A quasi-noir gangster pseudo-documentary, Kiss of Death stands up remarkably well today, in large part because of Richard Widmark's sniveling villain, who wouldn't look out of place in any modern gangster flick (his most famous scene is as shocking as it is funny). Victor Mature's performance here is every bit as good as his Doc Holliday in My Darling Clementine, and the film does a good job of managing a difficult thing - making us sympathize with a stool pigeon. Kiss of Death is also noteworthy as one of the first film to make extensive use of location filming, inspired perhaps by the Italian Neo-Realist movement. While certainly not one of the greatest films of all time (it is marred, for one thing, by the overly journalistic tone of the narration by Mature's wife), it is a must-see for anyone with an interest in the history of film noir, the gangster genre, and film itself.
Review of Kiss of Death
