Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Paul Jan Well I did not get the point why this movie was called "Kiss of Death". I expect a "femme fatale" in a movie with that title but there was none. The movie is dated, an average film noir of the forties, but the acting of Richard Widmark is simply great and the wheelchair incident was quick but splendid for the forties. The loving father figure was quite overacted. Overall the movie is still worth seeing when you are a film noir fanatic. The script is OK but somewhat predictable, the shooting scene at the end was fast and quite unreal. But most of all ...the last spoken lines sounded irritating and should be better for a nowadays public. Normally I would give it a 5 but Widmark's performance tilted it up to a 6.

AaronCapenBanner 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.

bsmith5552 "Kiss of Death" is probably best remembered for the scene in which Richard Widmark's character, Tommy Udo pushes a wheelchair bound woman (Mildred Dunnock) down a flight of stairs. But it is more than that.Shot on location in New York, Director Henry Hathaway use a documentary film noire style to give the film a reality not possible on a sound stage. He uses actual locations for the various prison scenes, buildings and offices which accentuates the realism of the story.The basic story line has small time crook Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) being arrested for a jewel robbery and being brought before Assistant District Attorney Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy). D'Angelo tries to get Nick to rat out his partners in crime. No go. Nick goes to prison with the promise from his lawyer Earl Howser (Taylor Holmes) that he'll get an early parole. On the way to prison he meets the sadistic giggling psychopathic killer Udo, a friendship doomed to failure.After a personal tragedy happens while he is in prison, Nick reverses his stand and decides to contact D'Angelo and turn states evidence. He testifies against Udo and thinks that it's all over. Not so.Along the way, Nick Strikes up a romance with Nettie (Coleen Gray) and eventually marries her.Hathaway seems to have slipped a couple of things past the censors. The fact that Nettie was Nick's former baby sitter suggests that she is quite a bit younger than he and that he may have had his eye on her as a budding teenager. And because Hathaway used real locations, one might almost miss Mature flicking a cigarette butt into a real toilet in a jail cell, a no-no in those days. But not to worry, Nick and Nettie sleep in twin beds.The ending is pure Hollywood and therefore unbelievable. I mean, count the number of slugs both Nick and Udo take at the film's climax, yet both survive.I had a problem with some of the time lines in the picture. For example, Nick meets Udo on the way to prison but we don't see him again for at least a third of the film and never in the prison. When Nick turns states evidence, we casually learn that he has been away for three years and in the interim, Udo somehow has been released. And Nettie appears out of nowhere and seems to be carrying a torch for Nick in spite of their age differences.Victor Mature was always, in my opinion, a much better actor than his "hunk" image allowed. In this film he gives a powerful performance as the tragic Nick. Widmark, in his breakthrough role, steals the picture with his over the top performance as the demented killer Udo. I can't say that I agree with his make up consisting of an exaggerated over bite and fright wig used to apparently enhance his animal like mannerisms.Others in the cast include Karl Malden and Millard Mitchell as cops and John Marley as a convict friend of Nick.

William Giesin I highly recommend this classic film noir story of a thief, Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) that is faced with the tough decision to turn "stool pigeon" and "rat out" a maniacal killer, Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark). Nick is a "two-time loser" and the only way he will ever get to see his orphaned kids is by "playing ball" with the cops (Brian Donlevy and Karl Malden). This film is magnificently directed by Henry Hathaway who directed such great films as True Grit, How The West Was Won, Rawhide, 13 Rue Madeleine, etc. I once read that Victor Mature was a close friend of Henry Hathaway, and that he was well aware of Hathaway's temper and reputation of mistreating actors on the set during the filming of his pictures. Consequently, Mature warned Hathaway going into the film that he "wouldn't put up with any temper tantrums or abuse during the filming". Hathaway complied in order to get Mature to agree to do the film. Richard Widmark remarked in an interview that "Kiss of Death" was his first film, and that contributed to that wonderful maniacal laugh he gave in many of the films most memorable scenes. The nervous laugh probably was also due to Hathaway's heavy handed direction. In any event, Hathaway threw a temper tantrum during the shooting that caused Mature to walk off the set and sit in a limousine for an hour or so until one of Hathaway's aides begged him to return. Mature's returned to the set on condition that Hathaway behave himself i.e. no more temper tantrums. Later during the filming when Hathaway once again started to go off into another outburst ... Mature politely raised his finger and said "Not even pantomime!". This is one of Victor Mature's best films...and newcomer Richard Widmark steals the show. Widmark was a very underrated actor and deserved a supporting actor Oscar for his performance!