The Kiss of Death (USA, 1947)

Another gangster movie by director Howard Hughes. This time, professional “crook” Nick Bianco, is caught by the police while stealing a jewellery in New York. Police detective Di Angelo (I don’t understand their penchant for Italian names, like the mafia) puts him in jail. His other two assistants were able to escape. Bianco misses his wife and two little children girls. Along the way, he helps police detectives catch other gangsters. He becomes what they call a “squealer”, one who “sings”, in other words, tells the truth and blames other crooks. This is an interesting approach, far from expressionist scenes, the Kiss of Death deals more with the consequences of leading a life trying always to evade law and order, and the relation between his wife and two little kids. Extremely well acted scenes and a suspenseful climax make it a fun noir film to watch.