Kiss The Blood Off My Hands - A Flawed Noir

I recorded Kiss The Blood Off My Hands a few nights ago and finally got around to watching it. I'd heard the title often but I'd never had the opportunity to see the film until now.

I don't like being mean about films. They are very difficult to make and even harder to get right. Flawless films are rare. Even some of my favorites have some tiny detail in them that bugs me.

This Film Noir has a lot going for it. Joan Fontaine is superb as a British nurse way in over her head, surrounded by rough characters and finding love with the wrong guy - Burt Lancaster - who always gives a great performance no matter what he's in. His role is not an easy one: he plays a war veteran with an obvious case of PTSD that makes him violent at times. He hides in the nurse's flat to escape capture after hitting someone in a bar and winds up falling for her. The feelings are mutual and there is hope that somehow the couple can overcome the violence and treachery that follows them seemingly everywhere in London and make a life together. 

The music is fabulous; Miklos Rozsa (who scored Ben Hur) was one of the best film composers ever. And the mood of the film is shadowy and dangerous, as a Film Noir should be. But something was just off about the plot and some of the characters, especially the one played by Robert Newton. 

By the time the ending came I was so done with it all. And I didn't believe that the main characters were being truthful to their plight in the final scene. Seeing how they'd been treated up to that point, it made no sense to me.

So, can I recommend Kiss The Blood Off My Hands? Not really. I don't think I ever care to watch it again. And that's sad since Joan Fontaine is one of my favorite actresses. I don't know. Maybe eventually I might revisit the film, to see if it still gives me the creeps. LOL I've changed my mind after viewing other films a second time. Maybe I will if I do ever see this one again.