Rating: 
Summary: "If you like, I'll show you the scars."
Review: Private investigator, Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) is driving his sports car home late one night, when a young blonde woman, wearing only a raincoat, stops him by standing in the middle of the road. The woman, named Christina (Cloris Leachman) is terrified. She tells Hammer she has escaped from a mental hospital, and she tells him "remember me" if anything happens to her. Her prediction comes true. Thugs grab Hammer and Christina. The next day, Mike finds himself in a hospital, and Christina is dead.
Hammer is soon involved in the case. He doesn't intend to get involved--but people start pushing him around, and so he starts pushing back. Hammer isn't exactly the noble type. In fact, his PI business is sleazy. Hammer uses his curvy secretary/assistant, Velda (Maxine Cooper) to entrap men in divorce cases. And he isn't above using his friends--including the car mechanic Nick (Nick Dennis)--to help solve the case.
Meeker as Hammer is splendid--there's no moral centre here. He's as amoral as they come, and he's driven only by personal gain. One salacious scene has Hammer crashing a gangster pool party, and seducing the gangster's sister. But then women hang all over Hammer--they can't help themselves. Of course, he's the quintessential bachelor--complete with bachelor pad, and sports car. The plot is problematic, and has a connect-the-dots approach. The bad thing is that some of the dots are missing, but it's not too noticeable, and the film sweeps you along until its somewhat devastating, cold war paranoia ending. This 50s film noir is based on a Mickey Spillane story, and the DVD features include trailers and an alternate ending--displacedhuman
Rating:
Summary: Excellent film noir
Review: Ralph Meeker portrays a cheerfully brutal Mike Hammer who, tired of low rent divorce cases, follows up on the murder of a young woman that he encountered on a dark desert road in the hopes of cutting himself in on something big. Unlike most films that feature a strong hero who makes his own rules, "Kiss Me Deadly" doesn't sugarcoat the basic fascism of such a character. In this story, Hammer isn't even a paticularly good detective. His practice consists of whoring out his beautiful and adoring secretary, Velda (Maxine Cooper), to set up married men for blackmail. His investigation in this case basically consists of following up on names that have been handed to him, usually by Velda. Along the way, he smashes fingers and slaps faces until the disastrous finale, which leaves Hammer no wiser and no better off than he was before.Robert Aldrich's direction is wonderful. The first fifteen minutes or so are so good that they set a tone of tension and desperation that the rest of the film cannot maintain. Nevertheless, this is a superior example of filmmaking.
Rating: 
Summary: Whats in the Box"?
Review: Robert Aldrich takes us all on a roller coaster ride with murder and sadism as main ingredients. Ralph Meeker plays a very "on the edge" Mike Hammer in this terrific story about the great "Whatsit" You know that this is not a mainstream film when you see the opening credits on a reverse roll. Albert Dekker plays the sinister Dr. Soberin with style. When Gaby asks him " whats in the box" Soberin says " The Head of the Medusa" She shoots him and then finds out for herself whats in that box! The screenplay is a real corker wriiten by A.I. Bezzerides. There always seemed to be a big controversy about the films running time..106 minutes..To this day I dont know if I have ever seen the complete version. (MGM UA VIDEO)
Rating:
Summary: One of the great P.I. noir films, with the restored ending!
Review: Robert Aldrich's 1955 detective thriller, "Kiss Me Deadly," came at the end of the American classic film noir cycle, and shows the genre at its most violent, surreal, cruel, cynical, and visually bizarre. It's the last great explosive moment of the classic era of film noir -- and I do mean explosive. This is one detective film, like "Chinatown," which you won't soon forget. Aldrich and screenwriter A. I. Bezzirides took on Mickey Spillane's popular P.I. Mike Hammer, but aside from keeping the basic plot outline of the original novel, they completely changed the nature of the character in a very reactionary move. Spillane's Mike Hammer is a New York detective-avenger, a self-righteous vigilante who deals out justice when the paralyzed forces of the law can do nothing: he's a vicious knight on a mean-spirited quest to right wrongs through brute force. (The title of the first Hammer novel, "I, the Jury" pretty much sums up his attitude.) The movie relocates Hammer to Los Angeles and turns him into a shallow con-artist who only cares about his car and his looks. He's a lousy detective too, relying on knocking people