Le Carrefour de la mort

The bulk of Kiss of Death is a modest, based-on-a-true-story tale of crime and woe. There's nothing spectacular about Nick or his circumstances, and nothing particularly compelling about his turn as a stool pigeon. Kiss of Death is almost romantic-comedy-like in its execution: Man meets crime, man leaves crime, man hooks up with crime again. Crisis, resolution. Yet out of the nondescript foundation emerge a few noteworthy aspects.

The first and most noticeable is the realistic look of the film. Director Henry Hathaway goes straight to the source, shooting scenes on their actual locations. This is noticeable because the opening credits tell you so; how quaint to throw a little self-promotion right there in the intro! Fortunately, this hokiness doesn't detract from some truly beautiful camera-work achieved by cinematographer Norbert Brodine. New York has a distinct look, and Brodine makes the most of it. Establishing shots of lights and skyscrapers in silhouette lead into a New York in full seasonal glory, with Christmas shoppers amok in the streets. From posh nightclubs to gritty prisons, Hathaway and Brodine milk as much texture from the locations as possible.

The self-promotional focus on cinematography quietly gives way to Victor Mature's personable portrayal of Nick. Though he worked through six decades, Mature was never a big name or recognized star. Indeed, his relative lack of star quality allows him to succeed in this modest, intimate tale culled from the real life of a small time hood. Mature doesn't steal the show by any means, but he capably anchors it and gives Nick some plausibility and a sympathetic quality. When Coleen Gray arrives on the scene as Nick's former nanny, we can somehow buy their slapdash romantic entanglement. Gray is also capable in her role, sweet but not saccharine, petite but with a hint of spark. Her perkiness doesn't grate, and there seems to be more to her than just a pretty face and her status as Nick's love interest. She has the intriguing "I want to know more about this woman" vibe that characterized Judy Garland's stardom, though Gray would never reach those levels of fame.

Mature may not steal the show, but Richard Widmark does. Like Coleen Gray, Widmark made his debut in Kiss of Death. Unlike Gray's, his performance left an indelible mark on cinema and made Widmark a household name overnight. Tommy Udo is such a ruthless, depraved character, and his manner crawls under your skin so thoroughly, that Widmark is impossible to ignore. His characterization could so easily have spasmed across the line into caricature, or become smarmy or irritating. But Udo's manic, staccato laugh just skirts that edge, and his bitterly cold eyes and palpable menace invigorate later scenes. The unnecessary murder he commits on screen is shocking; it isn't hard to see why Joe Pesci would evoke shades of Tommy Udo in Goodfellas. In fact, Widmark's Oscar-nominated turn as Udo would inspire countless nods from subsequent maniacal mobsters.

These characters spice up an otherwise small, vague tale. Kiss of Death morphs though a series of focus shifts. It seems like a hardboiled crime saga at times, a political game at others, even a tale of family values and romance. It ends up in a dramatic knot of danger and redemption. Its inability to stick with one theme gives Kiss of Death a wishy-washy, gutless quality. But touches of depth, particularly the way Eleazar Lipsky's script makes the end of the film tense and involving instead of anticlimactic, keep the otherwise straightforward story fresh.

The tale is also enhanced by a couple of pure noir moments. The most obvious is Nick's nervous vigil when he knows Udo is coming for him. A car's headlights slice through the dark house and set off a game of hide-and-seek in the shadows. The pressure mounts, and you just know that someone is bound to die. I don't know how film noir can support such ludicrous amounts of shadow, but it does so to powerful effect. Noir jumps back onto the front burner when Nick takes matters into his own hands at the end of the film. A showdown with Udo over a restaurant table is fraught with peril and tension; mostly because of Widmark's scintillating menace, but partially because of the composition and the score.

A superb commentary by James Ursini and Alain Silver walks us through the nuances of the film without much pause or filler. The pair has an impressive understanding of film noir, and they're able to parlay that knowledge into an engaging commentary. Though I don't fault most of their specific points, Ursini and Alain Silver hold the film in higher esteem than I do. This is good for noir fans because the commentators highlight the positives in each shot, performance, and theme.

Richard Widmark belongs to a select few players who from their screen debut became instant stars. No bit parts, no walk-ons, Widmark's first feature role netted him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and stardom.

Widmark's portrayal of Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death shocked audiences nationwide. When Widmark tied up Mildred Dunnock and threw her down a flight of stairs, gasps aplenty came from audiences. That maniacal giggle became his trademark and fodder for impressionists from then on in. Widmark in fact had to really convince his bosses at 20th Century Fox that he was capable of more than being a psychopathic killer.

