When his wife commits suicide and his children are placed in foster care, an imprisoned robber turns informer in exchange for early parole; things turn sour though when a man he squealed on is acquitted and comes after him. As one might expect from such a plot summary, this noir entry deals well with the dilemma faced by a criminal torn between his personal ethics (not ratting on his partners) and his desire for the best for his kids -- and with two lovely young actresses playing his doting daughters, it is a heartfelt dilemma, all the more potent since he only turned to crime in desperation, unable to find an honest job to support his family. Victor Mature does not, however, make for all that interesting a protagonist. He always seems a little too warm and gentle for hardened criminal and a romance with his children's babysitter blossoms so quickly after his wife's death that it never feels right. The standout feature of the film though is Richard Widmark as the taunting, constantly laughing acquitted criminal who comes after Mature. There is an excellent shot in which his face is only barely visible in the sliver of a curtain gap and yet his menacing nature still resonates. The film has a powerful ending too.
Review of Kiss of Death
