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I have to admit, I have always found Ralph Meeker sexy, and he is hot as all get-out as Mike Hammer in "Kiss Me Deadly." He's very Brandoesque, and in fact, followed Brando as Stanley Kowalski in Streetcar on Broadway. He makes a tough Mike Hammer in a tough movie that doesn't let up on the violence or the sexual innuendo. I was never sold on Spillane himself as Hammer and I actively hated Stacy Keach in the TV series, which seemed a little too macho and chauvinistic for the times. In the black and white '50s, it feels just right, if a little more brass knuckles than other films in the genre.
Hammer spends the movie trying to find out the secret that a hitchhiker (Cloris Leachman) was killed for, and all she's left him is a clue, "Remember Me." As people die to the left and right of him, Hammer can only hope he's left standing by the end of the movie.
The ending was very tense and exciting, although I don't believe it was very realistic. At that point, it almost takes on the ambiance of a horror film.
Robert Aldrich gives the film a very fast-paced direction and wonderful atmosphere. Leachman is "introduced" in this film, and she's recognizable immediately. Gaby Rodgers as Lily gives what can only be described as a bizarre performance. Leachman is really the only likable, sympathetic character in the film.
Of note is the early version of an answering machine, which I either saw in one other film, or I saw this movie before - but it's great, an old reel to reel tape recorder mounted on a wall.
One thing I wondered about - when Hammer is being followed at night, the clock says 2:15, so one assumes it's 2:15 a.m. But it seems like everyone is awake - when he gets to the apartment house, the landlord is cleaning the room out and an old man is bringing in a trunk. The clock is in several shots - it says 2:20 also, I believe - so it's not a mistake. Hmmm. Perhaps I missed something, so distracted was I by steamy Ralph Meeker.
score 8/10
blanche-2 17 September 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1174408/ |
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4-3-2021 12:07:07