery store robbery. This predicament is something with which most people can immediately empathise and as such provides a compelling start to this fine movie. Equally riveting, are the brilliantly tense sequences, particularly those seen when the gang are making their escape from the crime scene, when Nick waits nervously for Udo to come and hunt him down and also in the run up to the scene in which Nick and Udo have their final confrontation. The murder of Rizzo's mother is incredibly shocking and Udo's insane giggling is chilling.

All the acclaim Richard Widmark received for his portrayal of Udo was thoroughly justified and his depiction of this psychopathic, drug fuelled maniac with his trademark giggle and crazy eyes is exceptional. Victor Mature's performance is perfectly understated as it conveys Nick's basic decency and stoicism without ever becoming maudlin or self-pitying. He was a man whose principles as a criminal prevented him from co-operating with the police, however, when a conflict arose between these principles and his family values, the latter took precedence. Coleen Gray is also faultless as the bubbly, good natured Nettie.

"Kiss of Death" is a fairly standard noir drama made memorable by the presence of Richard Widmark as the maniacal gangster Tommy Udo. All the time while watching him though, I kept thinking of Frank Gorshin as The Riddler in the campy 'Batman' TV show of the mid-Sixties. Probably because I was a teenager when 'Batman' came out, and I had already seen Gorshin doing his impression bits on variety shows of the era. It would be interesting to surmise that Gorshin based his Riddler on Widmark's Tommy Udo, but his own explanation removes that possibility.

Without Widmark, this story would probably be relegated to 'just another crime drama' status, even though a good performance is turned in by it's principal, Victor Mature, as a criminal attempting to go straight via the 'stoolie' route. His character, Nick Bianco, is portrayed as a caring family man who becomes even more conflicted after his wife commits suicide while he's in the can. That's where he and Tommy first hook up, with their entanglement proceeding on the outside when both are paroled.

What makes the picture particularly interesting for me were all the great location street scenes that give the picture it's New York City flavor. Did you ever see such brand spanking new looking taxi cabs as those shown here, courtesy of Yellow Cab and Sky View? Try finding one as classy today and you'll be looking a long time.

What you don't want to do while watching is put this film under the microscope for some of the credibility defying moments that creep into the story. There's that tense shadowy scene when Nick Bianco waits for Tommy Udo and his goons to show up at his house, and it turns out to be Assistant D.A. D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy). Then when Nick confronts Tommy at the restaurant, you have to wonder why he made it past the front door. But the question that really nagged me throughout the story was this - why did every hood in the big house always wear a suit and tie?

Small-time hood Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) is sent up the river for a jewel heist. He refuses to cooperate with the D.A. and will not turn stool-pigeon on his pals. But after he learns of his wife's suicide, he changes his tune. He's got to get out of jail to take care of his two little girls. The D.A. agrees to help Bianco if, in return, Bianco will help the D.A. Bianco fingers Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) for a murder and even agrees to testify at the trial. But, when Udo is acquitted, Bianco knows he's a marked man – as are his new wife and his young daughters.

Kiss of Death is a solid entry in the crime/noir cycle of the 40s. The movie looks good, has some great acting, an intelligent plot, characters you can care about, and enough twists to make it all very interesting. But instead of writing at length about the acting or technical aspects of the film or plot twists or anything else, I'll limit this to a few comments on Richard Widmark. If you look over Widmark's filmography, you'll notice that Kiss of Death was his very first film. Now I haven't seen everything Widmark made, but based on what I have seen, his portrayal of Tommy Udo has to be the performance of a career. He's brilliant as Udo. You can see the evil in his eyes. He's the kind of guy who would just as soon put a bullet in you as look at you. And that maniacal laugh – it's nothing short of chilling. This is not meant to be hyperbole when I say that he's the quintessential 40s hood played to perfection. I've seen a lot of noirs in recent weeks and I don't think I've seen a performance or character that I've enjoyed more than Widmark's Tommy Udo.

Rating * * * 1/2 Victor Mature gives one of his best performances here in this taut thriller. He plays a thief who informs on his own gang and is hunted by psycho Richard Widmark. The film is famous for the scene in which Widmark as giggling killer Tommy Udo pushes a wheelchair bound old lady down the stairs.

