Customer Reviews

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

James Cagney is ruthless as Ralph Cotter, a murderous crazed hood who blackmails cops and everyone else in his path after a break from chain gang.

Made after "White Heat," and while preparing dancing scenes for his next film "West Point Story," Cagney abhorred doing another gangster flick, but you can't tell it here. He throws himself into the role, and does the best with what he has.

Cagney is the whole show, and his evil is more pronounced than ever. Not only is he a murderous thug, but a sexual predator, seducing and coercing women to doing his bidding along the way.

Cagney -- a gentleman in real life -- played a lot of misogynistic characters, and he is no less in this -- savagely beating a moll with a rolled up, wet towel, then seducing her as she falls weeping and hysterical into his arms.

One could say, if you reviewed his gangster flicks as a whole, that Cagney hadn't made a whole lot of cinematic progress from grapefruit squashing and dragging chicks across the floor by the hair (as he did with Mae Clarke in previous films). Seen without that hindsight, he is brutal and effective.

While he played other bad guys in subsequent films, this is the last true gangster that he played, and he was relieved to call it quits.

It was poorly reviewed at the time -- a well made bomb -- but it's worth viewing for Cagney's savagery. You need to suspend belief just a little bit in certain scenes -- not a whole lot of visible planning goes into big stakes heists, so his gangster comes off more ruthless than smart.

Cagney along with a fine cast of co-stars portrays a mentally disturbed, escaped convict with high aspirations. Betrayal, greed and unrestrained ambition are the key ingredients to this underated film noir masterpiece. The DVD plays clean and clear with good sound quality.

This movie in some ways is more defintive of the Cagney gangstger personna than even "The Public Enemy." I think it comes in second only to "Angels with Dirty Faces."
What is initially surprising is that this movie is "A Cagney Production." Knowing how hard Cagney fought Warner Brothers to get roles other than gangsters, it's a testament to the man's complexity that, when the production company he shared with his brother, Bill, had a chance to make absolutely any type of movie he wanted, what did he choose? He plays the most mean-spirited gangster of his entire career!
Most of his gangsters had their soft sides. In "Angels" and in "The Roaring 20's," Bogey was the real bad guy. Cagney was a hoodlum, but he was a complex character with some redeeming values. Even in "The Public Enemy," he was at least good to his Mom.
But Ralph Cotter is rotten to the very core without a single redeeming quality. He gratuitously murders his crime partner; he cheats on his girlfriend (who doesn't know that he murdered her own brother), and he viciously beats both the owner of a store that he robs and a police informant.
And he seems to be flat out enjoying every minute of it. He's got a leer that won't quit. And there are some VERY memorable lines sprinkled throughout this film. But, in order to appreciate them, you have to either see, or at least visualize, Cagney uttering them with his trademark half smile/half sneer. Just two (of many) examples:
(1) After Barbara Payton helps him escape from a prison road gang and kills a guard in the process, she is distraught and cries, "I've been a good girl all my life. I've never done anything wrong before today."
Cagney sneers: "It only takes once, you know."
(2) After Payton has told Cagney that he's too much of a "small timer" to outwit two crooked cops and after he does in fact outwit them, he turns to her and sneers:
"By this time tomorrow, the word 'small timer' will have gotten up and walked right out of your vocabulary. . . . If we're still alive."
He also makes an intriguing comment when Luther Adler asks him his real name. Cagney smiles and utters the cryptic line: "If you knew, you would die."
I think this is meant to imply that Cotter is the reincarnation of Arthur Cody Jarrett from "Whie Heat," about whom Virginia Mayo said: You can't kill Cody. He's not human."
Cagney personally selected Barbara Payton for the role of Holiday because of her off screen reputation for having the foulest mouth in Hollywood. (She wound up hooking out of a cheap Hollywood motel and died from a drug overdose).
And, to top it off, the same two cops from "The Maltese Falcon" are together again, except this time Ward Bond is the dominant one and Barton Maclane is the sidekick.
Yes, the movie has some downsides. It requires a major suspension of disbelief, and many of the scenes with Helena Carter and her father (Herbert Heyes, the father of frequent "Twilight Zone" director Douglas Heyes)are too long and drawn out.
But it's a "must see" if for no other reason than to see the finest performer of the 20th century unplugged unrestrained, and completely unhinged.
An absolute joy for any Cagney fan, and his last portrayal of a gangster before he REALLY started looking old (in "Love me or Leave Me" five years later.)

