In the aftermath of the war, ex-POW Bill Saunders (Burt Lancaster), is struggling with anger and, most likely, PTSD. While in a bar, he gets into a brawl, which leads to the death of the man he punched. Determined not to be arrested and, thus, imprisoned again, Bill hightails it out of the bar, with the police giving chase. To elude his pursuers, Bill enters a nearby apartment through an open window, and when the sleeping woman within (Jane Wharton, portrayed by Joan Fontaine) wakens, Bill manages to convince her that he did nothing wrong and that he is being wrongly pursued. Although she allows him to spend the night in her apartment, Jane tells Bill that he needs to be gone by the time she returns from work the next day.
While Bill does leave Jane's apartment and finds lodging in a hotel, the two begin seeing each other. Though things are going well between them, Bill's anger problem is never far from the surface, and upon lashing out at a cop, Bill is sent to trial and given a 6-month sentence. After serving his time, Bill returns to Jane, who is willing to put in a good word for him at the medical institute where she works. Though Bill wants to begin anew and to make good on the job Jane procured for him, a man who witnessed the barroom killing tracks him down and blackmails him into agreeing to allow his delivery truck of medicine to be hijacked and robbed.
Will Bill go through with the crime? Will he come clean with Jane about his involvement in the killing? Will their love survive? Will Jane's trust in him remain? These are the questions which will play out in this film.
Kiss the Blood off My Hands is an incredible-sounding film title, is it not? With such a title, it gives incredibly high hopes for a 5-star Double Indemnity kind of film noir. Alas, the title is more exciting than the movie. That's not to say, though, that it isn't interesting or exciting. It is...just not to the extent that I had expected. Still, though, it is very definitely worth a watch. I don't believe the film is out on DVD; however, it is available on YouTube (in parts), so if you are interested, you could catch it there.
Happy viewing!!