Widmark was fourth billed in this film and so dominates it that it's forgotten that Victor Mature is the lead and contributes a good performance in his own right. Mature is a career criminal who was left holding the bag for his associates during a jewel heist. He refuses to rat them out and gets a stretch in prison for it. By his refusal to be a stoolie, Mature gains the friendship of Widmark who has a special hatred for the breed.

Things then go bad for Mature when his wife commits suicide and his two little daughters wind up in an orphanage. At that point he rethinks becoming a stoolie for District Attorney Brian Donlevy and the main action of the film begins.

Mature gives a very good performance of a man running out of options. He's caught between concern for his family and living up to the honor system that criminals have among themselves. Brian Donlevy, usually a villain, does a good job as the District Attorney.

One other performance is worthy of note. Though he only has a few scenes, criminal defense attorney Taylor Holmes is also a real stand out. His Earle Houser is definitely one of the sleaziest lawyers ever portrayed on the screen.

For all the many good performances Richard Widmark has given in his 91 years, his debut film turned out to be the only time he was ever nominated for an Oscar. That's a shame because I could think of a couple of other films like Night and the City, Pickup on South Street and Panic in the Streets that would have been worthy of consideration.

Hopefully the American Film Institute will give Widmark a Lifetime Achievement Award and soon.

I always enjoy watching things like this for the first time. Always wondered just What was the big deal w/ Widmark and the infamous wheel-chair scene? Now I know. It's pretty effective and sure, there wasn't anything else like it on film in '47, no sir.

What about the rest of this? Well--others have pointed out-the romance happens rather suddenly, I thought Widmark played a little too much by the rules towards the end-why didn't one of his goons just off him in the restaurant-?? and sure, they tacked on the wife's suicide rather conveniently-but, for the most part, this does work.

Look for Karl Malden in a smallish early role. I also enjoy watching Brian Donlevy, he usually played sgt majors and the like, here you can see why. Kudos to Victor Mature too-nothing great, but a solid role for him, too.

*** outta ****, worth watching.

Small-time hood Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) is sent up the river for a jewel heist. He refuses to cooperate with the D. A. and will not turn stool-pigeon on his pals. But after he learns of his wife's suicide, he changes his tune. He's got to get out of jail to take care of his two little girls. The D. A. agrees to help Bianco if, in return, Bianco will help the D. A. Bianco fingers Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) for a murder and even agrees to testify at the trial. But, when Udo is acquitted, Bianco knows he's a marked man - as are his new wife and his young daughters.

Kiss of Death is a solid entry in the crime/noir cycle of the 40s. The movie looks good, has some great acting, an intelligent plot, characters you can care about, and enough twists to make it all very interesting. But instead of writing at length about the acting or technical aspects of the film or plot twists or anything else, I'll limit this to a few comments on Richard Widmark. If you look over Widmark's filmography, you'll notice that Kiss of Death was his very first film. Now I haven't seen everything Widmark made, but based on what I have seen, his portrayal of Tommy Udo has to be the performance of a career. He's brilliant as Udo. You can see the evil in his eyes. He's the kind of guy who would just as soon put a bullet in you as look at you. And that maniacal laugh - it's nothing short of chilling. This is not meant to be hyperbole when I say that he's the quintessential 40s hood played to perfection. I've seen a lot of noirs in recent weeks and I don't think I've seen a performance or character that I've enjoyed more than Widmark's Tommy Udo.

This was a 1940s film noir with a little bit different slant: the main character "Nick Bianco" (Victor Mature) being a caring father. Here's a guy torn between being a crook most of his life and the damage it did to him mentally, but at heart a real softie who is desperate to go straight and just be a regular family guy with everyone leaving him alone. In the story, he turns "stoolie" so he can earn that freedom and be that family man.

Among film noir buffs, however, this film is noted more for Richard Widmark's debut as the sadistic "Tommy Udo." One of the most famous noir scenes of all time is "Udo" throwing an old lady in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs! Widmark puts on a fake pair of choppers giving him an exaggerated overbite to go along with his insane little giggle. He also calls everyone a "squirt." His over- the-top performance puts a lot a spark into this film which, otherwise would have wound up more as a melodrama.

Two other actors have key roles in here: Brian Donlevy and Colleen Gray (making her credited film debut, too1). Donlevey plays a character who never see in modern-day films: a compassionate district attorney who goes out of his way to help "Nick." It's refreshing to see, for a change. Gray becomes Nick's love interest and is a very appealing wholesome type, as are the two sweet little girls Nick had with his former wife who killed herself while Nick was in prison. Gray becomes the step-mother.

Although not spectacular, the film is entertaining, especially the suspenseful last 20 minutes. It's quite dated in spots but Widmark's character alone is worth investigating this film if you've never seen it. I'm surprised there aren't more reviews of this.