And Millard Mitchell was uncredited. I know it was a bit part and one dimensional. But to not list Millard Mitchell, the guy who went on to perform as General Pritchard in 12 o'Clock High seems very strange to me.
Dan Duryea and Richard Widmark, despite playing psychopaths, were clean-living family men. Widmark was highly educated, and Victor Mature was nothing like an egotistical Hollywood actor. When he quit acting(he wasn't crazy about it), people said he would die doing nothing; he said, "What a way to die."
@@pepelemoko01 Victor once applied for membership to an exclusive country club. When told actors weren't eligible for membership, he replied "I'm not an actor and I've got 58 films to prove it."
Great movie! There’s Coleen Grey who played in the opening scene of Red River with John Wayne and Montgomery Cliff. She’s talking to Victor Mature in the prison while visiting him.
I discovered Widmark in his first movies only after being used to seeing him portraying the good guys. His “hoodlum” characters are memorable and made him famous. Yellow sky, in 1948, after Kiss of Death, is a masterpiece and ahead of its time.
Widmark in a stunning film debut. I do not believe that he imitated Dan Duryea or any other actor in his role here. The cackle, the dead eyes (watch him as he waits in hiding slightly behind a door before Mature enters before their final confrontation), & his maniacal glee as he sends Mildred Dunnock tied to her wheelchair down a long flight of stairs. Understandably he had to fight type casting after his Tommy Udo. Although playing the reluctant hero in PICK-UP ON SOUTH STREET imagine what he might have done to Thelma Ritter in place of Richard Kiley. BYW the year 1947 produced KISS OF DEATH as well as NIGHTMARE ALLEY & OUT OF THE PAST. These are just 3 of the great noir films from that year.
From my review of a few years ago SPOILER ALERT!! Saw KISS OF DEATH (1947) for only the second time in 20 years last night on TCM. Directed by Henry Hathaway and written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer from a story by Eleazar Lipsky. The story revolves around an ex-con played by Victor Mature and his former partner-in-crime, Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark in his first film). The movie also starred Brian Donlevy and introduced Coleen Gray in her first billed role. The story is exciting and fast moving and the acting is good by all concerned. Of course, Widmark is nasty as hell and every scene he is in is riveting and unpredictable. Mature gives a nuanced performance that is quite good. Donlevy is solid and so is Gray who made noticeable progress from here in more demanding noir roles such as Nightmare Alley, Kansas City Confidential and The Killing. Hathaway's direction is good and so is the cinematography by Norbert Brodine who also shot The House on 92nd Street, Road House and Thieves' Highway. Much of the film was made here in NYC so I especially liked some of the shots of the Chrysler Building, the Criminal Courts Building at 100 Centre Street, the Park Avenue Hotel Marguery, St. Nicholas Arena, and the now-demolished Bronx House of Detention for Men. The exterior scenes of the family home were shot in Astoria, Queens and these with Mature and his two little daughters have a lovely open air feeling. Others with his daughters are tender and heart wrenching at times. A few scenes such as the jewel robbery and the last sequence with Mature and Widmark in Luigi's restaurant in East Harlem are tense and very well done. Kiss of Death is painted in broad strokes and is good without breaking any new ground. This seems to be the case with the few films I've seen of Hathaway--he's solid and very competent but does not quite approach the heights of the greatest directors . There are a few plot sequences that bothered me. Something doesn't seem right in the scene when Gray visits Mature in jail and tells him a character named Rizzo was somehow responsible for his wife's suicide. From wiki--"A deleted scene involving Mature's wife was cut from the film. In this scene, a gangster (Rizzo) who is supposed to look out for her while Nick is in prison rapes her. Afterwards, she commits suicide by sticking her head in the kitchen oven and turning on the gas. Both scenes were cut from the original print at the insistence of the censors, who wanted no depiction of either a rape or a suicide. Mention is made later in the film about Mature's wife's suicide and a now obscure reference is made by Nettie that the unseen gangster Rizzo contributed to the wife's downfall" Did anyone else feel that Mature's sudden love for Gray, expressed with passionate kisses sort of came out of nowhere with not enough background buildup? And lastly, how the heck did Mature survive after being riddled with bullets? I think the film would certainly have been more realistic had he died. Again the studio shirts most likely had a hand in this. What I read--"Originally, Mature was supposed to die after he allowed Widmark to shoot him repeatedly, so Widmark could be prosecuted for his murder. However, it was decided that it was too depressing to have Mature die, so in the narration by Gray, she says that Nick survives" All in all, Kiss of Death is a solid noir and is recommended at very least for Widmark's performance. He was nominated for best supporting actor by the Academy. This print is very good.
