If you research the early films of Stanley Kubrick, you'll find that he made several documentary and short films that are extremely rare to come by. His debut feature, Fear and Desire, caused him such great embarrassment that he attempted to destroy all prints. However, an original print has been found in a Puerto Rican film laboratory. It will soon be getting a Blu Ray release this fall. However, in the film community, his most frequently recognized debut was this film, Killer's Kiss.
In a filmography filled with big ideas and breathtaking stories and visuals, this one frankly took me by surprise. Most of his movies, particularly the later ones, run rather long in comparison to other movies of their time and even of today. Clocking in at 67 minutes, Killer's Kiss is a very tight and atmospheric film that relies only on the essentials in order to tell its story of an aging boxer, down on his luck, who falls in love with the wrong woman. This sounds like a very played-out, been-there-done-that noir story that you've seen played out dozens of time, probably to much greater effect.
However, this doesn't make the movie bad, but rather an exercise in style and storytelling techniques. Before becoming a director, Kubrick was a photographer with great success, scoring many pictures that appeared in several high profile magazines, such as Look. I encourage you to look at some of his work, as his skills as a photographer are gorgeous. It's not a stretch at all to see such a kid with this type of talent being able to make great motion pictures.
Building off of this, the greatest strength of Killer's Kiss is the cinematography. The lighting and framing are fantastic, really capturing the harsh and violent emotions of both the characters and the world they live in. There is a beautiful sequence or two that briefly showcase 1950s Time Square, which makes the film serve as a sort of time capsule that remains as beautiful as it is important. Also, the use of mirrors in several scenes, a trademark of his, which can be seen in nearly all of his works is used here, albeit briefly, but to great effect.
The story, as hinted at earlier, doesn't break any new ground and almost bores you at points, as you can see where it's going about a mile away. It's told through a framing structure that you forget is even there until it comes out of it every once in a while. The dialogue is passable, giving the actors little to say, relying on them to hit emotional depths almost on their own. The performances are OK, giving little to elaborate on. The lead, Jamie Smith, has only appeared in a handful of projects, with this the most notable. He plays the tough, street smart boxer well, but not as great as you may see in a movie like Pulp Fiction, with Bruce Willis. However, the material isn't as good, so it's hard to blame the actor here for being a well lit stand in, mostly.
Having said all of this, Killer's Kiss is still an important work for a variety of reasons. It's obvious this movie served as an opportunity for Kubrick to learn more about the technical and storytelling aspects of filmmaking that he mastered later on with other works. Also, it proves to critics and cinephiles, like myself, that not all great directors start off with Citizen Kane, 12 Angry Men, or Reservoir Dogs. Sometimes the most humble of beginnings can prepare us for the greatest of triumphs.
I leave you with this scene from Killer's Kiss, which is among the most bizarre climatic points I've ever seen, mostly due to its choice of scenery.
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