Ever the cunning creator, Kubrick determined what murky settings in his New York City neighborhood he could exploit for a low-budget film. Then he had screenwriter Howard Sackler cast a net of words over them. The result is an ever-menacing mood piece about an exhausted taxi dancer (Irene Kane) and a has-been boxer (Jamie Smith) who must endure the jealous jockeying of a nightclub owner (Frank Silvera). The working title, Kiss Me, Kill Me, says it all—sex and violence are wed like a curb to the gutter.