The Death Kiss

Plot synopsis:
During the filming of a death scene of The Death Kiss, leading man Myles Brent is really shot and killed. Tonart Studios manager Joseph Steiner (Lugosi) is assigned to handle the situation. The studio wants to pass it off as a simple accident, but screenwriter Franklyn Drew (Manners) digs a bullet out of a wall and tells Homicide Detective Lieutenant Sheehan that it is a .38 caliber, while the guns used in the film are all .45s.
Sheehan finds a letter in the dead man's pocket, in which Brent wrote to his lawyer that Marcia Lane (Ames), his co-star and ex-wife, would not sign a release as beneficiary of his $200,000 life insurance policy. Chalmers, an alcoholic extra with a self-admitted grudge against Brent for getting him fired as head gaffer (electrician), is spotted trying to dispose of a loaded .38, but Drew points out that the gun has not been fired.
Drew suggests they view the footage of the fatal scene for clues, but somebody knocks out the projectionist and burns the print using a cigarette with rouge on it. It is a special rouge normally used by only two women. One was away on location, making Lane the prime suspect. Before another print can be made, the negative is destroyed with acid.
While snooping around on the set, Drew finds a derringer mounted inside a lamp and electrically wired to be fired remotely, but he is knocked out and the gun taken. He goes to question Chalmers, but finds him dead beside a glass of poison and a written confession. However, Drew finds several clues that make him suspicious. Through more detective work, he discovers that the new battery of Lane's car is dry, and battery fluid is poisonous. Meanwhile, Goldsmith comes to see Lane; she rejects his advances once again.
In Brent's dressing room, Drew finds a letter from a love-stricken married woman named "Agnes" and a hotel room key. Later, in Steiner's office, Sheehan takes Lane into custody; Drew spots a photo of a woman on the desk; the inscription reveals that Steiner's wife is named Agnes. When Drew goes to the hotel, he finds out from a bellhop that Brent had been there with a woman; her husband was waiting, and the two men got into a fight.
The studio decides to finish the film (only the last, fatal scene needs to be shot), using a double for Brent and arranging for Lane's temporary release. Drew finds out from the prop man that the guns were originally supposed to be .38s, but he made an unauthorized substitution. Drew takes him to Sheehan. Just as he is about to reveal who ordered the guns, the lights go out. (The murderer had overheard the conversation through a studio microphone.) After a gunfight and chase, the killer falls to his death. It is Avery, the director.

Tags: murder

Review:
Despite its low-budget look, "The Death Kiss" is a solid mystery, and it does a good job of creating a believable movie studio atmosphere as the background to the main story.
It's also interesting to see Bela Lugosi, Edward Van Sloan, and David Manners reunited in a setting so different from "Dracula".
While some of its limitations are rather obvious, it's a pretty good effort for a low-budget feature from the early sound era.The opening sequence might be the best part of the movie, as it cleverly sets up the mystery, introduces most of the characters, and illustrates the movie's themes.
The pace is also a little uneven at times, which was relatively common in the early 1930s, but there are always some interesting details and developments that keep it together.Van Sloan, as a movie director, gets some pretty good opportunities.
I've got to admit my initial attraction to this movie was the fact that Bela Lugosi was in it...going in for that reason, this film will prove a disappointment as Bela's role is a relatively short one.Despite this, I have to admit to enjoying this somewhat fanciful murder mystery which has the detective writer as the hero and ultimately a more competent detective than the real thing.
This story about a murder on a movie set still feels more like a movie than real life..but the murder mystery does keep you guessing and interested which means it's certainly worth a watch..
It's a movie within a movie and both have the same title, which refers to the on- screen murder of movie star Myles Brent during the filming of the last scene of a film called the "The Death Kiss".
The police then turn their attentions to his co-star and ex-wife Marsha Lane (Andienne Ames) which inspires her boyfriend (David Manners) to do some amateur sleuthing to track down the real murderer.
There are an array of suspects (Brent would not have won a popularity contest) besides Miss Lane including studio executives Joseph Steiner (Bela Lugosi), Leon Grossman (Alexander Carr) and Tom Avery (Edward Van Sloan).
Marin, might have been a very interesting vampire movie, but instead, the director fools his movie audience by revealing, from the very first few minutes into the story, to be an inside study at the behind the scenes look in movie making, combining murder mystery with comedy, but not all too successfully.
