On K List of Movie Reviews

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A Kiss Before Dying (1956)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 8/14

8/14: A Kiss Before Dying has all the qualities of a B picture and is exactly like An American Tragedy/A Place in the Sun but never rises above mediocrity.

The plot is dumb and not believable, and the acting doesn't get better, either. Robert Wagner is okay but does nothing for me. In many ways, he's comparable to Alain Delon. I wonder who's the better, or rather worse, actor. At any rate, it's a great poster of him right there.

Joanne Woodward once said A Kiss Before Dying was her worst picture. Her assessment may be correct because she's hideously ugly in it. The murder of her character takes too long to accomplish, but she's better off dead anyway. Virginia Leith, who plays Ellen Kingship, looks like a man because I can see a slight five o'clock shadow on her jowl. She can't act, either. Her character is so dumb to play a detective that she's indirectly responsible for letting one guy be killed for nothing.

If one sees a prepared suicide note right in front of him and is about to be killed, he should at least put up a fight. So, screw the chivalry code. Three murders, not two as mentioned, were committed, but the film censors forbid Hollywood from using the word "pregnancy." There are many good-looking people and pretty colors to prevent the film to be noir enough. The ending is a dud, leaving me cheated.

All in all, A Kiss Before Dying is slow, lacks character development, and doesn't have enough verve to get the momentum rolling.

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