The Naked Kiss

1964 whore movie

Rating: 16/20 (Jen: 15/20)

Plot: Bald Kelly doesn't want to be a prostitute anymore, so she beats up her pimp and flees to dinky Grantville to hopefully start a new life. After sleeping with a cop fifteen minutes after her arrival, she settles down and gets herself an honest job at a hospital where she plays pirate with little boys and girls and sings some creepy songs. She meets herself a rich guy named Grant and accepts his marriage proposal. But is Grant really all that he seems to be? And will Kelly's past come back to haunt her?

More unrealistic Simon Fuller pulp, but this one's not as campily dated or as unintentionally humorous as Shock Corridor. In retrospect, I was probably a little too hard on that movie, by the way. The story and where it takes its hookers, cops, and big spenders is a good one, but I wish it had more of an edge. Seems like for a mid-60's flick, it could have. It's like the aforementioned tale of crazy people, this is daring and cutting-edge for the squares, something that's well written but still very very written, a movie that takes chances thematically but not necessarily cinematically. 1964 is before my time, but I imagine some of the subject matter The Naked Kiss addresses would have been pretty provocative. But it's all presented safely, whitebreadedly. It certainly opens with a bang with a scene that was likely Britney Spears' inspiration to shave her head and attack a paparazzo's vehicle with an umbrella in one of my favorite Britney Spears moments ever. And there are some great scenes here and there including some nice moody lighting effects. My favorite scene: a weird musical number with Constance Towers and a bunch of handicapped children wearing pirate hats.