Review of Kiss Me Deadly (1955) by Mark M — 14 Jan 2013

A sleazy subversive film-noir gumshoe classic with a very interesting twist that you will not soon forget. Clearly a classic, that film makers of today draw inspiration from (Pulp Fiction for example). Kiss Me Deadly is a story of a tough, sadistic, egocentric not-too-bright detective Mike Hammer who by chance gets mixed up in a mystery. A girl jumps in front of his beautiful Jaguar sports car & forces him off the road late one night. She needs help, all she's wearing is a rain coat and she wants Hammer to get her to the nearest bus station but if they don't make it she says "remember me". But a couple of thugs intercept them & tirture the girl to death & then try & send her dead body along with Hammers over a cliff in that beautiful Jaguar to their deaths. Hammer escapes the crash & the mystery begins...

The film is surprisingly raw in spots for a film of this era. Mike Hammer enjoys delivering pain to others for example, he's a sadist & "the big What's-it" is not what you would think and certainly puts this film in a unique category. The female characters are raw & the whole film has a quirky tawdry taste to it from start to finish.

Ralph Meeker is great as Mike Hammer the sleazy scum-bag sadist detective who really delivers a fine performance. Also memorable in the film is Maxine Cooper (Velda) his 'business partner' & sometimes love/sex interest. Probably more on the sex interest side, Cooper does a fine job playing the very friendly & very anything for a buck kinda girl. Also who could forget Mike's mechanic friend, Nick Dennis who is constantly saying things like "Va-va-voom!".

This is a unique sleazy film-noir classic that I would recommend especially if you are a fan of this genera or of unusual films in general.