Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)

As far as early-1950's Crime/Thrillers go, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (KTG, for short) was definitely something of a major let-down.This film, which starred veteran actor James Cagney (who at 51 was clearly too old and too tired-looking for his part), had the distinctive feel of being a "quickie" written all over it.And, speaking about James Cagney, I think (in his latter years) that he made for a mighty poor leading man. And here in KTG the viewer was expected to believe that this 5' 6" pipsqueak was a real lady-killer who was able to juggle, not one, but 2 hot, young babes (who were both bitterly jealous of each other) at one time.I mean, c'mon, this "lover-boy" business was just too unconvincing for words, especially since Cagney's character was such an unlikable, little bully with a huge chip on his shoulder to begin with.KTG's story was primarily a courtroom drama where each of the characters got their chance to recall (in extended flashbacks) their involvement in a payroll caper. This predictable, little tale featured the usual line-up of crooked cops, slimy lawyers and, yes (get this!), even newlyweds who slept in separate beds.My advice would be to pass on this dud. With there obviously being so many superior films from that era to chose from, there's no point in one wasting their time watching something as mediocre as this.

The smash hit of "White Heat" (after years of mostly forgettable crime films) made Warner Brothers take James Cagney again, keep him brutal, throw in some high society hijinks, another floozy blonde (this time Barbara Payton), repeat the violent nature of his anti-hero and hope success will strike again. The result is mixed, a confusing narrative told through flashbacks from courtroom witnesses, of how Cagney basically got law makers to become law breakers. One classic scene (Payton tossing coffee at Cagney as he humorously keeps asking her for the extra ingredients) is a valentine to the famous grapefruit scene from "The Public Enemy". However, the remainder of the movie is poorly edited that makes the film flow awkwardly.This film attempts to soften the brutality of Cagney's epileptic character from "White Heat" with the introduction of a thrill-seeking socialite (Helena Carter) which leads into the slow-moving mid section that covers more of how Cagney bribed and blackmailed each of the participants involved in his robbery scheme, introduced in the opening scene where Cagney's whereabouts are in question by the audience.As for the replacement of Virginia Mayo (who moved on to light-hearted musical comedy's) with Payton, they've got a new vixen on their hands, one you watch go from innocent to vindictive, in spite of being the typical blonde floozy with extremely black roots. This makes her multi- dimensional character even more interesting than Mayo's especially when Cagney confronts her with a broken booze bottle. Her rising anger, expressed though rage in her eyes, makes her character unforgettable.

"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" is a violent thriller which simply exudes energy. Its story is told at an exhilarating pace, James Cagney gives a superb high octane performance and the character he depicts is an incredibly driven psychopath who pursues his own agenda with an extraordinary sense of purpose and determination.Ralph Cotter (Cagney) is a real force of nature and his actions have a powerful effect on everyone he encounters. He's completely oblivious to the rule of law and totally cynical in his attitude to other people. Amusingly, the fact that the other characters in the story are nearly all corrupt seems in a perverse way, to almost vindicate his attitude towards them.Cotter is a vicious criminal who together with another convict, escapes from a prison farm. When his accomplice is injured, Cotter shoots him in the head without any hesitation or compunction to ensure that his own chance of freedom isn't jeopardised. As planned, a car is waiting for him and accompanying the driver, Jinx Raynor (Steve Brodie) is the dead man's sister Holiday Carleton (Barbara Paynton). During the exchanges of gunfire that follow, Holiday shoots a prison guard and later Cotter tells his co-conspirators that Holiday's brother was killed by one of the guards. Holiday clearly dislikes Cotter initially but after an incident where he smacks her around the head with some towels, her demeanour changes and she starts to become attracted to him and agrees to him staying at her apartment.Cotter and Raynor carry out a robbery and are subsequently traced by two corrupt police officers who relieve them of some money and order Cotter to leave town. Cotter later records an incriminating conversation involving the two policemen and with the assistance of a shady lawyer, turns the tables on them.Cotter then gets involved with another woman, the daughter of a wealthy businessman and after the couple get married and jealous Holiday discovers who killed her brother, Cotter's problems start to escalate alarmingly.Holiday's relationship with Cotter has an unhealthy dimension as can be seen on a couple of occasions when she responds positively to him following violent incidents. Cotter on the other hand is able to get his way by using both brutality and cunning. When necessary he uses coercion to get Holiday to fall into line with his wishes and again uses plenty of guile in order to get the upper hand with the corrupt cops."Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" is a very good movie in which James Cagney is at his brilliant best and the supporting cast all contribute fine and effective performances.

It's hard to believe that Above The Line talent like Gordon Douglas, Harry Brown and Horace McCoy could fall so badly into the old Flashback trap; you know the one, one character begins to tell another or, in this case, a crowded courtroom of something that happened in the past and almost as soon as we're in full flashback mode the character narrating disappears leaving us to watch a series of events at which he was not present and by extension could have no knowledge of. Perhaps the fact that this film is now 59 years old and what was arguably fast-moving then now veers toward the pedestrian draws attention to this basic flaw. It's quite possible that viewers at the time were prepared to put up with sloppiness like this if they were caught up in the plot. Clearly it was a cynical ploy to cash in on the success of the previous year's White Heat which provided Cagney with one of his finest gangster roles. He has another good gangster role here but it's never going to get even close to Cody Jarret. Neither Barbara Payton nor Helena Carter have any real charisma as the two love interests competing for Cagney and stalwarts such as Barton McLane, Luther Adler, Ward Bond and Rhys Williams appear to be walking through it and/or phoning it in. It's certainly watchable as a filler on television which is where I saw it and it did keep me watching til the finale which, inevitably, ended in tears.