Tiffany Pictures had a Christmas 1932 release date locked in for The Death Kiss. Then a preview audience saw two scenes with hand-colored gunfire and flames, and the reaction was strong enough to change the plan. The producers pulled the film back so every print in circulation could carry the color. The national release slipped from December 25 to January 8, 1933.
That gimmick sits on top of a better one. Three stars of Dracula (1931) reunite here in what looks like a horror picture and plays as a Hollywood whodunit. Bela Lugosi, David Manners, and Edward Van Sloan star in a murder mystery set inside a movie studio, shot on a real, cash-strapped studio’s soundstages. It was Edwin L. Marin’s first film as director. It is in the public domain, a Library of Congress print survives, and you can watch it free right now.
The Death Kiss 1932 — Movie Overview Table
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | The Death Kiss |
| Release Year | 1932 (previewed December 5, 1932; national release January 8, 1933) |
| Country | United States |
| Runtime | 71–75 minutes |
| Genre | Mystery, Comedy-Thriller, Pre-Code Whodunit |
| Language | English |
| Format | Black & White with hand-colored sequences |
| Director | Edwin L. Marin (his first film as director) |
| Screenplay | Barry Barringer and Gordon Kahn |
| Based On | The Death Kiss (1932 novel) by Madelon St. Dennis (credited onscreen as “St. Denis”) |
| Cinematography | Norbert Brodine |
| Hand-Tinting | Gustav Brock |
| Production Company | K.B.S. Productions Inc., filmed at Tiffany Pictures’ studio |
| Distributor | Sono Art-World Wide Pictures |
| Significance | Reunites Lugosi, Manners, and Van Sloan from Dracula (1931) |
| Preservation | 35mm archival elements held by the Library of Congress; restored for home video by Kino Classics (2014) |
| IMDb Rating | Approximately 6.0/10 |
| Public Domain | Yes — freely available to watch and download |
Full Cast Table — The Death Kiss (1932)
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| David Manners | Franklyn Drew |
| Adrienne Ames | Marcia Lane |
| Bela Lugosi | Joseph Steiner |
| John Wray | Detective Lieutenant Sheehan |
| Vince Barnett | Officer Gulliver |
| Alexander Carr | Leon A. Grossmith |
| Edward Van Sloan | Tom Avery |
| Harold Minjir | Howell |
| Barbara Bedford | Script Girl |
| Al Hill | George, Assistant Director |
| Harold Waldridge | Charlie, Bellhop |
| Wade Boteler | Sergeant Owen Hilliker |
| Lee Moran | Todd, Publicist |
| Edmund Burns | Myles Brent, the murdered leading man |
A Dracula Reunion That Isn’t a Horror Film
Universal’s Dracula made Lugosi a star, and he spent 1932 taking nearly every part offered. He played the villainous Dr. Mirakle in Murders in the Rue Morgue and the sinister “Murder” Legendre in White Zombie. The Death Kiss was a different kind of job.
Tiffany Pictures cast three Dracula players in something completely different. Lugosi plays Joseph Steiner, the studio manager. Manners, who was Jonathan Harker, plays a crusading screenwriter. Van Sloan, who was Van Helsing, plays the director.
The marketing hook was obvious: audiences expecting vampires got a murder mystery instead. The film exploits Lugosi’s reputation on purpose. He is a walking red herring. The New York Times noted that the cleverest move in the picture is keeping him a prime suspect until the very end.
Lugosi has little screen time. TCM’s essay estimates his scenes took about two days to shoot, which suggests a quick, well-paid reunion rather than a major commitment.
Hand-Colored Gunfire — The Gimmick That Delayed Christmas
Gustav Brock, the artist who also tinted Erich von Stroheim’s Foolish Wives, hand-colored two key sequences in The Death Kiss. The work is frame-by-frame painting, closer to Georges Méliès’s methods than to a modern color process. Gunfire flashes and flames glow red and orange against the black-and-white image.
The preview audience loved it. At the December 5, 1932 screening in San Bernardino, the response was strong enough that the producers held the national release so every print could carry the tinted effects. In one scene, smoke from the projection booth even picks up a red and orange glow.
Here is the catch for you as a viewer. Many circulating public domain copies lost this color over the decades. If you want to see Brock’s work, look for the restored Library of Congress print described below.
Tiffany Studios Plays Tonart — A Real Studio on Camera
By late 1932 the Great Depression had squeezed independent producers hard. K.B.S. Productions could not compete with the major studios’ lavish A-pictures, so it turned the constraint into the premise. The fictional “Tonart Studios” in the film is the real Tiffany studio, and the script lets the camera roam its modest soundstages.
That setting saved money, and it also gives you something rare: an unglamorous look at how a small 1932 studio actually worked. Reviewers have praised how convincingly the film portrays Hollywood on Hollywood’s own terms. Publicists spin, executives panic about costs, and the crew shrugs off a corpse.
Gordon Kahn and Barry Barringer adapted the script from Madelon St. Dennis’s novel. The onscreen credit misspells her surname as “St. Denis.” Production wrapped on November 17, 1932. Adrienne Ames, who plays the leading lady, was borrowed from Paramount for the job.
Full Plot Summary — The Death Kiss (1932)
Spoiler warning: this section reveals the killer. Skip to “Where to Watch” if you plan to watch first.
