April 21st: THE NAKED KISS (Samuel Fuller, 1964)

NOTE: This film will be projected in the high-definition Blu-ray format.

A reformed prostitute attempting to start a new life in a small town encounters hypocrisy from the local residents.

Samuel Fuller began his career by working his way up the journalistic ladder, from copy boy at age 12 to eventually becoming a crime reporter at 17, then branching out to write pulp novels and screenplays. He joined the army when the United States entered World War II, wound up in the famed 1st Infantry Division ("The Big Red One"), and was present at Omaha Beach on D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and the liberation of the Falkenau Nazi concentration camp.

Upon his return to America, Fuller focused solely on the film business, directing his first feature in 1949. He entertained contracts from various studios before signing with 20th Century Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck, and made seven films with a fair amount of creative freedom, tackling subject matter often too risque for Hollywood films. By the end of the 1950s he went independent and began producing himself, his boldness culminating in the incendiary Shock Corridor.

Right on its heels and considered a bit of a companion piece, The Naked Kiss utilized some of the same cast and crew members and a similar expressionistic visual style. Moving away from the hot button issues of civil rights and life in the Atomic Age explored in Shock Corridor, Fuller wanted to focus more on what he perceived as the subtle social caste system and the hypocrisy of old-fashioned American mores.

Graduating from a supporting role in Shock Corridor, the cast is led by actress Constance Towers, joined by Anthony Eisley, Michael Dante, and Virginia Grey (Douglas Sirk's All That Heaven Allows) and Patsy Kelly (Freaky Friday, Rosemary's Baby)

The film was shot completely on the studio lot in Burbank. Returning behind the camera was veteran cinematographer Stanley Cortez (The Night Of The Hunter, The Magnificent Ambersons), and previous Fuller collaborators Paul Dunlap composing the musical score, editor Jerome Thoms, and art director Eugene Lourie.

The Naked Kiss received mostly positive reviews, but was not a box office hit. It was refused a ratings certificate in the UK and was not shown publicly until 1990. Fuller's bold approach was a major influence on various French New Wave filmmakers, as well as American directors like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.

Running time is 90 minutes.