around for information, often innocent inoffensive folks, and never really paying attention to the important details of the case. His detective work is entirely matrimonial, where he and his 'assistant' Velda put the squeeze on couples to blackmail them. Hammer's motto is simple: "What's in it for me?" Ralph Meeker is perfect in the role, looking as if someone carved him out of slab of meat. No doubt, in this story Hammer is in way over his head...if only he knew it. He picks up a nearly naked girl (Cloris Leachman in an early role) who throws herself in front of his sports car. Later, they're run off the road, and faceless gangsters torture her to dearth and leave Hammer for dead. Hammer sets out to find out what's up; not because he cares what happened to the girl, but because he sniffs out big money and he'd like to get the guys who wrecked his sports car! Hammer finds himself in a violent quest to locate an object that everyone desires: a package called 'The Great Whatsit.' The Great Whatsit isn't a meaningless red herring or Hitchcock McGuffin, however. Its contents are the great surprise of the plot, and the perfect exclamation point on a movie taking place in a chaotic world that seems to be falling apart. I won't tell what the Great Whatsit is (and shame on the reviewers here who have!), but...oh wow! And this brings us to the issue of the ending, and the only extra on this disc. (Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil the ending.) For years, "Kiss Me Deadly" had a mysteriously abrupt finale that many people praised for its surreal, weird quality. This was how I first saw it. However, in 1997 the original ending was discovered in Aldrich's personal print of the film by editor Glenn Erickson and film noir scholar Alain Silver. Apparently, an accident involving a careless projectionist snipped off part of the ending, so what we had enjoyed and critiqued for years was actually a mistake! The new ending shown on this disc fortunately doesn't change the tone of the film: it's still pretty astonishing, filled with a brilliant use of light and sound effects. However, there's still something about that abrupt ending that gets to people. The DVD contains the option to watch this original abrupt ending so you can make up your mind which one 'feels' more right to you: what the director intended, or the mistake that many embraced as a stroke of brilliance. No matter which ending you like, "Kiss Me Deadly" is a fabulous piece of brutal crime cinema. The photography is amazing, filled with weird and surreal images and crazy camera angles. The performances are all dead-on: Meeker's ugly Mike Hammer; Albert Dekker as the sinister and poetry spouting Dr. Soberin; Wesley Addy as Hammer's police acquaintance Pat, the sole voice of reason in the mess; Paul Stewart as a smarmy L.A. gangster; the late Jack Elam as freaky thug; and Gaby Rodgers in the film's strangest performance as the distant, weird, but ultimately very dangerous (to every living thing on the planet!) Lily Carver. If you love detective films and film noir, "Kiss Me Deadly" is a great must-see classic. For a 1950s film, it is surprisingly violent and far ahead of its time. And either end will leave you shivering in shock. If only they had the guts to end films this way today!
Rating:
Summary: VA VA VOOM - PAOW !
Review: Robert Aldrich's KISS ME DEADLY is one of these movies I watch every two or three years with the same pleasure. When I discovered it for the first time long ago, Film Noir meant Humphrey Bogart, Howard Hawks, James Cagney or John Huston to me. So imagine the shock KISS ME DEADLY gave me. Everything was so innovative in this movie from the initial credits rolling backwards over Cloris Leachman running half-naked on the road and gasping in Mike Hammer's car with a quite erotic intensity. From the sadistic torture scene of Christina Bailey to the character of Maxine -Velda- Cooper who helps Mike Hammer to nail adultery husbands by seducing them. From the secondary characters so well written that it seems that they all have a tremendously important role in the story. At last, the performance of Ralph -Mike Hammer- Meeker is so perfect that it's hard to imagine another actor in the role. I personally can't. And Nick Dennis, Mike Hammer's friend, whose onomatopeia are now part of Movie History. And, and... OK ! check for yourselves if you still don't know this movie. Superb copy with various subtitles, the alternate ending and the original trailer. A DVD zone your library.
Rating: 
Summary: A good 50's detective story, but not great.
Review: The best thing about this film is the acting of Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer. He does a great job. But the plot runs slowly and the ending is not credible. It's not a bad movie but I fail to see how it is rated a classic.
