A Major Disappointment

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This little film captured my attention from the start and held it for the entire 67-minute running time, a tribute to Kubrick's early talent. I even prefer it to his rambling epics, like "2001: A Space Odyssey" and beyond. Contrary to many other opinions, I find the acting top-notch. Jamie Smith is a charismatic hero, Irene Kane is just pretty enough and naive enough to play the damsel in distress, and Frank Silvera exudes sliminess and menace. What makes them seem awkward is the unmatched overdubbing and stilted voice-overs, particularly by Kane in her flashback where she sounds like she's reading a Daphne DuMaurier Gothic novel.Photography and locations in no way call attention to the film's low budget. In fact they're what make this film so absorbing. The climactic fight in the mannequin warehouse has an eeriness that was later borrowed in Blake Edwards' "Experiment in Terror."Overall, a great film that can hold it's own against some of Kubrick's best achievements.

Perhaps the most notable trick that Kubrick pulled off in this fledgling effort was to shoot several sequences in the 'city that never sleeps' and catch it napping. It was so disconcerting to see an almost deserted Times Square followed by first a car journey through totally empty streets and a chase across equally empty roof-tops with not even a distant sound of what had to be heavy traffic below. It was equally clear that Kubrick had dipped heavily into the oeurvre of William Irish/Cornell Woollrich and maybe even watched such low-key adaptations as Phantom Lady and The Window. It was equally clear the film was made for a stick of gum and couldn't run to even mediocre acting talent. It's probably fair to say that if it didn't have the name Kubrick attached it wouldn't have attracted the amount of ink it has. Watchable - barely.

This is Stanley Kubrick's second film, and it's significantly better then Fear and Desire, his first film. The plot revolves around Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith) a struggling boxer who meets Gloria Price (Irene Kane) when he saves her from gangster Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera). As Davey and Gloria's relationship blossoms, Rapallo gets angry and set's out for revenge. The film shows us these two struggling people and how they are both looking for better lives. The cinematography of this movie is excellent. If you've seen some of Kubrick's photos of New York when he was working for Look magazine, you'll see a lot of that imagery here. The film starts out slowly but escalates faster and faster as it goes. Killer's Kiss is a top notch film noir and it really works. I recommend it.

Before judging "Killer's kiss" one has to take into account some considerations. It is Stanley's second feature film. With a very low- budget he achieved a decent film noir. Unlike every other Kubrick film, the plot is quite plain and predictable. A classical criminal storyline together with a sensitive love story. The attempt of davey of rescuing her woman from the hands of her crazy boss who is in love with her.I particularly enjoyed the chase and finally the fight between Davey and Rapallo. After a stimulating chase they end up in a creepy warehouse, inside a circle of maniquies and they fight, spear against axe. In a sort of circus-like battlefield, or maybe a colisseum of maniquies, Davey is victorious. Maybe this movie doesn't fit the category of "unique" as his work of the following years would, but if you enjoy film noir then you should definitely watch it.