Kiss of Death
Victor Mature stars in Kiss of Death, a film noir classic about a small-time crook who is caught between the mob code of honour and concern for his family. When Nick Bianco (Mature) is sent 'up the river' for his part in a jewel heist, he refuses to squeal on his accomplices. When his wife commits suicide, leaving his daughters with noone to look after them, Bianco is forced to deal with the prosecutor, and he names names in exchange for his freedom. After getting out of prison and deciding to 'go straight', he finds out that his testimony has gotten Tommy Udo, a psychotic mob killer (played to perfection by Richard Widmark, in his on-screen debut), after him.
Member Reviews
Still solid - fornjot
Finally saw this - it's 63 years old! - and it holds up very well. Good well-written story, nice involving vulnerable sad performance from Victor Mature, a riveting screen sociopath debut from Richard Widmark, and a straight-up believable portrayal from Brian Donlevy. Definitely worth zipping.Richard Widmark Is The Highlight Here - revsdd
I thought that Victor Mature offered a good, if somewhat reserved, performance here as Nick Bianco, a mobster who chooses to give evidence against his fellow mobster Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) in return for an early parole so that he can take care of his children. Although Mature is the star of the movie, I thought that Widmark really stole the show with a bang-on performance as Udo. He was exactly what I would expect that type of mobster to be. Aside from Widmark's good performance, though, I have to say that for the most part I thought this movie was essentially an average suspense flick. It picks up marks at the end for some pretty good suspense after Udo is acquitted at his trial, and Bianco becomes a target, but it also lost some points on a couple of counts. First, the relationship between Bianco and Nettie (Coleen Grey) develops way too fast. One minute she visits him in prison and is simply his children's baby-sitter wanting him to know what's happened to the kids and then all of a sudden they're in love and married. I realize that time had passed while Bianco was in prison, and Nettie could well have kept visiting him with their relationship developing during those visits, but the transition was too sudden and jarring. Also, the opening narration of the movie turned me off. It was an early version of liberal Hollywood, where Bianco in the narration is just someone who had no choice but to turn to crime because he was poor. Boo hoo. He was a mobster. This was not a nice guy. Why are we supposed to feel sorry for him?Kiss of Death - binky
This is an unusual 'film noir' in that the character played by Victor Mature gets caught after a bank robbery in the very first scene. In jail he is approached by the D.A. to spill the beans on his accomplices. Since Mature has a wife and 2 daughters, his 'raison d'etre' is to make sure they are safe. After learning that his wife has 'committed suicide' and his children have gone to an orphanage, Mature decides to become a 'stoolie' and 'out' the other thieves.
I've only seen Mature in biblical films, so, it was great to see him in a suit rather than a robe or toga. He was wonderful in the role - playing a concerned 'family man' with warmth and passion. His presence made me aware of why the female audience referred to him as 'the hunk'. I wholebodily concur
If that was 'Widmark's first role' - he certainly made the most memorable 'psycho' in 'film noir' history. The scene with the woman in the wheel chair will be etched in my memory forever.
There are 2 very tense scenes that bolted me deep into my chair - even though I thought about making popcorn - I could not stop watching the screen. That says a lot for this film which I wholeheartedly recommend.
Member Reviews
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Still solid - fornjot
Finally saw this - it's 63 years old! - and it holds up very well. Good well-written story, nice involving vulnerable sad performance from Victor Mature, a riveting screen sociopath debut from Richard Widmark, and a straight-up believable portrayal from Brian ...Richard Widmark Is The Highlight Here - revsdd
I thought that Victor Mature offered a good, if somewhat reserved, performance here as Nick Bianco, a mobster who chooses to give evidence against his fellow mobster Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) in return for an early parole so that he can take care of his ...Kiss of Death - binky
This is an unusual 'film noir' in that the character played by Victor Mature gets caught after a bank robbery in the very first scene. In jail he is approached by the D.A. to spill the beans on his accomplices. Since Mature has a wife and 2 daughters, his ...