His obituary in The Times newspaper in the United Kingdom said, "Any consideration of the American 'film noir' of the 1940s would be incomplete without him"
Actor Richard Widmark was excellent as a gangster. He even looked like a hood. But the state of New York took a dim view of gangsters and criminals in real life. And they were still using the electric chair in New York at Sing Sing prison, upstate. So members of organized crime must have trusted their luck, thinking that the worst that could happen to them would be getting bumped off by their cronies. But if they threw snake eyes and New York State had them in its hands, well somebody might wake up one morning and realize that they’re gonna ‘ ride the lightning ‘.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Widmark and Mature both great actors
Roger that. Welcome.
Excellent cast❤
Roger that. Thanks for watching.
And Millard Mitchell was uncredited.
I know it was a bit part and one dimensional.
But to not list Millard Mitchell,
the guy who went on to perform as General Pritchard in 12 o'Clock High seems very strange to me.
Richard Widmark did great a Dan Duryea impression in his first role, especially that Machiavellian smile.
Dan Duryea and Richard Widmark, despite playing psychopaths, were clean-living family men. Widmark was highly educated, and Victor Mature was nothing like an egotistical Hollywood actor. When he quit acting(he wasn't crazy about it), people said he would die doing nothing; he said, "What a way to die."
@@pepelemoko01 Victor once applied for membership to an exclusive country club.
When told actors weren't eligible for membership, he replied "I'm not an actor and I've got 58 films to prove it."
@@kenchristie9214 That's a great line😄
Thanks for sharing. Welcome.
Great movie! There’s Coleen Grey who played in the opening scene of Red River with John Wayne and Montgomery Cliff. She’s talking to Victor Mature in the prison while visiting him.
Glad you like it. Welcome.
She was great too opposite Sterling Hayden in "The Killing"
I discovered Widmark in his first movies only after being used to seeing him portraying the good guys. His “hoodlum” characters are memorable and made him famous. Yellow sky, in 1948, after Kiss of Death, is a masterpiece and ahead of its time.
Thanks for the info!
Absolutely, Yellow Sky, one of the greatest western ever.
Hes got that maniac's laugh
Widmark in a stunning film debut. I do not believe that he imitated Dan Duryea or any other actor in his role here. The cackle, the dead eyes (watch him as he waits in hiding slightly behind a door before Mature enters before their final confrontation), & his maniacal glee as he sends Mildred Dunnock tied to her wheelchair down a long flight of stairs. Understandably he had to fight type casting after his Tommy Udo. Although playing the reluctant hero in PICK-UP ON SOUTH STREET imagine what he might have done to Thelma Ritter in place of Richard Kiley. BYW the year 1947 produced KISS OF DEATH as well as NIGHTMARE ALLEY & OUT OF THE PAST. These are just 3 of the great noir films from that year.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Thanks !!! great movie
Glad you like it. Welcome.
From my review of a few years ago SPOILER ALERT!!
Saw KISS OF DEATH (1947) for only the second time in 20 years last night on TCM. Directed by Henry Hathaway and written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer from a story by Eleazar Lipsky. The story revolves around an ex-con played by Victor Mature and his former partner-in-crime, Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark in his first film). The movie also starred Brian Donlevy and introduced Coleen Gray in her first billed role.
