Kiss the Blood Off My Hands *** (1948, Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, Robert Newton) – Classic Movie Review 9690

The excellent 1948 film noir thriller Kiss the Blood Off My Hands stars Burt Lancaster as a fugitive who killed a man in a fight and hides away in a lonely nurse (Joan Fontaine)’s apartment.

Director Norman Foster’s 1948 thriller Kiss the Blood Off My Hands stars Burt Lancaster as fugitive Bill Saunders, who has killed a bloke in a fight at a London pub. He then hides away in lonely nurse Jane Wharton (Joan Fontaine)’s apartment in this excellent, slightly arty black and white film noir.

Jane Wharton then falls for Bill Saunders, despite her understandable reservations, and gets him a proper job driving a medical supplies lorry. But next crook Harry Carter (Robert Newton), who witnessed the killing, wants to drag Saunders back into a life of crime.

Fontaine is a bit film-starry, and is not ideal casting with her co-star, but Lancaster gives a fine account of himself with his mix of tough and sensitive, and Newton is entertaining good value as always.

Also in the cast are Lewis L Russell, Aminta Dyne, Grizelda Harvey, Jay Novello, Reginald Sheffield, Leyland Hodgson, Peter Forbes, Harry Cording and Tom Dillon.

The screenplay is written by Leonardo Bercovici, based on the novel Kiss the Blood Off My Hands by Gerald Butler. Lancaster sought to retain the novel’s title to use its success, but the MPAA had problems with it, so Universal Pictures tested Blood on My Hands and Blood on the Moon and it premiered as The Unafraid before finally reverting to the book title.

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands is directed by Norman Foster, runs 79 minutes, is made by Norma Productions, released by Universal Pictures (1948) (US) and General Film Distributors (1948) (UK), is written by Leonardo Bercovici (screenplay), Ben Maddow (adaptation), Walter Bernstein (adaptation), and Hugh Gray (additional dialogue), based on the novel Kiss the Blood Off My Hands by Gerald Butler, is shot in black and white by Russell Metty, is produced by Harold Hecht and Richard Vernon, is scored by Miklos Rozsa, and is designed by Bernard Herzbrum and Nathan Juran.

The story takes place in right-hand drive England, but Bill’s lorry is left-hand drive.

Lancaster and Fontaine reprised their roles on 21 February 1949 when Lux Radio Theater broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie.

It was shot at Universal Studios, California, and on location at Griffith Park Zoo, Los Angeles.

Lancaster’s character is sentenced to receive 18 lashes and his flogging with the cat o’ nine tails ranks 43rd in Alvin Easter’s 2004 book Lash! The Hundred Great Scenes of Men Being Whipped in the Movies.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9690

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