Anthony Eisley, Betty Bronson, Betty Robinson

Looking to start a new life, a prostitute named Kelly (Constance Towers) moves to a small town but finds the residents' wholesome facades to be deceiving. Even the sheriff (Anthony Eisley) and Kelly's...( read more  read more... ) new fiancé (Michael Dante) have something to hide. Despite its B-movie feel, this over-the-top drama from influential director Samuel Fuller (The Big Red One) serves as a pointed critique of small-town hypocrisy and the exploitation of women.

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79% liked it

449 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

9 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Samuel Fuller

Release Date: December 31, 1964

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DVD Release Date: August 26, 1998

Stats: 135 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (135)


  • January 25, 2009
    Like a lot of Sam Fuller's stuff, The Naked Kiss is melodramatic and corny in places, but it does contain some unforgettably powerful moments, not the least of them the starling opening scene, in which Constance Towers' prostitute beats her pimp unconscious, losing her wig...( read more) in the process to reveal the fact that she is completely bald! Fast-forward a couple of years and Towers is forging a new life for herself in a small town, caring for disabled children and engaged to marry a wealthy philanthropist. Now, you would expect Towers' colourful past to catch up with her, and it does, eventually, but not before Fuller has used her basic decency to expose the hypocrisies lurking behind a respectable small town façade, such as the police captain who doesn't want any vice on his own patch but is happy to visit a bordello over the river in the next state.

    I'm sure it's not the effect Fuller was aiming for but there's something about this movie that really creeps me out, particularly when it's trying to be tender. I'm not sure why; probably a combination of the strangeness of the subject matter, occasionally amateurish acting and the director striving for emotions outside the scope of his abilities. Whatever the reason, it's a film I admire much more than I like.

    In case you're interested: http://www.archive.org/details/The_Naked_Kiss
  • April 4, 2008
    I know that Fuller isn't know for subtlety, but this was really too melodramatic and filled with unnecessary exposition. On the plus side there were some pretty badass moments like the first scene and the one where the main character stuffs cash down this woman's throat.
  • April 12, 2007
    Melodramatic, but great. It also has one of the best opening scenes you'll ever see.
  • October 21, 2009
    This film has one of the most memorable scenes in the history of film-making. It's the introduction: the prostitute that beats the shit out of her pimp, gets her money back and in the process, she loses her blond wig, revealing that she is actually bald.

    Alain Silver has writte...( read more)n on this: "In film noir, women have as much potential to be killers as men. Here prostitute Kelly (Costance Powers) ...and her moral outrage and willingness to do something about [abuse] puts her in the same position as many male noir protagonists". In academic film jargon, the gender "transformation" from female to male is evident in the opening sequence - the woman functionally becomes a man, when she loses her hair (her "beauty" which defines her feminity) and physically punishes the perpetrator (a proof of masculinity).

    In other words...(yeah I know how to keep it simple, people) Kelly takes revenge when men abuse her- such a strong female lead is rare and you have to love Fuller and Towers for working it out like they did. Like Ellen Page in "Hard Candy" (to remind us of a more recent take on child abuse), the abuser has to pay...

    "The Naked Kiss"refers to the way a pervert's kiss feels. Watch the film and find out who was the perverted one- the "king" or the whore?!!!!
  • July 23, 2008
    The scenes with the children were great.
  • June 29, 2009
    NOT INTERESTED
  • February 1, 2009
    The fully quoted passage from Sam Fuller that the film takes its name from is priceless.
  • January 7, 2009
    click for review
  • October 27, 2008
    a little too heavy handed

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