The Death Kiss (1932)

Murder during film shoot sparks search for a killer.

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writers:

Madelon St. Dennis (book) (as Madelon St. Denis), Barry Barringer (screen play)

Stars:

Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Adrienne Ames

Cast

Complete credited cast:
David Manners	...	Franklyn Drew
Adrienne Ames	...	Marcia Lane
Bela Lugosi	...	Joseph Steiner
John Wray	...	Detective Lieut. Sheehan
Vince Barnett	...	Officer Gulliver
Alexander Carr	...	Leon A. Grossmith
Edward Van Sloan	...	Tom Avery
Harold Minjir	...	Howell
Barbara Bedford	...	Script Girl
Al Hill	...	Assistant Director
Harold Waldridge	...	Charlie (as Harold Waldrige)
Wade Boteler	...	Sergeant Hilliker
Lee Moran	...	Todd

Storyline

While filming the closing scene of "The Death Kiss", leading man Myles Brent is actually killed. Having played around with, or been married to, most of the women connected with the movie studio, there are lots of suspects. When leading lady Marcia Lane is arrested for the killing, her suiter, a studio writer, starts to investigate the killing in order to prove her innocence.

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Plot Keywords:

pre code film | damsel in distress | deception | murder | public domain | 

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Taglines:

IT'S FULL OF THRILLS! (original poster-all caps)

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 January 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bacio mortale

Filming Locations:

California Tiffany Studios - 4516 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

K.B.S. Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min (copyright length) 71 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White Color (hand-colored sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film's earliest documented telecasts took place in New York City Tuesday 20 September 1949 on WPIX (Channel 11), in Los Angeles Monday 31 October 1949 on KTLA (Channel 5), and in Cincinnati Thursday 15 December 1949 on WKRC (Channel 11).

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Goofs

In early scenes while dictating in his office and talking to police, Leon A. Grossmith, the head of the studio, has a "humorous" accent with some inverted word placement. "Murder? Oye!" "A calamity Ve got, ach!" Later, towards the end of the film, he makes "advances" toward Marcia Lane in her dressing room. His accent is gone, he speaks Standard American or General American .

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Quotes

Officer Gulliver: Mr. Drew, I've been thinking.
Franklyn Drew: No!
Officer Gulliver: Yeah. The first thing I ask myself when I investigates a murder is 'who done it'.
Franklyn Drew: Well that sounds logical.
Officer Gulliver: And the next thing I ask myself is 'who could do it.'
Franklyn Drew: And then?
Officer Gulliver: Then I ask myself again 'who wanted to do it.'
Franklyn Drew: And how do you answer yourself?
Officer Gulliver: Well... I ain't come to that yet.

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Connections

Featured in Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula (1997)

User Reviews

Reteaming of some of the Dracula cast

Poverty Row movie about a murder in a movie studio while a movie is in production.

Nothing really new here script wise (although the revelation of the murderer DID surprise me). Bela Lugosi is totally wasted here in a small role (I'm assuming this came out before "Dracula") but Edward Van Sloan is good and I like David Manners too. A lot of people seem to hate his acting here but I think it's OK--he's also very good looking too. An extra were the flashes of color at the end (red for gunshots and yellow for lights). It adds nothing to the picture but is certainly inventive--for the time.

Quick, interesting little movie. Worth an hour of your time.