A Murder on the Soundstage
Tonart Studios is shooting the final scene of its gangster picture, also titled The Death Kiss. Leading lady Marcia Lane (Adrienne Ames) identifies the target by kissing him, and the villains gun him down. Director Tom Avery (Edward Van Sloan) calls cut, but the star, Myles Brent (Edmund Burns), does not get up. He has been killed with a real bullet.
Almost everyone on the lot had a reason to want him gone. Studio head Leon Grossmith (Alexander Carr) frets about the cost. Studio manager Joseph Steiner (Bela Lugosi) worries about the publicity. Brent had been involved with most of the women connected with the production.
The Amateur Sleuth
Police arrest Marcia, and her boyfriend, screenwriter Franklyn Drew (David Manners), refuses to accept it. Detective Lieutenant Sheehan (John Wray) is slow-witted, so Drew investigates himself. He works the set, the suspects, and the studio’s own footage of the death.
The Killer Revealed
Lugosi stays under suspicion to the end, but the real killer is director Tom Avery. He overheard a key conversation through a studio microphone. A gunfight and chase follow, and Avery falls to his death. When the lights come up, the company sees who the murderer was.
The Library of Congress Print and the Kino Restoration
The Library of Congress preserves 35mm archival elements of The Death Kiss. Kino Classics used them to master a high-definition Blu-ray and DVD in 2014. Brock’s hand-tinted sequences return in that release, along with an audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith.
The restoration is not flawless. Reviewers noted that two reels came from inferior elements, and that audio and print wear remain in places. Still, it is the best-looking way to see the film as 1933 audiences did.
Where to Watch The Death Kiss (1932) Free Online
The Death Kiss is in the public domain and available free on the Internet Archive. If you want the hand-colored sequences and restored picture, the Kino Classics disc is the version to buy.
| Platform | Format | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Internet Archive | Stream + Download (multiple formats) | Free |
| Kino Classics Blu-ray / DVD | Library of Congress restoration with tinted sequences | Paid |
The Death Kiss (1932) on Internet Archive:
Is The Death Kiss (1932) in the Public Domain?
Yes. The Death Kiss is in the public domain in the United States, and you can legally stream, download, share, and screen it without restriction or cost. That is why so many labels have issued it over the years. Print quality varies widely between copies, so compare more than one source if the first looks rough.
Critical Reception — Then and Now
The film sits around 6.0 out of 10 on IMDb, a fair summary of decades of mixed but affectionate opinion. Video Librarian called it “a minor but entertaining cult movie” and noted that the mystery itself follows a conventional pattern. DVD Talk went further, praising the film’s realistic portrait of a working Hollywood studio.
Other critics are cooler. One Blu-ray review ranked it the least involving of Lugosi’s five 1932 pictures, which include White Zombie and Island of Lost Souls. That makes sense. Lugosi gets little to do, and anyone hoping for horror will feel shortchanged.
The better way to watch is as a studio-set whodunit with a sense of humor. Come for the Dracula reunion, stay for the snappy dialogue, the real Tiffany lot, and the red-orange flames that delayed a Christmas release.
Frequently Asked Questions — The Death Kiss 1932
Q: What is The Death Kiss (1932) about?
A leading man is shot with a real bullet while filming the final scene of a movie at Tonart Studios. When the leading lady is arrested, her boyfriend, a studio screenwriter named Franklyn Drew, investigates to find the real killer.
Q: Is The Death Kiss (1932) in the public domain?
Yes. The film is in the public domain in the United States and is freely available on the Internet Archive.
Q: Is The Death Kiss a horror movie?
No. Although it stars Bela Lugosi, David Manners, and Edward Van Sloan from Dracula (1931), it is a murder mystery with comic touches set inside a film studio.
Q: Who stars in The Death Kiss?
David Manners plays Franklyn Drew, Adrienne Ames plays Marcia Lane, Bela Lugosi plays studio manager Joseph Steiner, and Edward Van Sloan plays director Tom Avery. John Wray, Vince Barnett, and Alexander Carr also appear.
Q: Who directed The Death Kiss?
Edwin L. Marin directed the film. It was his first film as director.
Q: Who is the killer in The Death Kiss? (Spoiler)
Spoiler warning: the murderer is director Tom Avery, played by Edward Van Sloan. Bela Lugosi’s studio manager is a red herring who stays under suspicion until the end.
Q: Why was The Death Kiss release delayed?
The film was originally scheduled for a national release on December 25, 1932. After a strong audience reaction to hand-colored sequences at a December 5 preview, the producers delayed release to add them to every print, and the film opened January 8, 1933.
Q: Is The Death Kiss in color?
Mostly black and white, but two key sequences feature hand-colored effects by artist Gustav Brock, such as gunfire flashes and flames. Restored versions, including the Kino Classics release, preserve them.
Q: How long is The Death Kiss?
The film runs approximately 71 to 75 minutes, depending on the print.
Q: Where can I watch The Death Kiss (1932) for free?
The Death Kiss is freely available to stream and download on the Internet Archive.
Related Free Classic Mystery and Pre-Code Films
If The Death Kiss (1932) pulled you toward Lugosi, pre-Code comedy-thrillers, and murder mysteries, these are the natural titles to explore next:
- Public Domain Horror Movies – Free Classic Scary Films Online
- His Double Life (1933) Full Movie Review, Plot, Cast & Free Comedy-Drama Classic
- The Limping Man (1953) Full Movie Review, Plot, Cast & Free Film Noir Thriller
- Public Domain Movies List – All Free Classic Films (Complete Guide)
