Killer’s Kiss (USA, 1955) 67 min B&W DIR-DOP-EDITOR: Stanley Kubrick. PROD: Stanley Kubrick, Morris Bousel. SCR: Howard Sackler. MUSIC: Gerald Fried. CAST: Frank Silvera, Jamie Smith, Irene Kane, Ruth Sotobka. (United Artists)
An ambitious young photographer turned filmmaker named Stanley Kubrick wrote, directed, shot, edited, and co-produced Killer’s Kiss with a rock bottom budget of $40,000 (the film, his second, was ultimately picked up by United Artists). Despite its rough-hewn nature and technical shortcomings, the film is a lively urban crime drama with several compelling action sequences and inventive scenarios. Killer’s Kiss exists on the gritty street-level of film noir, far removed from the immaculate, studio-financed Hollywood sets of the era’s big league noir efforts. This brash realism elevates Killer’s Kiss above standard “B” noir fare, and injects it with an immediacy and vitality lacking in stuffy studio environs. Shot on location in downtown New York City, mostly at night, and often without permits, Killer’s Kiss immerses its downtrodden characters in a turbulent world of flashing neon signs, seedy dance clubs, milling crowds of thrill-seekers, rushing cars, sinister streets and looming buildings, setting the stage for an edgy narrative. The unknown actors are Beat-era faces right out of a Jack Kerouac fever dream. Their unpolished performances lend a further naturalism to the proceedings, which recall the work of De Sica more than that of Lang or Wise.
The simple storyline is where the film leans towards more traditional pulp fare, sketched out in rough, broad strokes, and utilizing familiar noir character types: washed-up boxer Davy Gordon (Jamie Smith), listless dancehall girl-for-hire Gloria Price (Irene Kane), and her lecherous thug of a boss, Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera). Gordon and Price share neighbouring one-room apartments in downtown New York, and are both lonely, yearning for something better. After losing yet another well-publicized bout in the ring, Gordon returns home exhausted, and unwittingly witnesses Rapallo forcing himself on Price in her apartment. Gordon comes to the rescue of the attractive blonde, and the couple seek solace in each others arms. They impulsively decide to leave the urban jungle for the greener pastures of Seattle, where they dream of starting a new life together. However, things soon take a sharp downward turn for the hopeful couple, as a seething, obsessively jealous Rapallo kidnaps Price when she comes to collect her remaining wages. Gordon flies into a desperate pursuit, and the dizzying finale unfolds in a deserted warehouse district of the city. With the tables turned, a brutal chase scene ensues, with the maniacal Rapallo chasing a frantic Gordon through empty streets, down forbidding alleyways, and over expansive rooftops. The adversaries wind up in a claustrophobic warehouse full of eerie mannequins, and in the film’s most infamous scene they battle it out to the bitter end using artificial limbs and torsos as weapons.
At its core, Killer’s Kiss possesses many traits common in film noir: the story is told as a flashback, using voice-over narration; the protagonist is led into a downward spiral by a detached femme fatale; the action occurs mainly at night, in an unforgiving urban environment; the grainy black and white cinematography uses light and shadow effectively to convey a menacing mood; the characters are angst-ridden and isolated, and the narrative possesses a sinister, cynical tone. Kubrick’s most notable achievements in the film are his camerawork and the fast pace of his editing. He captures Gordon’s boxing match with a documentary-like feel, putting the viewer in the ring amidst the flying fists. And throughout the film, he uses innovative framing elements, creating images within images, using windows, mirror reflections, and architecture to block the action in creative ways. As a footnote in Stanley Kubrick’s career, and a minor film noir, Killer’s Kiss remains an interesting time capsule- a stepping stone to the director’s more accomplished noir follow-up, the tightly-executed heist film The Killing (1956).
Originally published in Vol. #1, Issue #13 (“Noir”).
David Faris
David S. Faris is a Toronto-based writer, musician, DJ, and graphic designer. He has written articles and reviews for music magazines Chart, Exclaim!, and Blue Suede News. He is also a founding member of the Toronto Film Noir Syndicate.