The main interest is not in the "who done it" plot itself, but on its three major actors, David Manners, Bela Lugosi and Edward Van Sloan, better known today for their performances in director Tod Browning's thriller, "Dracula" (Universal, 1931), with Lugosi as the title-role character-star with Manners and Van Sloan in support.
Hollywood realism sets in when moments later, it is revealed that the actor, Myles Brent (Edmund Burns), the doomed character in the production of THE DEATH KISS, has actually been shot and killed.
Top-billed David Manners as Franklin Drew, a mystery writer, steps into the picture trying to solve the murder in order to prevent the leading lady, Marcia Lane (Adrienne Ames), whom he has become interested, from becoming the prime suspect.
Detectives are called in, and after a few more murders at the movie studio, Drew draws to his own conclusions as the detectives (and the viewers) become baffled before the killer is revealed.The supporting cast includes Bela Lugosi as Joseph Steiner, president of the Tonart movie studio; Edward Van Sloan as Tom Avery, the film director; John Wray as Detective Sheehan; Vince Barnett as Officer Gulliver, affectionately called "a Keystone Cop" due to his buffoonery; Alexander Carr as the accented Leon A.
Grossmith; with Barbara Bedford as the script girl; and Harold Waldridge as Charlie, the bellboy, among others.A rediscovered "poverty row" mystery that enjoyed frequent revivals during the early years of cable television in the 1980s, "The Death Kiss" recently has been restored with hand-tinted red color sequences used in parts with studio lights and gun shots, but otherwise a routinely old-fashioned mystery from the short-lived Tiffany Studios and not by Universal.
Marin continuing to play tricks on his movie audience (as with his opening scene and movie title) by keeping them guessing, with the "comedy relief" turning out not to be all that amusing, "The Death Kiss" in turn is a likable little time filler from the bygone days of Hollywood.(*1/2).
The Death Kiss is a diverting early 30's murder mystery set against the backdrop of a Hollywood studio movie production.This viewer enjoyed the knowing glimpse of the inner workings of a studio...the "Old Country" Jewish studio boss(with the fractured English and acute cost consciousness),the Big Star actress with a rocky private life,and the amateur sleuth screen writer.The whole cast , in this not exactly big budget film, is first-rate(a little too broad on the comedy relief).
My God, you'd think he was as bad as George Raft -The All-Time Worst "actor").) Bela Lugosi is earnest but somewhat out of place here.The Death Kiss keeps you guessing and is a nice flash-back to "Talkies" and actual "ice" in the ice box.
"The Death Kiss" has been played up in recent years as a suggested horror film starring Bela Lugosi.
In fact it is an interesting little murder mystery with Lugosi playing only a supporting role.
And, the actress who administered the "death kiss", Marcia Lane (Adrienne Ames) had been married to Brent.Studio mystery writer Franklyn Drew (David Manners) takes it upon himself to investigate the case.
Goldsmith (Alexander Carr), Studio Manager Joseph Steiner (Lugosi), Director Tom Avery (Edward Van Sloan) as well as, Marcia Lane are investigated.
The Death Kiss reunited three of Dracula's stars: Bela Lugosi, David Manners and Edward Van Sloan.While shooting a film, its lead star is murdered.
In mathematics, iteration leads quickly leads to the well known paradoxes which cannot be solved in classical logic and which let whole system break together."The Death Kiss" (1932) is now in at least three ways an outstanding example of early talky film: First, it is the story of an actor who has to be killed for the shooting of a movie, but at this occasion gets actually shot to death.
But that is not all: As audience, we witness that the detective-author who "investigates" the case also seems to assume over almost the whole running time of the movie that the character Mr. Steiner, played by Lugosi, is in fact the killer.
All the characters except the hapless police detective are part of the movie within, which is also called "The Death Kiss." That designated detective is our usual surrogate: in the outer film trying to suss out the inner.The murder in question is a murder in the movie within that is "real," meaning it is also in the outer movie.
Now THERE's a murder mystery for real film buffs: a movie star is murdered during the shooting of the scene in which he's supposed to be 'murdered' by extras using blank bullets...
Second, of course, in this 'little' independent movie we find no less than THREE of the stars of Universal's smash horror hit "Dracula" the previous year: Bela Lugosi as the manager, Edward van Sloan as the director, and David Manners as the scriptwriter - we get to know them in a COMPLETELY different way, that is.And last but not least, this is simply one of those classic murder mysteries with lots of suspects and a VERY twisted plot - good old Hollywood crime entertainment at its best!.
