“A Kiss Before Dying” movie reviews (two versions: 1956 original, 1991 remake)

Just viewed this 1956 movie filmed partly in Tucson and Arizona, which is a griping drama with old time favorite film stars such as Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward. The movie’s theme focuses on Greed, one of the 7 deadly sins.

Short synopsis of plot: Poor and ambitious college student Bud Corliss plots to kill his rich (& pregnant) girlfriend Dorothy, as he is afraid she will be disinherited once her father finds out she is pregnant, despite her promise to marry him. He accomplishes this heinous deed off the top of the now-Chase Bank building downtown on Stone Avenue (SE corner of Congress St., formerly the Valley National Bank). It was probably the tallest building in downtown Tucson back in 1955. And he makes it look like a suicide. And true to the title, Bud kisses her before she dies.

Then the plot thickens as Ellen, sister of Dorothy begins to investigate her alleged suicide with the assistance of her sister’s former college professor, nephew of the Tucson Chief of Police.

Another murder ensues but I won’t disclose that part of the exciting plot. And there’s a twist at the ending filmed at a nearby mine in Arizona. Someone has suggested to me that it may have been the Morenci Mine. Update: I just found out it was the Duval mine near Sahuarita.

Note: There’s a scene of star Wagner sitting calmly on a bench reading a newspaper (hopefully the former Tucson Citizen) in a park west of the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court on Church Avenue. And long time Tucsonans may be able to recognize other scenes of Tucson (such as the Pago Pago tiki bar which used to be on Oracle Road, and a horse back riding scene out west of the city). Anybody recognize other Tucson locales?

The 1991 remake was filmed on the East Coast, starring Matt Dillon, Sean Young and Max Von Sydow. The newer version is much more grisly than the first, with Corliss becoming a serial killer, all in the name of overwhelming Greed. The alleged suicide of Dorothy occurs early in the sequel, with Sean Young playing both sisters (now twins). Both father & sister Ellen become aware of Dorothy’s pregnancy in the remake, which has other plot changes. The 1991 version which takes place in NYC and Philadelphia, is a lot darker & more menacing as a suspense thriller. It also has a twist at the end, with an explanation of why Corliss did what he did to get ahead in life.

The 1956 original movie is available at the Pima County Public Library, and I rented the newer version from Casa Video on Speedway.

For those of us “born free” in America, we have a limited understanding of what it means to crave freedom. The German Studies Department at the U of A recently showed in a class the 2001 film “The Tunnel” (“Der Tunnel”) on September 10. I missed it but my native born West German husband saw it and encouraged me to rent the DVD. He grew up an hour west from the Wall (two barbed wire fences separated by landmine fields, & guard towers every 200 meters ) that used to separate East and West Germany. The department is celebrating the twenty years since reunification happened. (The Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989).

movie poster

This is a true and extremely gripping story of East Berliners trying to escape into West Berlin in 1961 as the Berlin Wall was being built. Harry Melchior, East Germany’s swimming champion defects (using a false passport), and then starts digging a tunnel 145 meters under the border to help his sister and husband and their daughter escape. He enlists the aid of other German political refugees who want to save their family members as well.

Growing up in a free country, we normally only hear of what it was like to live in a fascist country where one can be imprisoned for exercising free speech or criticizing the government. That point is well made in this movie, as well as the desperate attempts others made to cross the border wall. Some got shot trying to run for freedom.

Casa Video (www.casavideo.com) at 2905 E. Speedway, my favorite video store for foreign flicks, has this DVD “The Tunnel” (in German, with English subtitles) in stock. It will really make you appreciate just being born free, and not having to flee a country with only what you can carry with you.

Coming up this Thursday October 8, as part of an undergraduate class is “Trace of Stone” (“Spur der Steine”), a 1966 movie about “living and working conditions in the GDR (German Democratic Republic- East Germany) of the 1960′s”, including a love story of a construction foreman. This movie will show at 7:30 p.m. at the Integrated Learning Center (ILC) 150 and the community is invited to join the class and discussion.