Some (though not I) consider KISS ME DEADLY the ultimate American film noir. Based on Mickey Spillane's rough-and-tumble book, it stars Ralph Meeker as the anti-social, anti-hero P.I. Mike Hammer. Tooling along in his convertible, Ham picks up a hysterical blonde hitchhiker dressed only in a raincoat (Cloris Leachman). He figures she’s a nutjob, but changes his mind when they're abducted by thugs. Hammer watches helplessly as the girl is tortured to death, but he escapes and sets out to untangle the mystery behind the girl's murder, crossing paths with, among others, a slimy gangster (Paul Stewart) and a turncoat scientist (Albert Dekker). Clues lead to a mysterious box – the "Great Whatsit," as Hammer's secretary Velda describes it. Both the box and Velda are snatched, and Hammer discovers the "Whatsit" contains radioactive material of awesome powers. The apocalyptic climax leaves us unsure whether Hammer survives. But since he’s only a hundred yards from the explosion and radiation, it’s a fair guess he’s soon bald - or gelatin. (Trivia note: Hammer’s ‘55 office is equipped with a cool, wall-mounted gadget that wasn’t patented and marketed until ’71 – a telephone answering machine!)
KISS ME DEADLY (1954)
... and leave me a voicemail in about 16 years!
Some (though not I) consider KISS ME DEADLY the ultimate American film noir. Based on Mickey Spillane's rough-and-tumble book, it stars Ralph Meeker as the anti-social, anti-hero P.I. Mike Hammer. Tooling along in his convertible, Ham picks up a hysterical blonde hitchhiker dressed only in a raincoat (Cloris Leachman). He figures she’s a nutjob, but changes his mind when they're abducted by thugs. Hammer watches helplessly as the girl is tortured to death, but he escapes and sets out to untangle the mystery behind the girl's murder, crossing paths with, among others, a slimy gangster (Paul Stewart) and a turncoat scientist (Albert Dekker). Clues lead to a mysterious box – the "Great Whatsit," as Hammer's secretary Velda describes it. Both the box and Velda are snatched, and Hammer discovers the "Whatsit" contains radioactive material of awesome powers. The apocalyptic climax leaves us unsure whether Hammer survives. But since he’s only a hundred yards from the explosion and radiation, it’s a fair guess he’s soon bald - or gelatin. (Trivia note: Hammer’s ‘55 office is equipped with a cool, wall-mounted gadget that wasn’t patented and marketed until ’71 – a telephone answering machine!)
