Kiss of Death
About Kiss of Death
Dr. Monro is found dead, and the story comes out through the testimony of his housekeeper, chief engineer Weyler, and engineer Lebel. Ill and behind on drawings for Förenade verkstäder, Weyler meets Lebel, his double, and sends him to the drafting table while he goes away to recover. Monro, paid by the rival firm Ferunbolaget, poisons Lebel's medicine and later steals the finished plans in a gas mask. Lebel avoids a cup of poisoned chocolate. Monro's daughter spills the sugar on herself, Monro kisses her hair, and he dies of the poison he had meant for Lebel.
Cast & crew
More about Kiss of Death
Victor Sjöström directed and plays both Weyler and Lebel. He and Sam Ask wrote the script under the name A. V. Samsjö. Julius Jaenzon photographed it. Eilif Skaar produced it for Svenska Biografteatern, which also handled distribution. The Swedish title is Dödskyssen. It opened at the Metropol in Malmö on August 28, 1916, and in Stockholm in January 1917. In the United States it was also called The Death Kiss.
Themes
Look
Julius Jaenzon photographed Sjöström in the dual role of Weyler and his double, Lebel.
Technique
The plot is a frame of three witness statements, then a chronological reconstruction of the crime. Sjöström plays both the engineer and the lookalike who replaces him.
Music
Rudolf Sahlberg is credited with the original music. Matti Bye wrote a new score for the 2003 reconstruction.
Preservation
A fragment was found at the Cinémathèque française in 2002. The Swedish Film Institute reconstructed 30 minutes, filling gaps with stills and explanatory titles. That version premiered on October 1, 2003.
Notes
- Albin Lavén plays Dr. Monro, Mathias Taube plays Dr. Adell, and Jenny Tschernichin-Larsson plays the housekeeper Anna Harper.
- Wanda Rothgardt plays Monro's daughter. Bertil Junggren plays his servant.
- The working script was also titled En annan människa and, in an English list, The Death Kiss: The Story of a Crime, by Three Witnesses.
- Swedish censors passed it for viewers 15 and older.
Scenes
- Lebel, drugged with gas, watches a masked man climb in and take the drawings.
- Monro kisses his daughter's hair after she is dusted with the poisoned sugar, and drops dead.
Also available
- Internet Archive (PreviewTheKissOfDeath)
