Although not up to the high standards of his previous work in "White Heat" the year before, "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" is still a worthy follow-up for James Cagney. Whereas Cagney's Cody Jarrett in "White Heat" was a deranged psychopathic killer, his character here (Ralph Cotter) is more of a calculating cynic who plays on the fears and weaknesses of others. He's the type of ruthless criminal who could corrupt a cloister of nuns and he leaves a trail of misery wherever his path takes him. Unfortunately, he has one lovely lady named Holiday who believes all his lies and will do his bidding without question. Played by the beautiful Barbara Payton, Holiday does all she can to aid and abet Cotter until he takes away the only other person she loves in the world: her brother. That's a mistake that Cotter pays for in one of the most well-remembered death scenes in 1950's cinema.
Veteran director Gordon Douglas keeps the brutal action moving at a brisk pace and he employs a trove of famous character actors who weave themselves in and out of the twisted plot. Ward Bond is around as a suspicious cop with a shady past. Good-looking Helena Carter plays a young and very rich socialite who Cagney takes advantage of so he can pass himself off as legitimate. Kenneth Tobey plays an honest detective and they're in short supply in this film. Barton MacLane, John Litel, Luther Adler and William Frawley (Fred Mertz from "I Love Lucy") round out the stellar cast. Director Douglas had a prolific career directing a slew of famous and not-so-famous films all the way into the late 1970's. Cagney, as always, dominates the screen whenever he appears and his performance definitely raises the level of this work quite a few notches. Without him, "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" would've been a standard 1950's "cops and robbers" film with few redeeming values. As it stands, the movie is not a classic like some of Cagney's other gangster epics, but it certainly has its moments---especially at the end. When Ms. Payton finds out that Cagney has murdered her brother, she gets the opportunity to give new meaning to the title. She sticks a gun in Jimmy's face and spits out the words "You can KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE!"
Veteran director Gordon Douglas keeps the brutal action moving at a brisk pace and he employs a trove of famous character actors who weave themselves in and out of the twisted plot. Ward Bond is around as a suspicious cop with a shady past. Good-looking Helena Carter plays a young and very rich socialite who Cagney takes advantage of so he can pass himself off as legitimate. Kenneth Tobey plays an honest detective and they're in short supply in this film. Barton MacLane, John Litel, Luther Adler and William Frawley (Fred Mertz from "I Love Lucy") round out the stellar cast. Director Douglas had a prolific career directing a slew of famous and not-so-famous films all the way into the late 1970's. Cagney, as always, dominates the screen whenever he appears and his performance definitely raises the level of this work quite a few notches. Without him, "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" would've been a standard 1950's "cops and robbers" film with few redeeming values. As it stands, the movie is not a classic like some of Cagney's other gangster epics, but it certainly has its moments---especially at the end. When Ms. Payton finds out that Cagney has murdered her brother, she gets the opportunity to give new meaning to the title. She sticks a gun in Jimmy's face and spits out the words "You can KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE!"