James Cagney pulled off one of his greatest gangster roles fairly late in his career in 1949's "White Heat." You could see he was starting to get a little pudgy in the midsection and gray around the temples for that kind of role, but he still pulled it off.....big-time. What a lot of people don't remember is that he did it one more time - with this film, the following year.

Here, he plays "Ralph Cotter," and he is one nasty dude. It's great to watch Jimmy doing his cocky-thug routine. I wish he could have gone on forever.

The supporting cast, led by Ward Bond, was very good in this film and worth noting. It isn't just all Cagney. Barbara Peyton is realistic as the tough blonde and Helena Carter as the spoiled rich man's daughter. Both are decent at heart and vie for Cagney's affections.

Included in here are crooked cops, a crooked lawyer and other assorted characters. It's a rough movie. Nobody is trustworthy in this story, which is interesting all the way. It should be better known.

"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" was adapted from the novel by Horace McCoy and features James Cagney in one of his many memorable "gangster" roles. The film opens with the trial of 7 defendants for murder and accomplice to murder. We learn how this motley group of law enforcement officers, crooks, a lawyer, and one very pretty woman came to be charged with the crimes as the witnesses are called to the stand and recall a bloody tale that started 4 months ago. Ralph Cotter (James Cagney), an especially murderous thief, and a fellow inmate at a penal colony attempted an escape with the aid of the other man's sister, Holiday (Barbara Payton), and a hired driver named Jinx (Steve Brodie). But Holiday's brother is killed in the escape, leaving her angry but vulnerable and lonely enough that she turns to Ralph for consolation. When Ralph and Jinx rob a local grocery store, they are confronted by a pair of corrupt cops, Inspector Charlie Webber (Barton McLean) and Lieutenant Reese (Steve Brodie), who shake them down for a share of the loot. Ralph sees the crooked cops as an opportunity to turn the tables using blackmail. But his dalliance with the aristocratic daughter (Helena Carter) of a powerful steel magnate may bring ruin on everyone.

"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" revolves around Ralph Cotter's ambitions, compulsions, and total sociopathy. Ralph is disloyal even to his fellow criminals. He will tell a lie or kill any person for the sake of his immediate convenience. Ralph's self-confidence is so overwhelming that he commits himself to any scheme without much thought to the consequences. Ralph's lack of discretion or any kind of hesitation strikes fear in everyone. Even the corrupt cops recognize that his endless heists and bloody trail threaten to destroy them all. Ralph is a single-minded destructive force so intimidating that the people around him seem at a loss to do anything except grit their teeth and wait for their world to come tumbling down. Ralph is by no means a sophisticated character, but he's a memorable one. This one-dimensional characterization may be limiting, but Cagney sets the audience on edge with his portrayal of a man whose actions no one, including himself, can control. Barton McLean, as the thoroughly corrupt Inspector Webber, gives good support to Cagney's performance in expressing Webber's consternation at this out-of-control criminal, whom even more powerful crooks fear. Ralph Cotter is an irredeemable character, and "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" is a solid film noir, but not as thematically sophisticated as truly great film noir. It's a must for James Cagney fans, though. The DVD from Republic Pictures, released in 2002 and distributed by Artisan, has no bonus features or subtitles.

A little known and little seen film. A gem of a movie that should have a wider viewing audience. Barbara Payton and James Cagney make a dynamic duo when it comes to screen chemistry. This film provided Payton with a break through role that could have led to bigger and better parts had her private life not been her undoing. Cagney as always give a fine performance as a ruthless killer. Well written and well acted,Cagney is less flashy,more finely tuned than usual. Will appeal to film noir fans,though not classic noir.

Following closely on the heels of his successful "White Heat" James Cagney starred and produced "Kiss Yourself Goodbye," a 1950 release directed by Gordon Douglast that showed the charismatic performer at his toughest, combining sadistic brute force with innovative blackmail. Assisting Cagney was a talented ensemble of character performers along with two beautiful young women who did not begin to get their share of opportunities in top-level films.

