Kiss Me Deadly
Kiss Me Deadly
Robert Aldrich’s film version of Mickey Spillane’s pulp novel is one of the most memorably brutal noirs ever produced during what some refer to as the Golden Age of Hollywood. Ralph Meeker plays Spillane’s iconic tough guy private eye Mike Hammer, who finds himself embroiled in a complicated case involving a woman on the run (Cloris Leachman), a femme fatale (Gaby Rodgers), and a mysterious suitcase. Vivid Los Angeles location filming includes many scenes in downtown’s Bunker Hill area, before the neighborhood’s controversial redevelopment.
DIRECTED BY: Robert Aldrich. WRITTEN BY: A. I. Bezzerides. WITH: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez. 1955. 105 min. USA. B&W. English. DCP.
Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.
Explore our current quarterly print Film Calendar and browse the archive.
Theater accessibility accommodations available upon request. Learn more about our accessibility initiatives.
Back to Main Series
More in Series
Film Program
Sun, Jun 2, 2024
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Post-screening conversation with filmmaker Thom Andersen.
Film Program
Mon, Jun 3, 2024
Real Women Have Curves
Pre-screening conversation with director Patricia Cardoso.
Film Program
Fri, Jun 21, 2024
Quinceañera
Special guests: Pre-screening conversation with director Wash Westmoreland and actors Emily Rios and Jesse Garcia.
Film Program
Sun, Jun 23, 2024
Smog in 4K
Pre-screening Q&A with Todd Wiener, Motion Picture Curator at UCLA Film & Television Archive and Luca Celada, Correspondent/Film Critic, il Manifesto, moderated by Larry Karaszewski, Writer and former AMPAS Vice President.
Film Program
Sat, Aug 3, 2024
Love & Basketball in 4K
Guest speaker: Pre-screening conversation with actor Sanaa Lathan.
Film Program
Fri, Aug 9, 2024
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls in 35mm
Special guest: Introduction by actor John LaZar.
Film Program
Sat, Aug 10. 2024
Miracle Mile in 35mm
Guest speaker: Introduction by musician and composer Paul Haslinger.
Film Program
Fri, Aug 16, 2024
Valley Girl
Special guest: Pre-screening conversation with director Martha Coolidge.
Film Program
Sat, Aug 17, 2024
La Bamba in 4K
Special guests: Pre-screening conversation with actor Lou Diamond Phillips, with actor, musical director Daniel Valdez, and actor, producer Esai Morales, moderated by Patty Rodriguez. Free for museum members.
Film Program
Sat, Aug 25, 2024
Model Shop
Guest speaker: Post-screening conversation with Richard Roth, Assistant to Jacques Demy.
Film Program
Fri, Aug 30, 2024
Breathless in 35mm
Guest speaker: Pre-screening conversation with director Jim McBride.
