Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Written by Harry Brown from the novel by Horace McCoy
1950/USA
William Cagney Productions
First viewing/My DVD collection

[box] Holiday Carleton: He’s too smart for you!

Ralph Cotter: Oh no, he stopped being smart when he took my money.[/box]

This was a bit of a let-down after James Cagney’s inspired Cody Jarrett in White Heat the previous year.  It’s still entertaining though.

The film is bookended by testimony in a criminal trial of a number of the associates of Ralph Cotter (Cagney).  As the story begins, Cotter escapes from prison with a couple of other men. One of his fellow-escapees is shot.  Holiday Carlton (Barbara Payton), the sister of the slain man, is waiting in the getaway car.  Although Holiday blames Ralph for getting her brother shot and swears unending hatred for him, Holiday and Ralph are soon lovers.  Cotter then organizes a heist.

Violent and corrupt police inspector Charles Weber (Ward Bond) and sidekick John Reece (Barton MacLane) more or less stick Cotter up for the proceeds of the job.  But Cotter has a few tricks up his sleeve and with the help of equally corrupt lawyer Cherokee Mandon (Luther Adler) soon has the cops in the palm of his hand.  Then Cotter makes the fatal mistake of two-timing Holiday with an ex-governor’s daughter.

This was OK but I was expecting the crazier side of Cagney and he never showed up.  In fact, various characters refer to Cotter as crazy but the character seemed more clever and calculating that anything.  This doesn’t have the script or direction White Heat had going for it but is solid nonetheless.  It was good seeing all those Warner Bros. character actors in supporting roles.

Trailer