Rating:
Summary: A genuinely pleasant surprise
Review: The temptation these days is to dust off modestly entertaining but little known films of the past, slap 'em in a nice DVD package, and market them as "the cult classic that's finally on DVD!" At first glance, that seems to be the case here. But I have to admit that after watching my new DVD of "Kiss Me Deadly" (which I ordered from Amazon after they helpfully sent me an e-mail about the movie, announcing its availability in the fashion described above), I happily added it to my growing DVD collection instead of targeting it for unloading or trade. Here are five things that this film noir fan liked, or at least found interesting, about this movie: 1) The Mike Hammer of the books, who is a man of conscience (if not pacifism), is converted here into a sleazy detective who wallows in messy divorce cases, manipulating their outcome to his advantage. One may not like this interpretation, but it's undeniably interesting and different. Funny thing, though: despite the alterations to his character, Hammer still remains somewhat likable. 2) Classical music (symphonies, opera, etc.) is heard repeatedly throughout the film, usually emanating from radios in the dwellings Hammer visits during his investigation. Don't know exactly why, but I liked the juxtaposition of hearing cultured music while watching the sleazy, brutal elements of the story unfold. 3) Hammer drives a couple of cool looking open-top convertibles during the movie, and we are sometimes treated to a sort of hovering-over-the-trunk-looking-forward view as he drives along. Most movies settle for the usual camera-in-the-backseat-looking-over-the-driver's-shoulder shot, but the innovative set up described above allows us to drive along with Hammer AND see most of the cool car's exterior, too. It's hard to describe these shots in a more specific manner, but viewers will notice and appreciate them immediately. 4) I liked the mysterious box with the strange, glowing contents that everyone is after. It's creepy and fun. Also fun to think about: the plot device of having an object that everyone badly wants is clearly inspired by "The Maltese Falcon", and the fact that the object here is a box with something glowing inside it in turn inspired a similar item in the film "Pulp Fiction" decades later! 5) It was a good move to affix the longer ending onto the DVD release of this film. Simply put (but without giving too much away here), the longer ending makes it clear whether or not our hero survives this adventure. The shorter ending (included in the DVD's "extras" section, so viewers can compare for themselves) is ambiguous and unsatisfying, as one could make a case either way about Hammer's fate. There is certainly a place in film noir for ambiguity, but- trust me- in this particular story it's much better to know for sure who lives and who dies. So, if not a true "cult classic", I guess I have to say that "Kiss Me Deadly" is nevertheless a solid entry in the private eye genre, and it delivers the goods. The movie is moody, involving, dangerous, sexy, and damned fun to watch. It has all the things one likes to see in private eye movies, but several original touches, too. Oh, yes- the DVD features a picture that is crystal clear and sharp as a knife; it looks like they made the film yesterday. In short, pick this one up.
Rating:
Summary: shocking for its day
Review: this film was truly years ahead of its time. very bold content runs amuck throughout. this film gets 5 stars from me because of that reason. its themes of sexuality and violence are remarkable for a film of that era (the 1950s). a must have for collectors. only one reservation: the DVD offers nothing but a trailer and an alternate ending which in actuality is the original edited ending. oh well, can't have everything.
Rating:
Summary: Cautionary Tale/Sci-Fi flick Wrapped up in Film Noir
Review: This intense story starts off fast and continues at a breakneck pace until its "didn't-see-that-coming" conclusion. The ending is very atypical of the film noir genre (hence the title of my review), but everything leading up to it is noir at its finest. Ralph Meeker's portrayal of Mike Hammer is nothing short of sensational. He's the kind of guy you love to hate for how he conducts his business, but secretly wish you were half as cool. Some have noted his character as "bumbling", but I found him to be quite the opposite; he was able to handle just about any situation with either brute force or sly cleverness (ok, maybe he didn't do some follow-up work on Christina Bailey's roomate Lily Carver, which cost him, but I think we can overlook that). He's at his best when he's smacking someone around, which he does throughout. You couldn't have asked for a better performance. I thought the development of the secondary characters was done quite well, e.g. even though Nick the mechanic didn't have much screen time, how bad did you feel for him when he met with his fate? And Doc Kennedy who performed Christina Bailey's autopsy. You could tell after 30 seconds that this guy was scum. I also enjoyed the two brutes Sugar and Charlie Max. Those guys had some of the best facial expressions ever filmed. All this aside, my favorite aspect of the film was the cinematography. Filmed in glorious black & white so rich you'd think you were watching it unfold live in front of you. Also included are some of the best camera angles from the genre. One scene that sticks out is when Hammer tells Carver to meet him outside once she hears him honk the horn. They show Hammer running down the stairs from the vantage point of the top of the stairs. When Carver makes the same trip down they lensed it from the bottom. Really made an impact with me. You should enjoy this movie if you have any interest in either noir or older b&w movies.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best of the genre!
Review: This is easily one of the most outstanding pieces of film noir ever made. Ralph Meeker, (An actor who usually played bad guys.), plays a very anti-heroic Mike Hammer. The Mike Hammer that Meeker portrays is greedy and sadistic. He takes great pleasure inflicting pain on others, and stepping on as many toes as possible to get what he wants. With a lead character as trashy as the one Meeker portrays you can only imagine how cold-blooded the rest of the people in this movie are. "Kiss Me Deadly" is one of the more rarely seen classic detective pictures; this is a shame. From the very first shot of this picture, you can feel the crime-detective genre being pushed and beaten into directions no one has ever seen before. There are some people who did not understand the ending of this picture. It's simple: "Be careful what you go looking for, you might not like what you find." This is one wonderfully stylish, suspensful, and unusual motion picture. You owe it to yourself to check it out!
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