Arrested fleeing from his latest jewel holdup, Victor Mature won't talk to the DA so he takes the rap himself and goes up the river, confident the mob's lawyer will take care of his family. Tragedy soon strikes and Mature must rat out a mob hit man to get out of jail for the sake of his two children. Richard Widmark makes his film debut as the psychopathic killer on Mature's trail. The scene where he pushes an elderly, wheelchair-bound woman down a flight of stairs is just as shocking today as it was in 1947. Filmed on location in New York this gritty thriller is a must see!

The bulk of Kiss of Death is a modest, based-on-a-true-story tale of crime and woe. There's nothing spectacular about Nick or his circumstances, and nothing particularly compelling about his turn as a stool pigeon. Kiss of Death is almost romantic-comedy-like in its execution: Man meets crime, man leaves crime, man hooks up with crime again. Crisis, resolution. Yet out of the nondescript foundation emerge a few noteworthy aspects.

The first and most noticeable is the realistic look of the film. Director Henry Hathaway goes straight to the source, shooting scenes on their actual locations. This is noticeable because the opening credits tell you so; how quaint to throw a little self-promotion right there in the intro! Fortunately, this hokiness doesn't detract from some truly beautiful camera-work achieved by cinematographer Norbert Brodine. New York has a distinct look, and Brodine makes the most of it. Establishing shots of lights and skyscrapers in silhouette lead into a New York in full seasonal glory, with Christmas shoppers amok in the streets. From posh nightclubs to gritty prisons, Hathaway and Brodine milk as much texture from the locations as possible.

The self-promotional focus on cinematography quietly gives way to Victor Mature's personable portrayal of Nick. Though he worked through six decades, Mature was never a big name or recognized star. Indeed, his relative lack of star quality allows him to succeed in this modest, intimate tale culled from the real life of a small time hood. Mature doesn't steal the show by any means, but he capably anchors it and gives Nick some plausibility and a sympathetic quality. When Coleen Gray arrives on the scene as Nick's former nanny, we can somehow buy their slapdash romantic entanglement. Gray is also capable in her role, sweet but not saccharine, petite but with a hint of spark. Her perkiness doesn't grate, and there seems to be more to her than just a pretty face and her status as Nick's love interest. She has the intriguing "I want to know more about this woman" vibe that characterized Judy Garland's stardom, though Gray would never reach those levels of fame.

Mature may not steal the show, but Richard Widmark does. Like Coleen Gray, Widmark made his debut in Kiss of Death. Unlike Gray's, his performance left an indelible mark on cinema and made Widmark a household name overnight. Tommy Udo is such a ruthless, depraved character, and his manner crawls under your skin so thoroughly, that Widmark is impossible to ignore. His characterization could so easily have spasmed across the line into caricature, or become smarmy or irritating. But Udo's manic, staccato laugh just skirts that edge, and his bitterly cold eyes and palpable menace invigorate later scenes. The unnecessary murder he commits on screen is shocking; it isn't hard to see why Joe Pesci would evoke shades of Tommy Udo in Goodfellas. In fact, Widmark's Oscar-nominated turn as Udo would inspire countless nods from subsequent maniacal mobsters.

These characters spice up an otherwise small, vague tale. Kiss of Death morphs though a series of focus shifts. It seems like a hardboiled crime saga at times, a political game at others, even a tale of family values and romance. It ends up in a dramatic knot of danger and redemption. Its inability to stick with one theme gives Kiss of Death a wishy-washy, gutless quality. But touches of depth, particularly the way Eleazar Lipsky's script makes the end of the film tense and involving instead of anticlimactic, keep the otherwise straightforward story fresh.

The tale is also enhanced by a couple of pure noir moments. The most obvious is Nick's nervous vigil when he knows Udo is coming for him. A car's headlights slice through the dark house and set off a game of hide-and-seek in the shadows. The pressure mounts, and you just know that someone is bound to die. I don't know how film noir can support such ludicrous amounts of shadow, but it does so to powerful effect. Noir jumps back onto the front burner when Nick takes matters into his own hands at the end of the film. A showdown with Udo over a restaurant table is fraught with peril and tension; mostly because of Widmark's scintillating menace, but partially because of the composition and the score.

