Pinned between expressionist symbolism and fraught authenticity, all three of these desperate post-war docu-noir flicks are cut violently from the same cloth. Opening with a daylight jewel heist, Kiss Of Death slowly fades to black as Victor Mature’s crim-turned-stoolie pitches towards a midnight date with destiny. Enter Richard Widmark in a startling Oscar-nommed debut as chuckling psycho-boy Tommy Udo. The film’s commentary (by noir historians James Ursini and Alain Silver) certainly perks up when Widmark sends a wheelchair-bound old lady crashing down a flight of stairs.
Read the full Film Noir Collection review
Latest News
Comments