By the time Samuel Fuller had made his first film, he’d been a copy boy, fought in the second world war, written a number of pulp novels and screenplays and worked as a crime reporter. His directorial debut, I Shot Jesse James (1949), was already informed by a lifetime’s worth of real world experience. His films are personal — even autobiographical — and his storytelling is aggressive. His themes are often presented in an austere nature and his imagery can be heavy handed (White Dog), but his earnestness leaves me smiling rather than cringing. It makes sense that Criterion would re-release two Samuel Fuller classics, The Naked Kiss and Shock Corridor, on the same day with matching cover artwork (provided by Ghost World author/illustrator Daniel Clowes). The films share a deep rooted pulp narrative that examines two of cinema’s most prototypical social outcasts: hookers and schitzos.

The Naked Kiss

Directed by: Samuel Fuller
Written by: Samuel Fuller
Starring: Constance Towers, Anthony Eisley, Michael Dante

In The Naked Kiss, Constance Towers (who also appears in Shock Corridor) plays Kelly, a ‘night girl’ with a heart of gold looking to re-evaluate her life after a violent incident with her pimp — as seen in the bombastic first five minutes of the film. She steps off of a bus in the small town of Grantville where she quickly hooks up with the local sheriff (Griff, played by Anthony Eisley). After a one night stand — which was paid for — the sheriff insists Kelly leave town and take her business to a nearby brothel. She ignores his advice and instead finds residence in a quaint little apartment and becomes a nurse at a hospital for handicapped children. Griff remains skeptical of her reformed lifestyle and takes on a vindictive edge when he discovers that she’s fallen in love with his wealthy friend, J.L. Grant. Here the film takes a few sensational twists as dark secrets are revealed and Kelly ends up being accused of murder. Who will help clear her name?

The Naked Kiss’ plot is sensational and lurid for its time, but Fuller treats his characters with a respect that could only come from someone who holds a true fascination — or identification — with nonconformists and dissidents. I found Griff’s jealousy and resentment towards Kelly to be a bold choice. As a small town sheriff, you’d expect he’d be the character we’re expected to identify with the most. In Fuller’s world, he’s played almost as a villain. Instead it’s Kelly, the anti-hero prostitute, that we’re expected to root for. Still, the film doesn’t hold your hand throughout this process. Instead, Kelly makes a series of choices that some might find deplorable or selfish, challenging audiences to dare identify with a call girl. Some might stubbornly claim that The Naked Kiss features no redeeming characters. To me, the film simply reminds us that nobody is perfect, even in the movies.

Not unlike Shock Corridor, Stanley Cortez’s photography is full of harsh shadows and contains a number of striking images; most memorably the revelation of Kelly’s bald head in the first scene of the film. You could almost accuse Fuller’s writing as being blunt or clumsy in how he handles his metaphors. After Griff and Kelly’s off-screen sexual encounter, the characters refer to their night of passion quite obviously through the discussion of the bottles of wine which she claims to be selling as a door to door sales person. Lots of talk of the ‘merchandise’ and getting his change back for his purchase. Almost as obvious as the hilarious line from Fuller’s ‘Forty Guns’ in which Barbara Stanwyck’s character asks Griff Bonnell — yes, Fuller’s films almost always feature a character named ‘Griff’ — if she can “feel” his gun, after which he warns it “might go off in your face”. She responds, “I’ll take my chances.” NIIICCEEE. Still, once you acclimatize to the tone of these films, they play amazingly.

Shock Corridor

Directed by: Samuel Fuller
Written by: Samuel Fuller
Starring: Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans, James Best

While The Naked Kiss finds its central character struggling to escape her tainted past and conforming to a normal society, Shock Corridor sees a desperate reporter (Johnny played by Peter Breck) embedding himself into the upside down world of a mental institution in an attempt to solve a murder mystery and win the pulitzer. His girlfriend Cathy (Constance Towers) isn’t so hot on the idea and expresses concern that Johnny is entering dangerous territory just to get a scoop. Eventually she agrees to take part, playing the role of Johnny’s sister and telling authorities that he forced her to engage in some incestuous activities that would be sure to send him to the mad house. Once inside, he gauges the lay of the land and starts poking around in the darkest corners of crazy, befriending a wannabe opera singer and a black man who believes he’s a white supremacist. The over-stimulation proves too much for Johnny and eventually he starts to lose control, in danger of becoming one of the patients he’s set out to study.

If there were ever a film to label as Lynchian, it would be Shock Corridor. The whole thing has a Twin Peeks vibe, overflowing with quirky characters and unusual visuals. The sequence in which Johnny dreams of Cathy dancing is reminiscent of the radiator girl in Lynch’s Eraserhead. It’s my understanding that this film is was made outside of the studio system and the low budget certainly shows. The sets are sparse and Stanley Cortez’s black and white photography is often quite flat, but that’s not to say it doesn’t work for the story. The film’s artificial feel seems quite appropriate for the setting and the themes. In one sequence, the black and white photography is broken up by some full colour ‘flashbacks’ — or memories — that come as a huge surprise in the middle of the film. The clips are apparently made up of outtakes shot by Fuller during his South American location scout for Tigrero, a John Wayne picture that was ultimately never made (the subject of the great documentary Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made, featuring Fuller and Jim Jarmusch). If there’s one thing Shock Corridor delivers, it’s memorable images; whether it’s a black man wearing a white hood and leading a KKK rally or a full on indoor rain storm in the asylum corridors. Shock Corridor is edgy, sensational and aggressive filmmaking expressed clearly in Fuller’s unique voice.

Criterion has given Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss comparable transfers that present the original material in a clean, film-like fashion. While the picture might have an occasional softness to it, it seems to be inherent in the photography rather than the transfer. These films were particularly low budget and the occasionally flat lighting and sets may not do much for home theatre enthusiasts. Having said that, these films are obviously targeted at film fans who simply want the best possible presentation, which is exactly what you’re getting here. It’s worth noting that these new releases are definitely worth the upgrade if you own the original Criterion DVD’s as those discs are not anamorphically enhanced. That means that the 16:9 image will be both letterboxes and pillar boxed on your widescreen television, leaving a small rectangle in the centre of your screen. Screw that. Upgrade that shit!

As for supplemental materials, these discs are a little light. Shock Corridor features a video interview with Constance Towers, and an awesome hour long documentary called “The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera”, hosted by Tim Robbins and featuring appearances by Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. That’s about it for that disc. The Naked Kiss features another interview with Constance Towers, Excerpts from a 1983 episode of The South Bank Show dedicated to director?Samuel Fuller, an Interview with Fuller from a 1967 episode of the French television series Cinéastes de notre temps, and an interview with Fuller from a 1987 episode of the French television series Cinéma cinemas. It’s always a treat hearing Fuller speak so while these discs might not be packed with feature, the content is certainly worthwhile. — Jay C.