Rent The Naked Kiss (1964)
3.6 of 5 from 78 ratings
1h 26min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Kelly (Constance Towers), a high class working girl, ups sticks to Grantville, the seeming epitome of small town USA. Confronted by suspicious sheriff Griff (Anthony Eisley), she decides to put her illicit lifestyle behind her once and for all and becomes involved with nursing handicapped children. As Griff continues trying to run her out of town Kelly falls in love with Grant, scion of the town's founding family and Griff's best friend. But just as Griff begins to believe that Kelly may be on the level, a murder and perversion scandal threaten to destroy Kelly's new' life.
- Actors:
- Constance Towers, Anthony Eisley, Karen Conrad, Marie Devereux, Betty Bronson, Patsy Kelly, Virginia Grey, Michael Dante, Linda Francis, Bill Sampson, Sheila Mintz, Patricia Gayle, Jean-Michel Michenaud, George Spell, Christopher Barry, Patty Robinson, Betty Robinson, Breena Howard, Sally Mills, Edy Williams
- Directors:
- Samuel Fuller
- Producers:
- Samuel Fuller
- Writers:
- Samuel Fuller
- Aka:
- The Iron Kiss
- Studio:
- Metrodome
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- The Instant Expert's Guide to: Brian De Palma
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 02/09/2019
- Run Time:
- 90 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.75:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Video interview from 2010 with star Constance Towers by film historian and filmmaker Charles Dennis
- Excerpts from a 1983 episode of The South Bank Show dedicated to director Samuel Fuller
- Interview with Fuller from a 1967 episode of the French television series Cineastes de notre temps Interview with Fuller from a 1987 episode of the French television series Cinema cinemas
- Original theatrical trailer
More like The Naked Kiss
Found in these customers lists
602 films by fmj
1118 films by mg-watched
Reviews (2) of The Naked Kiss
Up there with Fuller's best! - The Naked Kiss review by TE
An extraordinary film: a taut mix of pulpy sex and hard-boiled noir.
The storyline encompasses child abuse, a common subject in films today but not in the 1960s. Indeed, society's treatment of children is a theme throughout.
Fuller creates a strong female lead character who is tough, independent and resourceful. The film ends with her receiving the support of all the other female characters as she walks off into the sunset, a trope that is usually reserved for the male hero.
Best of all is the beautiful b/w cinematography. Every frame is carefully composed and balanced like a good still photograph.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Suburban Hypocrisy (includes spoiler). - The Naked Kiss review by Steve
This film kicks off explosively and never lets up. Big city sex worker Kelly (Constance Towers) is slapping down her pimp for the £75 dollars he has held out on. Her wig falls off revealing the bald head he has inflicted on her. And as she peels only the 75 off his roll, we know this is an honest girl.
Kelly leaves town and pitches up in small town America. Working in a children's hospital she falls in love with its benefactor, Grant (Michael Dante). This is a film about appearances and reality and the deception and hypocrisy that lie between. Griff is a paedophile who uses his largesse to snare his vulnerable victims. There are no fairy tales or happy endings.
There is an amazing scene in The Naked Kiss when Kelly and the kids from the orthopaedics ward sing a sentimental lullaby, which is so elusively peculiar that it is actually incredibly moving (especially given the threat to these children). The film is set in a hyper-idealised fantasy of America that we would one day call Lynchian, yet steeped in a tragic sorrow.
Every dream has a mirrored heartbreak. Nothing is what it seems. This is Fuller's masterpiece. It is brilliantly written, dense with cynical wit and disingenuous hope. Towers is in every scene and her performance of exaggerated sweetness is aptly, and unforgettably strange. What a role this is for her. And what a fascinating, original film.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.