A Kiss Before Dying

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A Kiss Before Dying

Released Jun 12, 1956

1h 34m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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13 Reviews

50%

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250+ Ratings

Amoral Bud Corliss (Robert Wagner) pursues young heiress Dorie Kingship (Joanne Woodward) in the hopes of getting his hands on the fortune amassed by her father (George Macready). But after Dorie succumbs to Bud's charms and becomes pregnant as a result, he fears she'll be cut off by the family and murders her in a fashion that makes it look as if the poor girl committed suicide. When Bud tries to cozy up with Dorie's grieving sister, Ellen (Virginia Leith), she begins to suspect his intentions.

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Variety Staff

Variety

This multiple-murder story is an offbeat sort of film, with Robert Wagner portraying a calculating youth who intends to allow nothing to stand in his way to money... Gerd Oswald's restrained direction suits the mood.

Mar 26, 2009

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Paul Taylor

Time Out

Wagner is perfect as the college kid psycho coolly removing the pregnant Woodward from his life.

Jun 24, 2006

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…a handsome widescreen production, this version of A Kiss Before Dying at least carries forwards a number of plot-points from the novel, even if it can't handle the big twist… this is an underrated film, well-worth catching on a rare streaming appearance…

Rated: 4/5

Mar 5, 2025

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Diana Tuova

Spotlight on Film

This is...a decent thriller with delicious moments of suspense, which undoubtedly paved the way for other quality films to come that centre on male psychopathy.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 9, 2024

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Its very much a product of its time, handsome and smoothly directed in Technicolor and CinemaScope by Gerd Oswald with a modest style that anticipates the romantic thrillers of the 1960s...

Mar 20, 2022

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A silky-smooth adaptation of Ira Levin's first novel.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 19, 2020

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Blobbo X

Of course, Wagner not good actor - has one expression, apparently carved out of wood - but everything else well done.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/05/25

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RICHARD S

An apparent attempt to create a Hitchcock-like suspense film, this film has excellent cinematography, beautiful color and other production values. But the script is unconvincing, even though acted by a few of Hollywood's best young actors of that era. Joanne Woodward's character is unconvincing in her passion for Wagner. Wagner's motivation is not well developed. His relationship with Woodward's sister is a weird plot move, and there are several illogical steps in his effort to successfully progress in his dilemmas. But you'll certainly enjoy watching Wagner, Woodward and Hunter making the best they can of a mediocre script.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/09/24

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Steve D

Dark, depressing but well made.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/03/23

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Audience Member

A very interesting film with up coming stars at the time, good cinematography

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/27/23

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Audience Member

Robert Wagner's character might be one of cinema's worst serial killers, but the film is a good study of a psychopath. It is also cool to see the young Wagner and Joanne Woodward (her second film) working together.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Audience Member

Really enjoyed this colour film noir and it has Jeffrey Hunter from Star Trek

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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Gerd Oswald

Director

Robert Wagner

Bud Corliss

Virginia Leith

Ellen Kingship

Joanne Woodward

Dorothy "Dorie" Kingship

Jeffrey Hunter

Gordon Grant

Mary Astor

Mrs. Corliss

A Kiss Before Dying: Official Clip - A Simple Matter of Chemistry

2:16

A Kiss Before Dying: Official Clip - Please Forgive Me for Everything

2:26

A Kiss Before Dying: Official Clip - Poison Pills

2:12

A Kiss Before Dying: Official Clip - The Killer Is Still Free

2:20

A Kiss Before Dying: Official Clip - A Murderer Revealed

3:11

A Kiss Before Dying: Official Clip - Death and Consequences

1:41

A Kiss Before Dying: Official Clip - Caught in the Alley

1:25

A Kiss Before Dying: Official Clip - Something Borrowed, Something Blue

2:38

A Kiss Before Dying: Official Clip - Seeing a Ghost

1:12

A Kiss Before Dying: Official Clip - Love Conquers All

2:07

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Synopsis

Amoral Bud Corliss (Robert Wagner) pursues young heiress Dorie Kingship (Joanne Woodward) in the hopes of getting his hands on the fortune amassed by her father (George Macready). But after Dorie succumbs to Bud's charms and becomes pregnant as a result, he fears she'll be cut off by the family and murders her in a fashion that makes it look as if the poor girl committed suicide. When Bud tries to cozy up with Dorie's grieving sister, Ellen (Virginia Leith), she begins to suspect his intentions.

Director: Gerd Oswald
Producer: Robert L. Jacks
Screenwriter: Lawrence Roman
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: Crown Productions
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 12, 1956, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 34m

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