Review of Kiss Me Deadly (1955) by Buddy A — 05 Dec 2008

A very interesting film, though not quite up to par with other classic noir "detective" films. This may be just a personal preference for me; I was never quite as enamored of Mike Hammer stories as I was with Phillip Marlowe or Sam Spade, but without a doubt Meeker is the best cinematic Mike Hammer to date (and this includes both Keach's performances, which are not that true to the actual literary character, and the few stints in which Mickey Spillane played his own title character himself!).

The cinematography is excellent, however, very true to the spirit of film noir's chiaroscuro technique. What makes this film so interesting is twofold. First are all the great mythic references to everything from the Bible to Greek mythology, some of which are subtle and some overt, coupled with symbollic temperings of romantic literature, poetry, and classical music (plus some neat juxtapositions of this to modern sports like baseball and boxing, which play on the radio in key scenes).

Second is the way the film taps into the unique post-war fears of its time; while going into too much detail here might potentially ruin the film for those who have not seen it, suffice it to say that it does so in a way few films noirs ever did.

Overall, this is a very good film, though not quite as good as many other classic noirs, but is recommended nonetheless.