key_art_the_death_kiss.jpg
While filming the closing scenes of a film The Death Kiss the leading man is to be gunned down while he is waiting outside a club for his car everything goes to plan but when the director shouts cut the leading man does not get up. The studio executives panic and try cover up the death as an accident but when the cops arrive a studio writer digs a bullet out of the wall that does not match any of the prop guns used in the scene.
After a search on the body the police discover a letter to the leading mans lawyer informing him that his ex wife who is coincidentally his co star in The Death Kiss will not sign off on an insurance policy to add fuel to the fire more clues pointing to the ex wife soon emerge when a cigarette used to destroy the film reel which will show the identity of the killer had make up on it that only two actresses in the studio use and one of them is filming out on location and the other is the ex wife.
Fancying himself as a bit of a detective himself the studio writer takes the investigation into his own hands and while looking around for clues he finds a gun that hidden inside a light which raises suspicion about the head electrician for the studio who had recently been fired after many run ins with the leading man of the film Myles Brent.
Just when we think we have narrowed it down to two suspects a third emerges when Leon Grossmith enters Marcia Lanes (the ex wife) dressing room to confess his strong feelings and tell her how the death of her ex husband could be a good thing for them.
Which of these three people could be the murderer all with something to gain from the death of Brent be it financial , revenge or a crime of passion.Or maybe someone else is waiting in the wings.
Sadly this is one where Bela is not given a chance to shine his screen time is very short with very few lines. I would take a guess at maybe 15 minutes in total. Aside from the lack of Lugosi The Death Kiss is not a bad film nor is it a really good film it just about balances in the middle. The idea is great but trying to add a comedic element really did nothing for the film. A film like this is better played straight. The first 20 minutes it felt like there was a gag every minute and it just comes across awkward and out of place. The banter between the studio writer and the main cop just felt stupid.
The Death Kiss has a hard time deciding what it wants to be is it a murder mystery or is it a comedy. It tries to mix them but not very well it has trouble blending together the two styles and the comedy really distracts from what could of been a very good murder mystery. This one really feels like a slow Winter Sunday afternoon film that you stumble across on tv and give it a watch because there is nothing else on. Not terrible but not very good and definitely one i would not revisit.