A superb commentary by James Ursini and Alain Silver walks us through the nuances of the film without much pause or filler. The pair has an impressive understanding of film noir, and they're able to parlay that knowledge into an engaging commentary. Though I don't fault most of their specific points, Ursini and Alain Silver hold the film in higher esteem than I do. This is good for noir fans because the commentators highlight the positives in each shot, performance, and theme.

Nick Bianco is a smalltime robber who finds himself facing a long prison sentence. He is offered a deal which presents him with a tough dilemma. Can he reform? Does he have it in him to turn his back on his criminal pals? Is he capable of leading a useful life?

Manhattan is itself the very essence of film noir. What Lorca called "the extrahuman architecture and furious rhythm" of The City, this totally manmade environment, is both impressive and somehow sinister. Borrowing from German Expressionism, the makers of noir saw the Metropolis as a twentieth-century emanation of the Frankenstein theme - that by industrialising, we have created our own worst nightmare. In "Kiss Of Death" we get the obligatory Manhattan skyline, but more significantly Bianco's new home, outside which his little girls roller-skate, is overshadowed by brooding spans of bridges. No matter how Bianco may love his domestic idyll, The City is in him and around him, and he cannot escape "that good old hoodlum complex".

The screenplay by gifted noirists Hecht and Lederer is excellent. Complex strategy, both in Di Angelo's plans to outwit the witness-intimidators, and Nick's final showdown with the bad guy, is conveyed effortlessly to the viewer. The little touches by which Nick gains our sympathy (unfair treatment in the workplace, his good handwriting, etc.) are expertly laid. The scene in which Di Angelo gradually undermines Nick's hostility is a particularly fine piece of writing. Though a major criminal trial forms a plot pivot, the writers resist the temptation to wallow in courtroom drama. We see nothing of the trial, and the movie is slicker and tauter for it. In a similar vein, mobster Pete Rizzo is important to the story, but never actually appears onscreen. His presence would only slacken the narrative rhythm. The fact od Nettie's marriage is communicated to the viewer with elegant concision, and her happy home life is shown symbolically, without being dwelt upon.

Richard Widmark is simply marvellous as Tommy Udo, the creepy psycho. His oscillation between manic levity and unhinged viciousness is fascinating to watch. The scene where Udo humiliates his "moll" Buster is a masterpiece of cruelty which tells us a great deal about both characters.

As the intelligent bulwark of right-thinking society, Brian Donlevy gives a memorable performance in the role of Assistant District Attorney Louie Di Angelo. Coleen Gray is ideal in the part of Nettie, the thoroughly nice girl who falls for Nick. She even takes over the movie's narration, making an interesting shift in tone from terse, authoritative male voice to the softer 'social conscience' theme of which her character is the embodiment.

And the film is not afraid to espouse the liberal cause. Nick loves his children, and a heartless, uncaring society won't give him a job. He is wrong to stage the hold-up to get money for Christmas presents, but what choice have we hypocrites left him? "Nobody's cried over me for a long time," says Nick. We believe him.

Henry Hathaway brings quiet assurance to the directing. The suspense is developed masterfully in two key places, neither sequence relying on dialogue at all for its emotional power. The first is the interminable elevator ride at the start of the film, and the second is Nick's long vigil near the end, as he waits alone for his nemesis to arrive.

Earl Howser is played by Taylor Holmes in a superb depiction of a crooked attorney, the glad-handing, glib-tongued "eminent shyster with connections". In the second conference at Osning, the unctuous Howser says "Sit down, son, sit down," then casts a wily look at Nick which reveals his reptilian cunning.

Hathaway and his Director of Photography, Norbert Brodine, have come up with one of the best, and best-looking, of all films-noirs. The unrelenting geometry of the wall bricks in the cell area, and the daunting shadow of the bars, represent symbolically the way in which an unyielding society has caged Nick Bianco and closed down his options. Osning's rigid architecture, shot in exaggerated perspective, is the emblem of society's inflexibility. Shadows of prison bars slant across characters' faces. We are all enclosed and limited by the industrial monster which we have created. The prisoners carry out meaningless work in the machine shop, the crazily spinning bobbins standing for the barren bustle of modern life, and the ubiquitous twine the web of capitalism in which we unfortunates are ensnared. The clang and rumble of el-trains invades living-rooms, the heartbeat of the evil giant entering every facet of our lives.

