Kiss of Death

Released Aug 27, 1947

1 hr. 38 min.

Crime

Drama

List

89%

18 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Offered parole from Sing Sing in exchange for information about one of his old partners in crime, jewel thief Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) reluctantly cooperates with district attorney Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy), who's trying to take down violent murderer Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark). But when Udo goes free despite the district attorney's best efforts, Bianco and his wife, Nettie (Coleen Gray), are in the killer's sights, and he'll stop at nothing to settle the score.

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Ashley H

Kiss of Death is an okay film. It is about Nick Bianco who is caught during a botched jewelry heist. Victor Mature and Brian Donlevy give decent performances. The script is a little slow in places. Henry Hathaway did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the drama.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/14/23

Full Review

deke p

1947 ! Noir. COLEEN GRAY adorable!, WIDMARK as giggling evil criminal killer, MITCHUM! as 'snitcher'. BRIAN DONLEVY as good DA. Good heroic ending. BUT, these 2 kids, like most all little child actors of the 40s, 50s, 60s... terrible phoney annoying actors. Todays childrens actors much better. I'll give it 5 stars, cuz COLEEN, etc. . & critics gave it high rating too. Saw again on the TV movies channel, 7-10-22

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

william d

I liked this film, although I'm not sure I would classify it as "noir." Richard Widmark makes the movie. Along with his performance in Roadhouse he definitely proved he was one of cinema's all-time great bad guys.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Kiss of Death might be a film noir movie, but it does not feel like one to me. The story is about a convicted criminal who turns police informant. He wants to live a life of normalcy with his wife and two kids. It is a good movie and all. However, it is not on my list of top favorites, even though it is entertaining to watch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

paul d

Henry Hathaway's Kiss of Death has a slow and steady burn, just like the protagonist played by Victor Mature. He's a serial criminal with a big heart who tried to turn straight when he became a family man. But Ben Hecht's script has him continually losing out, either through his own mistakes or his shady, unreliable associates. Mature is excellent, and the all-location shooting provides a realistic ambiance. Richard Widmark plays one of the greatest villains in all film, a cackling, psychotic killer, and actors have been copying this performance ever since. Colleen Gray is bright, positive and convincing. The supporting cast is outstanding.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

andrey k

A great treat for a noir fan about a guy who thinks he has a heart of a criminal but actually does not, just got on the wrong tracks of life. Featuring one of cinema's sleaziest characters played by the very talented Richard Widmark. This film contains many beautiful and tense scenes from the opening scene of robbery to the table talk between Tommy and Nick in a cafe.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Henry Hathaway

Director

Victor Mature

Nick Bianco

Brian Donlevy

Assistant District Attorney Louie DeAngelo

Richard Widmark

Tommy Udo

Coleen Gray

Nettie

Karl Malden

Sergeant William Cullen

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James Agee

TIME Magazine

It is ... something new and welcome in U.S. crime movies. None of its criminals is glamorous, nor does anyone piously point out that crime does not pay. Nobody has to. The whole picture amply demonstrates the fact.

Feb 27, 2018

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

The film is efficient enough, but it's a measure of Hathaway's limitations that it never once fulfills the paranoid delirium built into its subject.

Apr 24, 2009

Full Review

Nick Schager

Slant Magazine

A jumbled piece of cinematic crime fiction that's visually elegant but regularly confused about its own point of view.

Rated: 2/4

Dec 23, 2005

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The wheelchair sequence offers a particularly brutal moment -- even for ‘40s film noir.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 19, 2024

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Seeing a fated protagonist continually dig himself into a deeper and deeper mess is nothing new, but Bianco's gentle-giant temperament evokes admiration and pity.

Rated: 8/10

Aug 13, 2020

Full Review

Nathanael Hood

The Retro Set

But despite being a bit rough around the edges, Kiss of Death still satisfies.

Rated: 6/10

Dec 28, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

Offered parole from Sing Sing in exchange for information about one of his old partners in crime, jewel thief Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) reluctantly cooperates with district attorney Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy), who's trying to take down violent murderer Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark). But when Udo goes free despite the district attorney's best efforts, Bianco and his wife, Nettie (Coleen Gray), are in the killer's sights, and he'll stop at nothing to settle the score.

Director: Henry Hathaway
Screenwriter: Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, Eleazar Lipsky
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 27, 1947, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 30, 2017
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm