On this day in movie history - Kiss Me Deadly (1955):

Kiss Me Deadly

directed by Robert Aldrich,

written by A. I. Bezzerides and Robert Aldrich,

based on the novel by Mickey Spillane,

was released in the United States on April 20, 1955.
Music by Frank De Vol.

Cast:

Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, Wesley Addy, Marian Carr, Marjorie Bennett, Mort Marshall, Fortunio Bonanova, Strother Martin, Mady Comfort, James McCallion, Robert Cornthwaite, Silvio Minciotti, Nick Dennis, Ben Morris, Jack Elam, Paul Richards, Jesslyn Fax, James Seay, Percy Helton, Leigh Snowden, Jack Lambert, Jerry Zinneman, Maxine Cooper, Cloris Leachman, Gaby Rodgers, Kitty White, Sam Balter, Joe Hernandez, Eddie Beal, Leonard Bremen, Yvonne Doughty, John George, Charles Lane, Art Loggins, Mara McAfee, Leonard Mudie, Bing Russell, Robert Sherman, Max Wagner, Trude Wyler.

Recommended reading - Kiss Me Deadly, by Mickey Spillane (1952):

Kiss Me Deadly

By Mickey Spillane.

Filmed as Kiss Me Deadly (1955), directed by Robert Aldrich.

Published by Orion.

First published 1952.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1409158691

ISBN-13: 978-1409158691

Description:

# 6 in the Mike Hammer series.

Before Jack Reacher . . . there was Mike Hammer.

One night, a blonde jumps out in front of PI Mike Hammer's car. She's so scared he doesn't have much choice but to give her a ride. At a police roadblock, he discovers she's on the run from a sanatorium, but he passes her off as his wife. Other people besides the police are after the blonde, and these people play rough. Real rough.

The blonde turns out to be the star witness against some big-time mobsters. Mike has blundered into something unimaginably big, but the Feds don't want him involved – and take his PI licence and gun.

For Mike, it's a chance to strike a blow against evil on a grand scale. He discovers that something representing a great deal of money, and a lot of power, has gone missing, and that some people will go to any lengths to get it back . . .