"Kiss Of Death" was shot in genuine locations rather than on studio sets, and the use of real buildings gives it an interesting look. Doorways are used throughout the film for clever dramatic effects. Nick's first kiss with Nettie is shot through a doorway, suggesting furtiveness, putting the viewer in the position of a disapproving janitor. The doorway of the bordello opens to Udo, but is slammed in Nick's face. He does not belong here. A moment of sincere mutual affection between Di Angelo and Nick - the only one in the film - happens in a doorway, as if these two men from different worlds can only ever coincide in this transitory way. At the orphanage, a doorway allows us to glimpse a stained-glass crucifix just as Nick is about to embrace his daughters - and redemption. The reunion with Conchita and Rosaria is very moving, and beautifully acted by Mature.

Verdict - A Superior Noir.

In the New York Christmas, the family man Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) has bad luck and criminal record, and can not find a honest job. He is caught in a jewelry heist, but he does not accept the proposal of the Assistant District Attorney Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy) to be a squealer and denounce his accomplices and he goes to prison. Three years later, his depressed woman commits suicide and his two daughters are sent to an orphanage. Nick makes a deal with Mr. D'Ángelo and rats his former partners; then he marries Nettie (Collen Gray), moves to another to town with a new identity, where he finds a honest job. However, when the psychopathic killer Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) is sentenced not-guilty in a trial where Nick was forced to testimony against the criminal, the desperate Nick uses one last attempt to save his family from the psychotic killer.

"Kiss of Death" is a powerful film-noir, with an engaging and credible plot, fantastic direction of Henry Hathaway and great performances of Victor Mature and Richard Widmark. Among the movies that I have watched of the great actor Richard Widmark, this is his best performance and he really deserved his nomination to the Oscar. His sadistic character is really a scary cold-blood killer. The black and white cinematography is amazing, with great use of shadows valorized by the image of the DVD. Karl Malden in the beginning of his successful career has a minor participation. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Beijo da Morte" ("Kiss of the Death")

Victor Mature had no illusions about his acting; when he was rejected for membership to a golf club because he was an actor, he said, "I'm no actor, and I've got 65 movies to prove it." However unpretentious he was, when he was cast in the right role, he came off well, as he does here in the noir "Kiss of Death." Mature plays Nick Bianco, a con who becomes a stool pigeon for the D.A. (Brian Donlevy) so that he can get a parole and retrieve his kids from an orphanage. He marries a friend of his late wife's (Coleen Gray) and uses another name so that his kids won't be tainted by his old criminal life. It all goes well until he has to testify in court against Tommy Udo. Then his life and that of his family are in grave danger.

"Kiss of Death" is notable for being the auspicious debut of Richard Widmark, and few actors have had such a powerful introduction to an audience. As the sadistic Tommy Udo, Widmark's raw laugh and smirk are chill-inducing. His famous scene - maybe the most famous scene of his career, as well as being a famous scene, period - occurs when he throws an old woman in her wheelchair down a flight of stairs. And laughs. A fantastic performance.

The beautiful Coleen Gray plays Nettie, Nick's wife. Despite her looks and good acting, Gray never achieved big stardom, though she had some excellent roles. I wonder if she just wouldn't play ball with Zanuck. Now 89, she is an attractive woman who continues to make public appearances, usually at screenings of the film "Nightmare Alley." Here she's perfect as a loving, worried woman. She also narrates.

Mature gives a solid performance as Nick -- he was really in his métier here and in films like "I Wake Up Screaming," though he graduated (or was demoted) to beefcake roles in period pictures later on. He had the physique but he wasn't a great actor and somehow, it was more apparent in those movies.

I feel very privileged to have met and spoken with Coleen Gray and to have heard the remarkable Richard Widmark speak in person, so I have an affection for this film. Even if I didn't, it's still good and well worth seeing.

Even though he saw his gangster father cut down by police bullets, you have to wonder how a kind hearted, sympathetic character as Nick Bianco, well played by Victor Mature, settled down to a life of crime.

In addition, was there anything going on with Nick and the babysitter while Nick's wife was living? They sure teamed up quickly and Nick remarried very fast after his wife's suicide.

