Overview
A desperate woman on the run leads a private investigator into a web of danger and deceit.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- bleak
- paranoid
- visceral
- late night noir viewing
- classic film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Robert Aldrich's unconventional noir as a fiercely stylish, unsettling, and influential crime thriller with escalating apocalyptic force.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Christina's secret and the mysterious object sought by competing criminals transform Hammer's investigation into a deadly pursuit.
The dark highway, violent interrogations, beach-house setting, and escalating destruction give the noir form an unusually catastrophic scale.
Mike Hammer ignores police warnings and pursues Christina's killers through coercion, aggression, and self-directed justice.
The film's mysterious secret, government-adjacent intrigue, and final destructive implications reflect Cold War-era fears of mass catastrophe.
Films like Kiss Me Deadly, and why
The Big Sleep
hard-boiled private detective, morally corrosive crime investigation, and fatalistic film noir atmosphere
Touch of Evil
stylized black-and-white noir, cynical investigators, treacherous characters, and mounting paranoia
The Third Man
postwar noir mystery driven by corruption, violence, and an elusive dangerous secret
Movie Details
- Director
- Robert Aldrich
- Release Date
- 1955-04-28
- Runtime
- 106 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (421)
Cast
- Ralph Meeker
- Albert Dekker
- Paul Stewart
- Juano Hernández
- Wesley Addy
- Marian Carr
- Maxine Cooper
- Cloris Leachman
- Gaby Rodgers
- Nick Dennis
Common questions
- What is Kiss Me Deadly about?
- A brutal hard-boiled detective is drawn into a paranoid hunt for a secret whose consequences exceed the sordid world pursuing it.
- What is Kiss Me Deadly like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Kiss Me Deadly as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Kiss Me Deadly violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Kiss Me Deadly as graphic.
- What did critics think of Kiss Me Deadly?
- Critics broadly regard Robert Aldrich's unconventional noir as a fiercely stylish, unsettling, and influential crime thriller with escalating apocalyptic force.
- Which films are like Kiss Me Deadly?
- Films with a similar feel include The Big Sleep, Touch of Evil, and The Third Man.
- How long is Kiss Me Deadly?
- Kiss Me Deadly runs 106 minutes.
