The Death Kiss | Blu-ray Review

Kino Classics refurbishes public domain title The Death Kiss, a 1932 release made purely to capitalize off the success of Tod Browning’s 1931 Dracula by casting three of the main leads from that film. The title retains little interest except for Lugosi completists, who isn’t given much to do this time around as a rather miffed film studio manager. However, film historians may appreciate the film for its locale, set almost entirely within the back lot of what was termed a Poverty Row studio, shackled by the meager prospects of the Great Depression.

As director Tom Avery (Edward Van Sloan) films his final sequence on his new film The Death Kiss at the sound stage of Tonart Studios in Los Angeles, his lead actor Myles Brent (Edmund Burns) is shot with a real bullet. All the prop guns on set are checked. Investigating Detective Lt. Sheehan (John Wray) and Sergeant Hilliker (Wade Boteler) find a string of clues suggesting that lead actress Marcia Lane (Adrienne Ames) may be the culprit, ex-wife of the murdered star with more than one motive. But Marcia’s new beau, screenwriter Frank Drew (David Manners) is sure he can solve the case.

Lugosi can be considered a supporting character at best, while most of the attention is oddly devoted to his less charismatic Dracula co-star, David Manners, who had portrayed John Harker (the other familiar is Edward Van Sloan, who had been Van Helsing). In fact, of the five 1932 titles Bela Lugosi would star in, this is by far the least involving, considering others were White Zombie and Island of Lost Souls. As one character remarks concerning the unspooling mystery, “This thing gets more muddled every minute,” which ends up being the wisest observation any of them has to offer.

Disc Review

Though it’s been mastered in high definition from the preserved 35mm archival elements, this presentation of The Death Kiss still hasn’t been cleaned up very well, the audio going in and out in several instances as well as the general presence of wear and tear. Some hand tinted color sequences by Gustav Brock are interesting, if not a bit unnecessary considering the quality of film at hand. As far as extra features, there is optional audio commentary from film historian Richard Harland Smith.

Final Thoughts

A quote from The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film which cites the film as “a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at a real studio (the Tiffany Studios on Sunset Boulevard,” gives away the selling point on Kino’s packaging. Utterly forgettable and very much a product of the times, the film is evidence of a time when cheapie B productions were hardly interested in furthering the craft of sound in cinema (several performers seem entrenched in methods of silent cinema, dramatic pauses and exaggerated facial expressions abound). At the end of the day, The Death Kiss isn’t the torrid caress vintage horror fans may be hoping it to be.

Film: ★★/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc: ★★½/☆☆☆☆☆