Overview
A gripping tale of a woman's struggle to find acceptance in a judgmental society, where dark secrets lurk beneath the surface.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- lurid
- paranoid
- disturbing
- classic noir night
- cult cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly admire Samuel Fuller's visual energy, Constance Towers's commanding performance, and the film's audacious pulp style, while finding its sensational plot implausible.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Kelly's attempt to enter a buttoned-down suburb reveals disturbing secrets beneath its wholesome public image.
Fuller's full-throttle performances, sensational subject matter, and radical visual touches push the drama beyond conventional realism.
Kelly relocates under a new social identity while the film gradually confronts the criminal and sexual history she is trying to escape.
Police, suburban society, and supposedly benevolent community structures are implicated in betrayal and concealed abuse.
Films like The Naked Kiss, and why
Shock Corridor
shares pulp melodrama, neo-noir stylization, sexual transgression, and a morally unstable small-town environment
The Sweet Smell of Success
shares lurid crime storytelling, abrasive visual invention, and outsiders confronting corrupt respectable institutions
Peeping Tom
shares sensational noir atmosphere, psychological extremity, and a woman navigating predatory social structures
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
shares provocative exploitation-inflected drama, stylized violence, and critique of American social respectability
Movie Details
- Director
- Samuel Fuller
- Release Date
- 1964-10-29
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (213)
Cast
- Constance Towers
- Michael Dante
- Anthony Eisley
- Virginia Grey
- Patsy Kelly
- Marie Devereux
- Karen Conrad
- Linda Francis
- Bill Sampson
- Sheila Mintz
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, IndieFlix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel, FilmBox Live Amazon Channel, Artiflix
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Naked Kiss about?
- A former prostitute's attempt to reinvent herself in suburbia becomes a ferocious neo-noir exposure of respectable society's hidden depravity.
- What is The Naked Kiss like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Naked Kiss as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Naked Kiss violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Naked Kiss as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Naked Kiss?
- Critics broadly admire Samuel Fuller's visual energy, Constance Towers's commanding performance, and the film's audacious pulp style, while finding its sensational plot implausible.
- Which films are like The Naked Kiss?
- Films with a similar feel include Shock Corridor, The Sweet Smell of Success, Peeping Tom, and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!.
- How long is The Naked Kiss?
- The Naked Kiss runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Naked Kiss?
- In United States, The Naked Kiss streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, IndieFlix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel, FilmBox Live Amazon Channel, Artiflix.
