Kiss Me Deadly | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

Table of Contents

What to Know Critics Reviews Audience Reviews My Rating Cast & Crew More Like This Photos Kiss Me Deadly

98%

Tomatometer

44 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

One evening, private detective Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) picks up a strange woman, Christina (Cloris Leachman), who's standing on the highway wearing only a trench coat. They're stopped farther on by strangers who knock out Mike and murder Christina. Although warned not to investigate by the police, Mike and his girlfriend and assistant, Velda (Maxine Cooper), become ensnared in a dark plot involving scientist Dr. Soberin (Albert Dekker) and Christina's terrified roommate, Lily (Gaby Rodgers).

Now in Theaters

Now Playing

Buy Tickets

Kiss Me Deadly

What to Know

Critics Consensus

An intriguing, wonderfully subversive blend of art and commerce, Kiss Me Deadly is an influential noir classic.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (44) Critics Reviews

Richard Brody

New Yorker

The actors' idiosyncratic voices, wrapped around such chrome-plated poetry as "the great whatsit" and "va-va-voom," are as hauntingly musical as Aldrich's images.

Sep 12, 2016

Full Review

Chris Nashawaty

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B+

Jun 16, 2011

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

This independently produced low-budget film was a shining example for the New Wave directors -- Truffaut, Godard, et al -- who found it proof positive that commercial films could accommodate the quirkiest and most personal of visions.

Mar 27, 2009

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

It takes Mickey Spillane's unreconstructed macho lout Mike Hammer and brutally interrogates him, slapping him around in a jazzy bebop rhythm that rides right up to apocalypse.

Rated: A+

Nov 29, 2022

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The climax is so startlingly unusual that this Robert Aldrich-directed picture safely becomes unforgettable.

Rated: 7/10

Aug 23, 2020

Full Review

Chris Barsanti

Eyes Wide Open

By the time the movie comes to its gonzo Pandora's box conclusion on the beach, neither script nor screen have been able to keep up with reason, preferring instead to simply stay out of Hammer's way.

Jul 22, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (472) audience reviews

Leo P I saw this B movie first time as a kid.I didn't understand what was that glowing and groaning thing in the shoe box and I became really scared.The sole purpose of this miscarriage is to frighten children,and can be of interest only for those who want to see one of the very first models of answering machine in action. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/06/24 Full Review Leaburn O Noir sci-fi weirdness. Psychedelic and fantastical but also hard to care about. Has all the signposts of a great noir but the intrigue is never adequately paid off or developed. Just ends with this pseudo nuclear nonsense. Watched on DVD. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/21/24 Full Review Andrew L Robert Aldrich gets Mickey Spillane's most famous character right in this film noir that takes a simple plot and raises the stakes to where the main character, an inexpensive private eye with little-to-no morals named Mike Hammer, has to stop a global catastrophe. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/09/24 Full Review acsdoug D Ralph Meeker looks the part of a tough guy detective, but he doesn't sound like one. That high pitched voice of his really detracts from the character. Maybe if he was a better actor he could overcome that deficiency. Still the film has all you could wish for in a detective noir: thugs. violence and pretty dames. Good enough for me. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/31/24 Full Review nick s Surprisingly gritty movie with an unsympathetic main character who doesn't stay within social guardrails. Lots of eye catching locations as he follows the clues around town. Some of the editing was a bit rough, the acting had some soft patches and the plot was merely squeezing one person after another to uncover the macguffin. However, all that doesn't take away from the fact this was excellent entertainment. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/07/24 Full Review John H a very great noir movie Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/22/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Kiss Me Deadly

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Robert Aldrich Director Ralph Meeker Mike Hammer Albert Dekker Dr. G.E. Soberin Paul Stewart Carl Evello Maxine Cooper Velda Gaby Rodgers Gabrielle

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

More Like This

View All Movies in Theaters

The Long Goodbye 95% 87% The Long Goodbye Thieves Like Us 81% 72% Thieves Like Us Johnny Cool 50% 44% Johnny Cool Killer's Kiss 83% 58% Killer's Kiss 99 River Street 100% 81% 99 River Street Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Photos

View All Kiss Me Deadly photos

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

View more photos

Synopsis One evening, private detective Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) picks up a strange woman, Christina (Cloris Leachman), who's standing on the highway wearing only a trench coat. They're stopped farther on by strangers who knock out Mike and murder Christina. Although warned not to investigate by the police, Mike and his girlfriend and assistant, Velda (Maxine Cooper), become ensnared in a dark plot involving scientist Dr. Soberin (Albert Dekker) and Christina's terrified roommate, Lily (Gaby Rodgers).

Director: Robert Aldrich
Producer: Robert Aldrich
Screenwriter: Mickey Spillane, A. I. Bezzerides
Distributor: United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: United Artists
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 18, 1955, Original
Release Date (DVD): Jun 19, 2001
Box Office (Gross USA): $882
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, 1.66:1