Non ci sarà domani

James Cagney shines, and at times even seems to glow in the dark in this rugged follow-up to White Heat, directed with great verve by Gordon Douglas. It's a somewhat neglected film, maybe because it's basically a gangster picture rather than a noir, and rather late in the day for such things. The supporting cast features Barbara Payton; Luther Adler, in a Howard Da Silva role, as an eccentric lawyer, and who almost steals the show from Cagney; Rhys Williams, effortlessly playing an American; William Frawley, for nostalgia; and Ward Bond, neanderthal as ever, as a dogged, corrupt plainclothesman. Good, fast-paced and at times surprisingly violent, this movie will not put you to sleep.

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.

Yup, "Cody Jarrett" was in business for one more tough-guy gangster character. 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.

I can't believe that this film is not well known. Get rid of the terrible courtroom framing device, and you have a gangster masterpiece. Coming on the heels of Cagney's better known White Heat, this film takes violence and corruption to a new level. This film starts off with a brutal jail break and never slows down. The cold blooded violence portrayed is quite jaw dropping. Cagney was born to play this role. He is clearly relishing his cold blooded character. The freshness of this film is surprising. You are totally caught off guard. In this sense, it reminds me most of Kiss Me Deadly. For anyone with a passing interest in Cagney, or gangster films, or film-noir, or film violence, watch this film!!!!!!!

Gangster Cotter escapes prison and schemes his way into city underworld, leaving trail of broken bodies and broken hearts behind.

Cagney's pushing 50, but you'd never know it from the energy level. Ever the human dynamo, he's dishing it out to both the competition and the dames. True, it's a stretch when old man Dobson calls Cotter (Cagney) "young man", but you hardly notice. This is the legend's final gangster film. It may not be the best, still it is fast, tough, and unsentimental.

Once again, Cagney's the outlaw entrepreneur working his way up the money ladder with little more than guts, wits, and a .45 (automatic, please). Along the way, he corrals two crooked cops, a shady lawyer, a double-crossing garageman, and notorious Hollywood bad girl Barbara Payton. Looks like everybody's got an angle of some kind, just the types Cotter can subordinate to his relentless drive. The ending is really ironic when you think about it. This is a stone-cold movie. Hardly anyone's likable, least of all Cotter. His cocksure ambition fascinates even as it repels. Only a secure-in-his-skin actor like Cagney would risk a role as unsympathetic as this.

I wish IMDb had more on screenwriter Harry Brown (not Harry Joe Brown of the Ranown cycle of Westerns). This Harry Brown did a number of high quality screenplays (A Place in the Sun; Ocean's Eleven et al.), including the one here. Director Douglas manages several nice touches, such as the true believer at the phony psychic session. Note, however, that the quarry killings are not shown, at least in the version I've seen. In fact, showing that may have pushed the producers over the censorship line.

All in all, it's a worthy slice of thick ear for gangster Cagney to go out on, especially that last scene with it's great title line.

The criminal Ralph Cotter (James Cagney) and his partner Carleton (Neville Brand) flee from the prison, but Carleton is wounded and Ralph executes him with a bullet on the head. Carleton's sister Holiday (Barbara Payton) helps Ralph to escape and kills a guard. The clever Ralph manipulates Holiday and she becomes his lover. Then he blackmails and bribes the dirty Inspector Charles Weber (Ward Bond) and Lieutenant John Reece (Barton MacLane) and associates to the corrupt lawyer Keith 'Cherokee' Mandon (Luther Adler). Ralph gets a new identity and he gets a license to carry gun. When Ralph meets the wealthy Margaret Dobson (Helena Carter), Mandon advises him that she is a dangerous woman, since her father is the powerful Ezra Dobson (Herbert Heyes). But the ambitious Ralph does not pay attention to Mandon's advice and leaves Holiday with tragic consequences.

"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" is a combination of film-noir and gangster movie perfect to James Cagney in his usual role. The violent story is developed in flashback and Ralph Cotter is a ruthless and ambitious criminal that ends his career due to a female fatale, in an environment of crooked cops and lawyer. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Amanhã que não Virá" ("The Tomorrow that Will not Come")