Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

I've always loved watching film noirs & of course I'm a huge James Cagney fan. I must confess that when I bought this the other day I'd never even heard of it. Along with White Heat, Cagney proved he was truly a screen villian to be feared. He had already established his reputation with his great gangster roles of the 30's, but never did he play a more evil character than in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye. A comparison to Al Pacino's "Tony Montana" character in Scarface is not far off, believe me! Other reviewers have gone over the plot, so I won't waste your time. Without a doubt this is one of Cagney's finest performances, & no Cagney fan should be without this classic or White Heat, his only other film noir role.

When James Cagney was offered the role of criminal Bruce Cutter in KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE, he thought that he had long since finished playing gangsters. He changed his mind though, and his role as the psychopathic killer was the last that he would play. What stamps his performance as the opportunistic killer in this film is that he hearkens back to the sort of prohibition type thugs that he immortalized in the 30's, but unlike those roles in which he combined immorality with a certain likeableness, here he is totally feral. More than a few supporting characters note that he insane with ambition.

KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE is not the kind of crime film in which believability ranks highly. The impetus of audience reaction is carried solely through the kinetic force of Cagney's over the top performance. From the opening scene in which he escapes a prison work farm with the help of girlfriend Holliday (Barbara Payton) to every scene that ought to drown in illogic, the flow of plot runs so smoothly that the audience can't help but overlook the extraordinary concatenation of coincidence. As soon as Cutter rolls into town, no cops recognize him, even when he strolls leisurely into and out of the town's police station. He pulls a stickup and when apprehended by the police, he is let go by a crooked cop (Ward Bond), who promptly implicates himself on a recording device. To further complicate matters, Cutter starts an affair with Margaret (Helena Carter), the daughter of the town's most powerful citizen. Considering that Cagney was 50 years old at the time, the implausibility of a pair of pretty twenty somethings falling for him is breathtaking. Finally, the blatant use of police corruption adds to the feeling that you have seen this movie at least 20 years before. Several critics have pointed to it by paying homage to its origins as a 30's type gangster B movie. This, I think, is being a little too kind. It is no such thing. Instead, it stands as the swan song of a gifted actor who tried once too often to reprise the role of a ruthless thug that made him famous in the first place.

When socialite Margaret Dobson (Helena Carter)attempts to scare gangster Ralph Cotter ( James Cagney) with a high speed joy ride in her expensive convertible, Cagney's darting eyes and slight smile alerts viewers that this high society mistress has made a grave mistake. No celluloid dame ever put fear into the heart of a James Cagney character, and Cagney as escaped convict Ralph Cotter in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye doesn't disappoint his male legion of fans. With the speedometer needle already bouncing at the 90 mph. mark, Cotter calmly places his shoe on top of Miss Dobson's foot and mashes the accelerator pedal down even further. In one of the most revealing female/male test of wills ever captured on screen, the two characters battle a mind game that Cotter eventually wins. Just when we thought we have seen every James Cagney gangster persona , scenes such as the convertible ride command our attention once again. Cagney is ruthless in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye in which he portrays an escaped convict who courts two girlfriends, blackmails two police detectives, robs a supermarket payroll, murders three mob bagmen and pilfers the daily gambling bankroll. Although Cagney wasn't always amused at how studios continually pushed gangster scripts his way, he seems to have had fun in the role of Cotter. Especially when his other girlfriend Holiday (Barbara Payton)throws everything but the kitchen sink at him during an on screen spat. The film does contain flaws which challenge the believability of viewers, such as Cotter's miraculous escape from a chain gang, the use a dictaphone to frame a police inspector, and Cotter not being reckognized as an escaped convict. These shortcomings aside, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is watchable because of Cagney's commanding performance. Cagney leads the holdup of Hartford's Supermarket with coolness, his beating and disposal of a garage mechanic is violent, and his towel smacking of girfriend Holiday and her reaction are memorable. The film also boasts fine performances from Luther Adler, who plays shrewd and influential lawyer Cherokee Mandon. Ward Bond who portrays the corrupt police inspector, Weber. Barton Maclane who later gained TV fame as General Peterson on I Dream of Jeannie, also gives a fine supporting role as Weber's sidekick. Overall the film does make a statement about crime and corruption that slowly creeped back into America's consciousness after WWII. With graft, corruption, bribes, and scandals shocking the nation, filmmakers once again drew fine lines between crimminal characters and the characters that represented law and order. For fans of crime, noir, gangster, or just James Cagney, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is a great way to spend an hour and fifty minutes.