"A Kiss Before Dying" is a tense crime thriller in which a cold, calculating, psychopathic student, who is determined to be rich, ruthlessly pursues his goal without any concern for those who suffer as a result of his actions.
Bud Corliss (Robert Wagner) is the son of an absent father who never did well financially and is powerfully driven to take a different route and become wealthy. Having carried out some research on a local mining company, he pursues a plan to make a fortune by becoming a part of the family who own the business. To this end, he has been courting Dorothy (Dorie)Kingship (Joanne Woodward), but a problem arises when she becomes pregnant and marriage is not a viable proposition because her stern, puritanical father would be certain to disinherit her. Dorie doesn't care about being disowned by her father and quite relishes breaking away from his influence but for Bud, this would defeat the purpose of his relationship with her. Bud pretends to be equally keen to go ahead and marry but murders Dorie in a spectacular fashion after having tricked her into writing a note which gives the impression that she's committed suicide.
A little time after Dorie's "suicide", Bud starts to court her sister Ellen (Virginia Leith). This is possible because his relationship with Dorie had always been carried on in secret. Unfortunately for Bud, Ellen has never been fully convinced that her sister would have taken her own life and she starts to come across further information which supports that view. When she is led to believe that Bud knew Dorie, her doubts about him grow.
Corliss is intense, crafty and full of guile and at the same time lacks any sincerity, passion or spontaneity. Robert Wagner in one of his early screen roles, portrays this complex mixture of qualities well and it's perfectly understandable that his rather dour, downbeat, demeanour would seem quite acceptable to Dorie because of her father's similarly cold nature. Joanne Woodward (also in one of her early roles) is convincingly naive, vulnerable and gullible. It's also rather ironical that a conflict between the two characters should exist in a situation where both are attracted to the idea of marriage to the other because such a move would remove them from their existing circumstances.
The scene at the sports field where Bud and Dorie are in the seated area discussing their predicament is visually quite striking as the almost abstract background seems to be closing in on them and in so doing, reinforces the strong sense of despair and entrapment which Bud is feeling at that time. The manner in which Bud is visually revealed as Ellen's new boyfriend and the way in which Dorie's murder is depicted, are just two further highlights of this interesting and absorbing melodrama.
Bud Corliss (Robert Wagner) is the son of an absent father who never did well financially and is powerfully driven to take a different route and become wealthy. Having carried out some research on a local mining company, he pursues a plan to make a fortune by becoming a part of the family who own the business. To this end, he has been courting Dorothy (Dorie)Kingship (Joanne Woodward), but a problem arises when she becomes pregnant and marriage is not a viable proposition because her stern, puritanical father would be certain to disinherit her. Dorie doesn't care about being disowned by her father and quite relishes breaking away from his influence but for Bud, this would defeat the purpose of his relationship with her. Bud pretends to be equally keen to go ahead and marry but murders Dorie in a spectacular fashion after having tricked her into writing a note which gives the impression that she's committed suicide.
A little time after Dorie's "suicide", Bud starts to court her sister Ellen (Virginia Leith). This is possible because his relationship with Dorie had always been carried on in secret. Unfortunately for Bud, Ellen has never been fully convinced that her sister would have taken her own life and she starts to come across further information which supports that view. When she is led to believe that Bud knew Dorie, her doubts about him grow.
Corliss is intense, crafty and full of guile and at the same time lacks any sincerity, passion or spontaneity. Robert Wagner in one of his early screen roles, portrays this complex mixture of qualities well and it's perfectly understandable that his rather dour, downbeat, demeanour would seem quite acceptable to Dorie because of her father's similarly cold nature. Joanne Woodward (also in one of her early roles) is convincingly naive, vulnerable and gullible. It's also rather ironical that a conflict between the two characters should exist in a situation where both are attracted to the idea of marriage to the other because such a move would remove them from their existing circumstances.
The scene at the sports field where Bud and Dorie are in the seated area discussing their predicament is visually quite striking as the almost abstract background seems to be closing in on them and in so doing, reinforces the strong sense of despair and entrapment which Bud is feeling at that time. The manner in which Bud is visually revealed as Ellen's new boyfriend and the way in which Dorie's murder is depicted, are just two further highlights of this interesting and absorbing melodrama.