A Kiss Before Dying

"He had looks, charm ... and killer instincts."

1956 1h 34m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 73

ThrillerDramaCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A college student tries to get rich quick by wooing two wealthy sisters.

“He had looks, charm ... and killer instincts.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Robert Wagner
Bud Corliss
Jeffrey Hunter
Gordon Grant
Virginia Leith
Ellen Kingship
Joanne Woodward
Dorothy ('Dorie') Kingship
Mary Astor
Mrs. Corliss
George Macready
Leo Kingship
Robert Quarry
Dwight Powell
Howard Petrie
Howard Chesser, Chief of Police

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gerd Oswald
Writers: Lawrence Roman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

70 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gerd Oswald, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lionel Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George A. Gittens shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter and Virginia Leith carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He had looks, charm ... and killer instincts.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0049414 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 73 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gerd Oswald directs. Lucien Ballard behind the camera. Lionel Newman scores. George A. Gittens cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

170 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Gerd Oswald, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Lionel Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor George A. Gittens shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter and Virginia Leith carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "He had looks, charm ... and killer instincts.".
7IMDB entry: tt0049414 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 73 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Original score: Lionel Newman
Editing: George A. Gittens
Makeup / hair: Louis Hippe
Sound: Buddy Myers
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: A Kiss Before Dying (1956)

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Gerd Oswald

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-11-18
★ 7/10
Love conquers all... A Kiss Before Dying is directed by Gerd Oswald and adapted to screenplay by Lawrence Roman from the novel of the same name written by Ira Levin. It stars Robert Wagner, Joanne Woodward, Virginia Leith, Jeffrey Hunter and Mary Astor. A CinemaScope/De Luxe Color production, music is by Lionel Newman and cinematography by Lucien Ballard. Plot basically finds Wagner as a scheming pretty boy willing to commit murder in order to reach the riches of an inheritance. Story bubbles away nicely as Bud Corlis (Wagner) and Dorothy Kingship (Woodward), he sly and distant - she vulnerable and love struck, both hold court with performances of merit. The spiky edge comes by way of knowing what Bud is up to, and that poor Dorothy is completely oblivious, and when the key moment comes, it's shocking and really perches ones expectation levels to the edge of the seat. Sadly the second half of the movie doesn't quite live up to the promise of the first, for here the focus shifts from a twist into an investigation by Dorothy's sister, Ellen (Leith), who refuses to accept the official party line surrounding her sister. It's all very competently mounted, but the pervading sense of menace has dissipated and in place is just an average murder mystery. Wagner and Woodward are very good, Leith not so much, while Hunter as a pipe smoking professor is badly miscast and Astor is under used. Oswald's direction is fine, with some nifty long takes and some very cheeky visual jokes that only become apparent once story has run its course. Ballard's Scope photography is impressive, managing to make the bright colourful city surrounds always appear as threatening, and Newman's musical arrangements are indicative of the murder mystery splinter of 50s film noir. The themes at the core of the picture are daring and interesting, though more should have been made of the hinted at fact that Bud is a troubled war veteran. It's not all that it can be, the second half diluting the whole as it were, but this is still a tasty noir thriller worthy of catching. 7/10

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