Kiss Me Deadly: Paranoia in the 1950s, part 1… Kiss Me Deadly begins with Cloris Leachman's orgasmic panting as she runs along a highway clad only in a trenchcoat. Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) swerves onto the shoulder to avoid her, testily tells the speechless (but not breathless) Leachman to get in, then drives into the night. The novelty credits feature title cards coming toward the viewer in reverse style while Leachman pants and grunts from the passenger seat.
 
"Your thumb isn't good enough for you, you've got to use your whole body," Hammer gripes. "Would you have stopped if I'd used my thumb?" she asks. It won't be the last time a woman puts her whole body to use, or the last time someone draws an innuendo out for effect. Kiss Me Deadly is 50s pulp right down to its garters and cold skin; it's a reminder that this decade was as alive and as interesting as any.

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