The film initially teases viewers' curiosity as it opens in court during the trial of Cagney's list of criminal accomplices. After introducing them one by one the prosecutor explains that one person is missing, the head of the enterprise, namely Cagney.

The movie then moves into a flashback phase as we see Cagney with assistance breaking out of prison while part of an outdoor work detail. The breakout was arranged by Barbara Payton to spring her brother, Neville Brand, then in the early phase of a long career as a character performer, mainly cast as villains. Cagney engages in a double cross as he kills Brand during a shootout with authorities, something he will not tell Payton when he meets her and quickly forms a romantic attachment.

Cagney forms an early team with another veteran character performer, Steve Brodie, and soon he is using his opportunity to tape record police inspector Ward Bond while he seeks to engage him in criminal activity. He compromises the corrupt Bond, making him susceptible to Cagney's interests. A shrewd casting masterstroke occurred in teaming Bond and Barton McLane as a police team. They were cast in the same manner in the 1941 film noir classic "The Maltese Falcon" starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor.

Blonde Barbara Payton was one beauty romanced by Cagney in the film who was unfortunately restricted mainly to B films. The other is brunette Helena Carter, whose connections impress Cagney, since her father is a former governor and senator and allegedly the most powerful man in the state. When the father and Cagney meet the situation becomes understandably sticky. Carter was known mainly as a leading lady in low budget westerns.

As characteristic of some of Cagney's leading roles, in "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" he portrays a relentless criminal who believes he is unstoppable and combines sadistic ruthlessness with a piercing native intelligence. Ward Bond realizes that he will be ruined if he remains under Cagney's criminal thumb. He seeks to find a way to do him in.

While Cagney is shrewd and resourceful, so is Bond. Eventually he gets to Cagney by alienating the affections of Payton as he provides her with evidence that makes her hate the man she once passionately loved.

Another brilliant character performer who shines in the film is Luther Adler. The stalwart Broadway theater giant and brother of famous drama coach Stella Adler plays a shrewd criminal with a talent for playing the law enforcement community like a Wurlitzer.

James Cagney's brother is the film's producer of record. He also performs as none other than the brother of the relentless killer played by his real life brother.

I got this for my father who has always been a Cagney fan. He saw it awhile back on TCM, but it was a treat for him. Cagney, just pure rutless in this one. Underrated, and just a classic movie, from a movie legend who is deeply missed.

This is a review for the Republic Pictures VHS videotape of the
Warner Bros 1950 release of KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE.

I'm certain that without the success of the 1949's WHITE HEAT, KISS TOMORROW
GOODBYE oould not have been made. But because WHITE HEAT was such a terrific
WB/Raoul Walsh hit, some sort of Cagney gangster follow up was inevitable.

KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE is an adaptation of Horace McCoy's late forties
hard-boiled novel and so far as I remember, a lot of the story was retained
for the film. However, KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE does not have the depth of
characterizaton that the novel has. In fact, KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE doesn't
have that same depth of characterization that WHITE HEAT has. Okay, that's
enough comparing WHITE HEAT with KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE.

KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE starts with the trial of ten or so of Ralph Carter's (Cagney)
crime associates, from crooked cops to the sister of one of his ex con
fellow escapees, who Carter killed during the escape. All of these people, from
craven career crooks or relatively innocent guys who went in with Carter
because of greed or cowardace, have their story to tell and it is told well
in a series of flashbacks.

The real problem is, in my opinion, with Carter/Cagney not there during the trial,
the dynamism is sort of lost. And as good as performers like Ward Bond, Barbara
Payton and the rest were, the energy and excitement of KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE rests
on James Cagney and James Cagney alone. But that's how the story unfolds and
maybe a more energetic director would have known how to keep things at a more
feverish pace.

So I have decided to give KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE a four star rating. It really is
a good movie and another chance to see James Cagney to put a slightly different spin
on his mentally ill criminal characterization. In fact, it's the last such criminal
Cagney would portray, not counting the renegade IRA/professor character he portrayed
in SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL in 1959. But that picture does not have the dynamic of
a hard boiled American gangster picture expertly produced by Warner Brothers
and starring the one and only James Cagney. Moviegoers both then and now are lucky
to be able to see Cagney do what he did best.