My review was written in April 1991 after watching the movie on video cassette.
An effective variation on themes by James Cain, "Kiss Me a Killer" brings film noir into a Latino neighborhood. New release from Catalina, a company affiliated with Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures, should score with the growing audience for steamy thrillers.
Pic is notable as a well-made quickie. Lensing began in January and the finished product was already in theaters at the beginning of April.
Debuting helmer Marcus DeLeon's most obvious source inspiration is Cain's venerable "The Postman Always Rings Twice". This time around, the triangle is set in East L. Al, where Anglo proprietor Guy Boyd runs a nightclub whose clientele is Hispanic.
He pushes around his beautiful young wife/employee Jule Carmen and takes an alternately paternalistic and hostile attitude towards his customers, largely determined by age (youngsters and treated as troublemakers and often prove to be).
Ex-con Robert Beltran insinuates himself into this little world when his guitar playing and singing voice earns him a job as a singer in Boyd's club. Carmen resists at first but soon is embroiled in a torrid love affair with Beltran. It doesn't take too long for the duo to cook up a scheme to bump off Boyd and live happily ever after running his nightclub together.
Serviceable script by Christopher Wooden and the director is convincing up to this point, but the coincidences and interventions of fate are tough to believe. Ironic ending plu a bittersweet coda work well enough, however. Compensating for the film's stretch of credibility love scenes featuring Carmen and Beltran. Both performers do a fine job, though the way DeLeon frames his shots implies that a body double was probably used for the topless footage of Carmen's character.
Beltran's singing of several tunes penned by Marcos Loya is impressive. As the heavy, Boyd brings considerable depth to his part without turning it into being a good guy. Songs and dance sequences are a plus.