Despite these possible flaws, we have an engrossing film dealing with a gangster must face when he starts squealing on fellow mob members.

Of course, Richard Widmark steals the movie with his performance of the insane hooligan with that memorable laugh, eerie smile and depraved indifference to human life. Throwing a wheel-chair bound Mildred Dunnock down the stairs was most shocking. It would take a performance such as the one given by Edmund Gwenn in the family tradition film, "Miracle on 34th St." to defeat Widmark. Ironically, Widmark was never Oscar nominated again.

I always enjoy watching things like this for the first time. Always wondered just What was the big deal w/ Widmark and the infamous wheel-chair scene? Now I know. It's pretty effective and sure, there wasn't anything else like it on film in '47, no sir.

What about the rest of this? Well--others have pointed out-the romance happens rather suddenly, I thought Widmark played a little too much by the rules towards the end-why didn't one of his goons just off him in the restaurant-?? and sure, they tacked on the wife's suicide rather conveniently-but, for the most part, this does work.

Look for Karl Malden in a smallish early role. I also enjoy watching Brian Donlevy, he usually played sgt majors and the like, here you can see why. Kudos to Victor Mature too-nothing great, but a solid role for him, too.

*** outta ****, worth watching.

Victor Mature plays a hood who's picked up in an attempted jewelry heist and decides to play ball with the police by becoming an informant. Richard Widmark, in a famous performance as a giggling psychopath, is one of the crooks Mature rats out, and it's up to him to figure out how to get Widmark out of the picture before he comes after his wife and kids.

Director Henry Hathaway gives this no-nonsense docu-crime-thriller a gritty and authentic look (a title card at the opening claims that the film was shot entirely on actual locations) and uses virtually no musical score to complement the action. I thought the pacing was a bit sluggish at times, but Widmark alone makes the film worth watching, and overall it's a great addition to the hard-boiled films that were so prevalent in the years immediately following World War II.

Brian Donlevy has a supporting role as a district attorney, and if you blink you may miss a young Karl Malden as a detective.

Grade: A-

Since this movie was made while there was still a Production Code, that is before the movie ratings system of 1968, Kiss of Death may strike some modern-day viewers as dull except for the famous scene of Richard Widmark's Tommy Udo pushing Mildred Dunnock's crippled woman down a flight of stairs, a sequence I first saw as a clip in Sean Penn's 1984 Bad Boys. From a script by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer with direction by Henry Hathaway, this movie takes its time with the story of Nick Bianco (Victor Mature), a career criminal who can't get a break going legit so he robs a jewelry store during the Christmas season and gets caught. It's in jail that he meets Udo who he befriends. Initially refusing to play "stool pigeon", he changes his mind after a tragedy involving his wife. That's all I'll tell you except I'll also mention good support from Coleen Gray as the narrator and Mature's second wife and, especially, Brian Donlevy as the attorney who tries to protect Nick. Because sequences involving the first wife were not allowed under the Code, like I said, it might make for dull viewing but when some of it gets mentioned later one can almost put two and two together and make for some compelling visuals for the thinking mind to ponder. It's the performances of Mature and Widmark and the various point-of-view shots and shadowy lighting that makes this one of the more compelling film noir's of the late '40s. So for all of the above, I highly recommend this movie. P.S. Look for a young Karl Malden.

You feel this could have been better, even thigh all the performances are solid and the camera moves well. There is a marvellous start with a female voiceover and a promise of real location shooting. Unfortunately most of these 'location' scenes are indoor and not outside on the streets. However interesting it might be to use the actual Chrysler building for the heist it doesn't really add much. Must be said though however stupid it was to arrange the getaway via a public lift some 24 floors up, the suspense or the bad boys being pressed up against each other and the constant stopping and starting while we see the jeweller getting closer and closer to his alarm is very well done. There is a similar, again near silent suspense scene in the restaurant at the end. Its just that in-between there is as much emphasis on Mature's little girls as there is on violent action. I realise that much had to be done to convince us that he would make the suicidal squeal but was a trip to the orphanage at the convent really necessary? Enjoyable with great performances from Mature and Widmark, maybe just one more person down the stairs and less little kiddies and it would have been even better.