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.
Neat B-film about an actor's murder during a film shoot has David MANNERS (of "Dracula" fame) as a writer turned amateur sleuth in order to clear his sweetheart (ADRIENNE AMES) of the crime.
The studio background gives some added interest to the murder mystery and the presence of BELA LUGOSI in the cast is a shrewd bit of casting since he is easily the most suspicious character.Manner of solving the crimes is sufficiently handled through the use of David Manners and his sidekick, Officer "Gully" (VINCE BARNETT) who provides the comic relief.
I was agreeably surprised by Edward Van Sloan, who give an interesting composition (though he does not have a long screen presence).I think the scenario is okay: the mystery is intriguing enough and there is few mishap here: only the usual comic relief, which were truly a plague in those times...If you do wish to see more than the usual classics of the era and enjoy yourself at the same times, The Death Kiss may be a piece of choice.
Good cast includes a reunion of three Dracula stars: Bela Lugosi, Edward Van Sloan, and David Manners.
"The Death Kiss," a humor-laced murder mystery set in a Hollywood movie studio, unspools at a snappy pace offering one delight after another: a striking opening, followed by the introduction of a succession of colorful characters played by Everett Van Sloan, Bela Lugosi, Harold Minjir, Alexander Carr, the photogenic Adrienne Ames and David Manners as a studio writer who tries to figure out whodunit.
Not Half Bad. While filming the closing scene of "The Death Kiss", leading man Myles Brent is actually killed.
"When an actor in a mystery film called 'The Death Kiss' ends up killed during a drive-by shooting scene, the film's screenwriter Franklyn Drew (David Manners) takes it upon himself to investigate.
Among the suspects are an actress named Marcia Lane (Adrienne Ames), who is not only the dead actor's widow but also the screenwriter's lover, and Joseph Steiner, an arrogant studio executive played by Bela Lugosi," according to the Alpha Video DVD sleeve description.
Marin ~ David Manners, Adrienne Ames, Bela Lugosi, Edward Van Sloan.
Starting this point of view that this picture was made in early 30' is an aceptable work, after the murder many people, including myself, will be found that the main suspect should be Bela Lugosi, a smart hint over the casting, many fake clues will be postpone the final conclusion, there not an usually hidden facts, all things were made with clear-cut distinction, David Manner was fabulous as wise and easy beholder, given clear evidences to a confusing Lieutenant and his officer in charge to solve the crime, driven them to another direction, without draw conclusions in fact so obvious, l'd to reapet once more, it was made when the cinema was in a primitive growth process and it had to consider for the viewers!!Resume:First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 Source: DVD / Rating: 7.
The police gets on the scene fast, but of course it is not them who really takes the case in their hands, but one of the writers working for the studio, who also happens to be the boyfriend of the lead actress, who in turn happens to be one of the main suspects.At first they have to figure out if it was just an accident or the actor was deliberately murdered (guess which one!) and then the hunt for the killer begins with a lot of suspects, action, misleading clues scattered around and with one plot twist after the other.
The film keeps you guessing until the end, the murders are committed in pretty clever ways and the overall great story is only marred a bit by the totally careless handling of important evidence both by the police and our hero.Who is also a bit of a problem: his character is quite antipathetic, together with the lead actress, however the supporting cast makes up for their shortcomings.
The producer who keeps on complaining about the loss the whole case causes him, the sullen police inspector and the studio's own clumsy little officer are probably the highlights, but the rest of the characters are quite great as well, while the film's movie studio background gives us a pretty interesting behind-the-scenes look.
And at last, even if just as a minor character, we can see Bela Lugosi, back in his days when he was still getting roles in non-horror movies.I only picked this movie randomly from a big stack of old mysteries I got from archive.org recently (as this one is in public domain), but it turned out to be a quite pleasant surprise and a film that can be recommended for anyone, not just die hard murder mystery fans..
David Manners, Edward Van Sloan, and Bela Lugosi all from the cast of Dracula and the first two from the cast of The Mummy reunite for this film from Tiffany Studios The Death Kiss.
