:
Constance Towers,
Anthony Eisley,
Michael Dante,
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:
Samuel Fuller
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: Not Rated
: Criterion
: Drama, Crime, Neo Noir, Criterion Collection
: 91 min.
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Kelly (Constance Towers), a prostitute who wants to transform her life, beats up her pimp, takes the 75 dollars he owes her, and leaves town. Winding up in the small town of Grantville, she turns a trick with Griff (Anthony Eisley), who is actually the sheriff. After paying her for sex, Griff tells Kelly that Grantville is a clean town and orders her out, though he refers her to a brothel in a neighboring city. Instead, Kelly makes a final break with her past and becomes a nurse's aide at the local children's hospital. In that capacity, she meets Grant (Michael Dante), who is a benefactor of the hospital, a descendant of the town's founder -- and Griff's best friend. As Grant and Kelly fall in love, Griff viciously accuses Kelly of using her hospital job to hide ongoing illicit activities. When Kelly tells Grant about her past, he seems to accept her without reservation and proposes marriage; however, Kelly soon learns the perverse truth about her fiancée and takes matters into her own hands. Samuel Fuller's raw film noir exposes the hypocrisy of a supposedly proper society. Beneath the veneer of respectability lies an exploitive abuse of power, no different from that of any pimp. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
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| Lurid! Campy! God-Damned Good!
by talltale
August 3, 2006 - 4:38 PM PDT
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Leave it to Sam Fuller. Who else might combine pederasty, prostitution, physical rehab for kids and salvation for adults into one shocking, funny, jaw-dropping "camp" fest. (And this was back in 1964, before Hollywood adopted the rating system and began making slightly more adult movies.) I'm sure Fuller didn't intend his film as camp at the time, but that's what it is today. Still, damn it all, the guy's such a good moviemaker that he carries you right along, from that breathless lulu of an opening to his leading lady's switch from bad girl to good, her "encounter" with the madam, and a musical number that would not be out of place in "The Sound of Music."
THE NAKED KISS is so enjoyable and surprising that it lands smack dab in the must-see realm. (And Criterion has given it the classy DVD rehabilitation it so richly deserves.) I recall it as amazing back in the 60s, and it remains so today (if for different reasons). The gorgeous and statuesque Constance Towers proves the perfect choice to play Kelly, Anthony Eisley is properly macho/nasty as her cop nemesis and the creepily pretty Michael Dante makes a wonderfully wrong Mr. Right. And through it all shines Fuller's insistence on honesty and second chances. Watch for Russ Meyer's own Edy Williams in a small but "prominent" role. Golly gumdrops: this one's FUN! |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.21)
130 Votes
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| Crash Course in Classic American Film (30s - 70s) |
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| This list is from Austin360.com's article about Paramont Theatre's Summer Classic Film series. I thought their list and brief descriptions were pretty good so I put it up for all to enjoy. (Of course there isn't room for all the classics on one list.) |
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| GreenCine's 100 Most Valuable Indies |
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| "Indie, or Independent": [n] A film funded by non-studio sources and made outside the traditional Hollywood system (it could be distributed by a studio). This list emphasizes historical and/or artistic relevancy. In alphabetical order: |
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