The Death Kiss (1932)

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writers:

Madelon St. Dennis (novel)
Gordon Kahn (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 January 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery

Tagline:

Movie star MURDERED! KILLER on the loose!

Plot:

While filming the closing scene of "The Death Kiss", leading man Myles Brent is actually killed. Having played around with...

Plot Keywords:

Letter | Fall From Height | Guard | Actress | False Arrest

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	...	George - Assistant Director
Harold Waldridge	...	Charlie - Bellhop (as Harold Waldrige)
Wade Boteler	...	Sergeant Owen Hilliker
Lee Moran	...	Todd

Runtime:

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

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (hand-colored sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

California Tiffany Studios - 4516 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

K.B.S. Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Directorial debut of Edwin L. Marin.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Boulevard (1976)

Zippy little whodunit

The two male leads of 1931's "Dracula" reunite and switch billing for this okay murder mystery. Top billed Manners' character, a studio writer, is quite annoying in his take-charge-of-the-investigation mode, and it's hard to believe even the most tolerant police detective would put up with his interference. The hand-tinting of gunshots, flashlights and spotlights in the last half of the film is an interesting bit of movie making, but distracting. All in all, it's a nice little period piece.