The story is exciting and fast moving and the acting is good by all concerned. Of course, Widmark is nasty as hell and every scene he is in is riveting and unpredictable. Mature gives a nuanced performance that is quite good. Donlevy is solid and so is Gray who made noticeable progress from here in more demanding noir roles such as Nightmare Alley, Kansas City Confidential and The Killing. Hathaway's direction is good and so is the cinematography by Norbert Brodine who also shot The House on 92nd Street, Road House and Thieves' Highway. Much of the film was made here in NYC so I especially liked some of the shots of the Chrysler Building, the Criminal Courts Building at 100 Centre Street, the Park Avenue Hotel Marguery, St. Nicholas Arena, and the now-demolished Bronx House of Detention for Men. The exterior scenes of the family home were shot in Astoria, Queens and these with Mature and his two little daughters have a lovely open air feeling. Others with his daughters are tender and heart wrenching at times. A few scenes such as the jewel robbery and the last sequence with Mature and Widmark in Luigi's restaurant in East Harlem are tense and very well done.
Kiss of Death is painted in broad strokes and is good without breaking any new ground. This seems to be the case with the few films I've seen of Hathaway--he's solid and very competent but does not quite approach the heights of the greatest directors . There are a few plot sequences that bothered me. Something doesn't seem right in the scene when Gray visits Mature in jail and tells him a character named Rizzo was somehow responsible for his wife's suicide. From wiki--"A deleted scene involving Mature's wife was cut from the film. In this scene, a gangster (Rizzo) who is supposed to look out for her while Nick is in prison rapes her. Afterwards, she commits suicide by sticking her head in the kitchen oven and turning on the gas. Both scenes were cut from the original print at the insistence of the censors, who wanted no depiction of either a rape or a suicide. Mention is made later in the film about Mature's wife's suicide and a now obscure reference is made by Nettie that the unseen gangster Rizzo contributed to the wife's downfall" Did anyone else feel that Mature's sudden love for Gray, expressed with passionate kisses sort of came out of nowhere with not enough background buildup? And lastly, how the heck did Mature survive after being riddled with bullets? I think the film would certainly have been more realistic had he died. Again the studio shirts most likely had a hand in this. What I read--"Originally, Mature was supposed to die after he allowed Widmark to shoot him repeatedly, so Widmark could be prosecuted for his murder. However, it was decided that it was too depressing to have Mature die, so in the narration by Gray, she says that Nick survives"
All in all, Kiss of Death is a solid noir and is recommended at very least for Widmark's performance. He was nominated for best supporting actor by the Academy. This print is very good.
❤❤❤❤
Thanks for sharing all that.
Bravo 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Glad you like it. Welcome.
Pretty vicious when he wrapped her up in an electrical cord and pushed her down the stairs. Not very nice.😢
Bette Davis taking notes
Roger that. Thanks for watching.
👍👍👍👍👍👍
👍
I could go for a deluxe short dinner right about now.
Ha! Thanks for the visit!
Brian Donlevy !
Underrated.
His obituary in The Times newspaper in the United Kingdom said, "Any consideration of the American 'film noir' of the 1940s would be incomplete without him"
Actor Richard Widmark was excellent as a gangster. He even looked like a hood. But the state of New York took a dim view of gangsters and criminals in real life. And they were still using the electric chair in New York at Sing Sing prison, upstate. So members of organized crime must have trusted their luck, thinking that the worst that could happen to them would be getting bumped off by their cronies. But if they threw snake eyes and New York State had them in its hands, well somebody might wake up one morning and realize that they’re gonna ‘ ride the lightning ‘.
Thanks for clocking in with that.
Widmark from my town Princeton,Illinois
It truly is a small world.
My second time around, ❤lol
Thanks for your support! I appreciate it.
Ratso Rizzo ?
Ha! Thanks for watching.
They portray the nuns as all sweet and caring
Roger that. Thanks for the visit!
i'm pretty sure widmark had a non speaking role as the prison bus driver
in one of the 'boston blackie' movies about 5 years earlier.
If that's true, that would be news to me. Thanks for the visit!
What about Howser, the crum lawyer? Looks like ha got away with everything...as usual.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and for watching.
Meow. 😸
👍