The Best Movies You've Never SeenPart 1: Killer's KissDirected by Stanley Kubrick. Starring Frank Silvera, Jamie Smith, and Irene Cain
A young
Stanley Kubrick had so far been spending his cinematic career making short documentaries, and one other short feature he would later attempt to suppress. In 1955, he wrote, directed, produced, cinematographed, edited, sounded, and released what he would regard as his first professional-quality film, and it would prove to be his "calling card". The sheer quality of the film-noirish tale of a lovelorn boxer and his would-be sweetheart, produced on a tight budget, was a perfect execution of the genre: dark, exciting and visually stunning. It would earn him the attention of other film studios, serving as a launchpad for the rest of his career.
Killer's Kiss revolves around Davy, a washed up boxer, living on a prayer and week to week in the New York City. His cross-the-alley neighbour, a young dancer by the name of Gloria, finds herself in the direst of circumstances and onlooker Davy rushes to her aid. They fall in love and decide to flee the city... If only Gloria's jealous ex-boss would let them leave so easily.

The film is beautifully shot. High contrast black and whites, interesting angles, and well executed mise-en-scene show not only the daunting maze that is urban New York, but the camerawork of each scene reveals the underlying emotion of the event or characters. Peering from window to window into the young girl's apartment, you wonder if your own voyeurism is invasive. Subtle reminders of your own viewership like this, other calls to your attention, odd incidents of the ridiculous or odd amongst the banal, are a legacy of Kubrick's own photographic eye and surrealist film influence. The film ends with a surrealist tinge, reminiscent of a scene from Luis Bunuel: A battle to the death between hatchet and pike (and sometimes plastic and plaster limbs) in the macabre setting of a mannequin factory.

Killer's Kiss is an excellent film, feeling both timeless and modern even though steeped in the 1950s dark urban-jungle setting and noir style that matches so perfectly with the characterization and plot. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Kubrick's style and storytelling, or film-noir more generally. Even then, the film feels accessible enough for anyone to be able to enjoy.