Kiss Me Deadly
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Written by: A.I. Bezzerides
Starring: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Cloris Leachman

It doesn’t take a film noir connoisseur — of which I am not — to realize that Kiss Me Deadly is one of the strangest, darkest, and most influential entries in the popular pulp sub-genre. Robert Aldrich’s bleak tale of intrigue and cold war paranoia slowly burns in stark black and white, eventually exploding on screen in an unforgettable finale that left everybody asking ‘what’s in the box?’ long before Brad Pitt or Quentin Tarantino.

The film opens with a young Cloris Leachman (in her feature film debut), running through the streets wearing nothing but a trench coat. In a fit of desperation, she stands in the middle of the road in an attempt to flag down an oncoming car, sending it swerving into the dirt. The passenger is Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker), a tough as nails private eye who begrudgingly agrees to give the distraught woman a lift. She hops in and the opening titles start; running backwards, up the screen, like the Star Wars opening crawl in reverse. The names and job titles are all displayed backwards as well: “Robert Aldrich….directed by”. An unusual, disorienting introduction that aggressively sets the tone for what’s to come. As the scene continues, the two are run off the road by a group of faceless thugs and kidnapped. The girl is tortured to death and eventually placed back in the car with Hammer and sent off a small cliff in an attempt to pass off her death as an accident (why they also didn’t kill Hammer, I’m not sure). From there, Mike decides to do some digging and attempts to find out who the girl was and why she was a target, resulting in twists and turns that lead to one of the wackiest endings I’ve seen in some time.

The appropriately named Mike Hammer bulldozes his way through the mystery, antagonizing anyone in his path. He targets those who might have crucial information and bullies them into spilling their guts. While he’s definitely the protagonist, he certainly challenges the common perception of a film hero. As the story unfolds, Hammer realizes he’s on to something much bigger than he, or the audience, expected. Cold War commentary enters the picture with one of the most unusual MacGuffins in cinema history; a mysterious glowing box that’s hot to the touch. It’s a device that’s influenced many films since, including Quentin Tarantino’s infamous glowing suitcase in Pulp Fiction. While Robert Aldrich gives us a better sense of what the box represents, its supernatural essence reminded me mostly of the opening of the Ark and resulting face melting in Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s the combination of all of these elements that add up to a truly subversive and unique brand of storytelling that sets Kiss Me Deadly apart as a defining entry in the film noir sub-genre.

Outside of a few blemishes here and there, Kiss Me Deadly looks great on blu ray. The contrast is consistent and the sharp black and white photography translates well digitally. The film really only shows its age during optical transitions or effects — like the opening titles. This is something that I usually forgive simply due to the techniques of the era. There’s also a great selection of supplemental materials including an audio commentary track by film noir specialists Alain Silver and James Ursini. I’m always a fan of the more casual Criterion commentaries — too many film historians go the pre-scripted route — and this one doesn’t disappoint. There’s also a cool video essay by Alex Cox, excerpts from ‘The Long Haul of A.I. Bezzerides, a 2005 documentary on the screenwriter of Kiss Me Deadly, and another documentary about the author of Kiss Me Deadly, Mickey Spillane. The disc also contains a piece about the various Los Angeles locations featured in the film, and a look at the altered ending of the film (the originally intended ending is restored in this version of the film). Overall, a great package for a great film. — Jay C.

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