StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

2freensel I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

zardoz-13 Freshman director Edwin L. Marin's murder mystery "The Death Kiss" qualifies as a good crime yarn about a shooting at a film studio during a scene in a gangster movie. Clocking in at 71 minutes, this whodunit is another one of those where an amateur finds all the clues and solves the murder because the authorities cannot. Marin doesn't squander a second, and scenarists Gordon Kahn of "X Marks the Spot" and Barry Barringer of "Murder at Dawn" keep you guessing up until the last few minutes as they contrive one red herring with another to throw you off the scent. A scenarist is the sleuth who clears the reputation of an ex-wife who had everything to gain with the death of her former husband. Interesting, Bela Lugosi plays a studio producer. Although the Lugosi character hovers over most of the scenes, he is not the culprit. Nevertheless, Marin and his writers use him as a red herring, too. Of course, the police don't appreciate our protagonist sticking his nose into their criminal investigation. Not only does the snooping Drew locate the bullet that killed actor Myles Brent during the lensing of one scene, but he also discovers the gun used in the murder. The cast is first-rate, with handsome David Manners playing a studio scribe. Once again, Vincent Barrett provides the comic relief as a studio cop named Officer Gulliver. The dialogue is pretty snappy, too. An interesting bit of trivia about "The Death Kiss" is that it reunites three actors who appeared in Todd Browning's "Dracula." David Manners, Bela Lugosi, and Edward Van Sloan co-starred in "Dracula." Efficiently made, "The Death Kiss" is a worthwhile whodunit with some occasionally scintillating dialogue. Furthermore, this opus furnishes audiences with an idea about how films are produced and the various roles that go into a film production.

wes-connors "When an actor in a mystery film called 'The Death Kiss' ends up killed during a drive-by shooting scene, the film's screenwriter Franklyn Drew (David Manners) takes it upon himself to investigate. Among the suspects are an actress named Marcia Lane (Adrienne Ames), who is not only the dead actor's widow but also the screenwriter's lover, and Joseph Steiner, an arrogant studio executive played by Bela Lugosi," according to the Alpha Video DVD sleeve description. Future releases, if there are any, should correct the credit "Directed by Phil Rosen". And, always look for a version that includes the restored colorized sequences.This minor classic is smoothly orchestrated by director Edwin L. Martin and entertainingly managed by the cast and crew."The Death Kiss" is one of those old public domain films sold by vendors capitalizing on the title and Lugosi's appearance in the cast to suggest horror. Although it reunites three horrific "Dracula" (1931) actors, this is strictly a mystery. The story wasn't original, but seemed fresh in the new talking pictures medium. The aforementioned stars are joined by Edward Van Sloan as the director who unknowingly scolds his star murder victim for hamming up his demise. For a retake, the director advises expiring actor Edmund Burns (as Myles Brent), "When you die this time, let's have less gymnastics, and don't spin like a top when you fall." ****** The Death Kiss (12/5/32) Edwin L. Marin ~ David Manners, Adrienne Ames, Bela Lugosi, Edward Van Sloan

jimddddd These 1930s murder mysteries are generally pretty tedious. They introduce a cast of characters and then slap you with red herrings until the final denouement. This film is no different. But being low budget, as well as a film about life on a film set in 1932, "The Death Kiss" has its fascinating moments. Though most of Hollywood's golden-age moguls and studio executives were Jewish, it's hard to find distinctive Jewish characters in their movies, so it was interesting to see the studio head, Mr. Grossmith (Alexander Carr), speaking with what passed, at first, as an Eastern European accent and on two occasions grabbing his head as he kvetched an "Oy!" But then, as the film progresses, his accent seems to wander all over the place. There's also a gay character, Grossmith's male secretary ("sissie" specialist Harold Minjir), who shamelessly minces through his scenes and even, at one point, lets out a shriek when he accidentally sits down in the studio guard's lap. (I won't comment on leading man David Manners' fairly prominent lisp, other than to say that during his conversation at a rendezvous inn with a bellhop (Harold Waldridge) who has a comic lisp, you have to wonder what the filmmakers were thinking. Unfortunately, we lost those little gems when the 1934 Hays Office Code kicked in and, in the name of decency, ended the careers of actors like Minjir.) The story also lets us watch the film-within-a film's technicians, especially the sound and boom men, do their jobs during the set-ups. Overall, not a bad movie as long as you don't expect much from the plot. As an addendum, "The Death Kiss" was one of the last films shot at the Tiffany Studios at the corner of Sunset and Virgil, which is now a supermarket parking lot. The Tiffany Studios should not be confused with the Monogram Studios just two blocks east, on the north side of Sunset, where the KCET-TV Studios are now located.

GManfred Is there anything more distracting and more unsatisfying than a comedy-mystery? I cringed when I read the description on IMDb's page for this picture. The two genres don't go together, especially as here, when it's in the form and person of Vince Barnett's dopey-sidekick-keystone-cop routine.The mystery itself is pretty good and you can't guess the murderer, due in part to several plot holes. David Manners makes a pleasing appearance in a thankless role - if they wanted to go all-out on the comedy angle, a few custard pies in face for his insufferable character would have helped matters a great deal. Way too smug by half.The movie becomes a Talking Picture for much of the 75 or so minutes and they neglect Bela Lugosi for most of it. But it was an interesting look backstage at a film studio making a film - although it's been done many times since, this must have been one of the first attempts. It started off well but I gave it a rating of a 6 overall.