What was in the Box? - Kiss Me Deadly (1955) Discussion

[–] chemiche3 18 years ago

It seemed like the Devil was unleashing hell upon earth.

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[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

I don't know what was in the box, but there is a very similar box in the trunk of a Chevy in Repoman. Check it out, it's a great movie.

Sandor

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[–] d3rp 18 years ago

it was clearly said that it has something to do with manhattan project, so yeah it was some sort of "head" for the bomb.
and about this christina character. i think knowing where this raymondo (or whatever he was called) is hidding the box was enough for bad guys to kill her.

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[–] doktorf 13 years ago

I always thought it was supposed to be a box of Plutonium.

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[–] silvercometred1 8 years ago

From somewhere I got the idea it was a box of enriched Strontium-90; which was an unstable, dangerous mistake created at Oak Ridge during the war. The thieves that stole didn't know what they had; then discovered they couldn't get anybody to buy the box because nobody wanted to have anything to do with it.

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[–] BDylan1017 18 years ago

it was definitly HELL.

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[–] Prix_de_Beaute 18 years ago

Cloris Leachman's character (Christina) had the key to the locker where the box was being kept, that's why they were after her.

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[–] TheManInOil 18 years ago

Oh, come on. There's no answer to that. IT DOESN'T MATTER. If you're worrying about what was in the box then you've missed the point of the film altogether.

Velma takes great pains to explain it explicitly for us. The pursuit of 'the great whatsit' is all that matters. An excuse for action. It isn't supposed to BE anything. It's just an excuse for action.

"Byron couldn't have put it more graciously."

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[–] christwise 17 years ago

Marcellus Wallace's soul. Uranium. Light bulbs!

In serious mode, the detective (forget his name) mentions the Manhattan Project so we're to assume that it has something to do with nuclear power. So it's good that Mike got shot since his skin was all going to turn bright green and fall off soon anyway.

Oh, and am I the only one disappointed that Lilly's face didn't melt off a la Raiders?

...Alexander the Great was a fag. Talk about gays in the military! -The Birdcage

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] statum106 17 years ago

I just watched this and I was wondering how Lily was still screaming after being consumed by THE NUCLEAR MENACE!

Was it me or did Mike Hammer invent & perfect pimp-slapping in this flick?

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[–] ae7641 17 years ago

Didn't see it, but was told, "Pulp Fiction" stole the dangerous stuff in the box from this movie.

It represented, I belive, man's destructiveness unleashed.

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[–] vonhangman 17 years ago

The stuff that dreams are made of.

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[–] rivieran 17 years ago

The stuff that dreams are made of.

That is a great cinematic answer!

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[–] EtaoinShrdlu001 8 years ago

It's that thing you've always wanted, but once you get it, it blows up in your face.

You Fill Me with Inertia.

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[–] EtaoinShrdlu001 8 years ago

It's that thing you've always wanted, but once you get it, it blows up in your face.

You Fill Me with Inertia.

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[–] dim_sumus 16 years ago

Yeh, I thought Raiders of the Lost Ark. Very possibly the end of this movie inspired Spielberg.

The box contained some form of nuclear fuel. And, as Dr. Sonderin said, it was like opening Pandora's Box. All manner of evil will be unleashed on the world.

Christina had the key to the locker containing the fuel.

This movie has its weak points but it also has many strengths. The main character isn't exactly a good guy. He's a shyster private investigator who won't cooperate with the Authorities because he thinks he knows better. Problem is, in this case, he doesn't know better.

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[–] ladynoir15 17 years ago

I wondered the same thing myself. My husband said it was radiation. Not sure if it is accurate though but I am guessing it was or something like it.

Perfect timing! You just saved me from a three hour tour of the SS Lurk. -Lorelai Gilmore

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Max_Planck 17 years ago

>>Just waht was in the box

Chocolates.

But, like, waaaaayyyyyy past their sell-by date.

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[–] scotbpens 15 years ago

"Chocolates.

But, like, waaaaayyyyyy past their sell-by date."

You never know what you're gonna get!

All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

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[–] erlend2 17 years ago

The box was a McGuffin pretending not to be.

The Cloris Leachman-character knew it was a McGuffin, so she had to be offed or else she might have spoiled the ending of the film.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Renderking_Fisk 17 years ago

The question to the answer is this: What do YOU think it is? Take it in the historical context of the era.

What do you know about the Cold War and the Race for The Next Doomsday Weapon, and how scientists were racing ahead with matters we knew little about. Is it a metaphor, or is it literal?

Kiss Me Deadly: "What's In The Box?"
http://thefedorachronicles.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3294&amp ;hilit=

The Fedora Chronicles
http://thefedorachronicles.com

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[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] HoferPM-1 13 years ago

Radioactive isotopes used to make the hydrogen bomb! After that dumb twit opened the box, most of the world was going to blow up and whoever is left will die of radiation poisoning.

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