Overall the film ends up being confusing and anticlimactic, with dramatic changes in the tone throughout, and it wastes Bela Lugosi in a nothing background role, while giving David Manners seemingly endless opportunities to hog the spotlight.A few effective scenes scattered throughout, and it is interesting as a pseudo-"behind the scenes" look at the making of a movie in 1930s Hollywood, also to catch a glimpse of the (now long out-dated) equipment and filming routines makes this worth watching, but it's a disappointment, because despite being top-billed, Bela Lugosi has perhaps 15 minutes of screen time, and few lines.The version that I watched was in black-and-white, but allegedly there is another version of this, with several colour-tinted scenes, which I would still like to watch..
The whole movie takes place on a movie set, which makes for quite a fun and atypical viewing experience, and the opening sequence is a cracker: a character is murdered by a mystery assassin in film, only for the cast to discover that the actor has been killed for real.
That kind of takes away from the enjoyment.IT's worth a look...but it wont change your life.The PlotWhile filming the closing scene of "The Death Kiss", leading man Myles Brent is actually killed.
David Manners heads the cast of a so-so early talkie murder mystery set in a Hollywood film studio.
An unexpected murder right in front of a movie shot (no pun intended) brings Bela Lugosi, Edward Van Sloan and David Manners back together from Dracula.
While "shooting" a scene from a film entitled "The Death Kiss" he is gunned down.David Manners is the likable crime writer who wants to get to the bottom of things and clear lovely Adrienne Ames of suspicion of murder.
With lots of clues, red herrings, and no shortage of suspects, Drew's got his work cut out for him.The Death Kiss is far from being a great movie, but for a low budget poverty row thriller/mystery, it's not half bad.
One of the more interesting aspects of the film is the reuniting of Dracula alums Manners, Bela Lugosi, and Edward Van Sloan.
Usually beating him to the punch though is studio writer Franklyn Drew (David Manners), who decides to play amateur sleuth when the killer tries to implicate his girlfriend - film star Marcia Lane (Adrienne Ames) - in not only the first murder, but also a second one involving a drunk getting battery acid snuck into his liquor.Horror fans will note that three of the leads from Tod Browning's classic Dracula, made just one year earlier, round out the cast, including Manners in the lead role and Bela Lugosi (playing studio president Joseph Steiner) and Edward Van Sloan (playing director Tom Avery) in supporting roles, both as just a couple of the potential suspects.
David Manners gives a very different performance from the bland Universal Horror roles he was asked to fill in the early 30s; he's relaxed and witty as screenwriter Franklyn Drew who takes it upon himself to solve the murder.The film opens with a brilliant little sequence showing the murder of a man leaving a hotel after just being kissed by a complete stranger, gunned down by assassins - hence the title of the movie.
In fact that's why Lugosi was cast, the part is nothing in particular but it immediately throws suspicion on him by the simple fact that Bela plays the role.The central part of the movie is a little slow at times, and the direction is no more than workmanlike; there's the usual annoying comedy relief who even becomes the hero's sidekick, but the mystery itself is good, and Manners makes an excellent lead in a well-written part.
Fun. Top billed Bela Lugosi is actually in a supporting role about murder on a back lot.Very good murder mystery tale has a screen writer turn to a sleuth in order to track down a killer in a movie studio.
David Manners is a personable leading man, but Bela Lugosi is largely wasted (the old posters for this film prove that false advertising is NOT a recent practice; they try to make this look like a sequel to "Dracula"!).
Marin's murder mystery "The Death Kiss" qualifies as a good crime yarn about a shooting at a film studio during a scene in a gangster movie.
An interesting bit of trivia about "The Death Kiss" is that it reunites three actors who appeared in Todd Browning's "Dracula." David Manners, Bela Lugosi, and Edward Van Sloan co-starred in "Dracula." Efficiently made, "The Death Kiss" is a worthwhile whodunit with some occasionally scintillating dialogue.
(There may be Spoilers) After shooting a scene with Tonart Studios top star dapper Myles Brent, Edmound Burns, getting gunned down in his top hat & tuxedo by a carload of gangsters the director of the film "The Death Kiss" Tom Avery,Edward Van Sloan,and cast are shocked to find out that Brent actually had been shot and killed by an unknown assassin!With the studio head Leon Grossmith, Alexander Carr, sweating bullets in trying to keep the unpleasant news from the newspapers of Brent being murdered right under his and top Tonart executive Joseph Steiner's, Bela Lugosi, noses.
Studio publicity man and armature mystery writer Frankie Drew, David Manners, who's been having an affair with Marcia feels that she's being set up for Brent's murder and sets out to prove her innocence.