Sports Cars, Fast Women, and "Kiss Me Deadly"

 

Last night I had the pleasure of watching again "Kiss Me Deadly," (1955). This time Found the film totally remarkable -- nothing surprising to cinema aficionados who have long recognized its significance. The plot can get muddled, but I initially was interested in the sports cars -- Jaguar XK-120, MG-TD, and a Corvette. The opening scene is hypnotic. After Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) picks up the girl running in the road, the scene shifts to the two of them in the Jaguar behind the windshield, with a powerful interplay of light and dark attenuated with perceived movement. 

In a complex plot like this one, there are plenty of other characters, including a foreign car mechanic (Nick)who pulls out a bomb in a gifted Corvette. His life ends with a Cadillac that lands on top of him after a thug releases a hydraulic jack. He should have used jack stands.

This movie is a must-watch if you want understand the cultural context surrounding 1955. It reflects the emerging interest in sports cars among a class of Americans now interested in foreign "things"; the shifting sands of sexual morays; the influence of nuclear fears on the American mind; the persistence of rugged individualism; and the allure of California dreams.