Non ci sarà domani

One of the four films made by James Cagney and his brother William for Warner Bros. and directed by journeyman Gordon Douglas this was intended to capitalise on the success of 'White Heat' but failed to do so. This gritty, visceral and deeply cynical film is not without merit however. Strong performnces here from Ward Bond as a corrupt cop and Luther Adler as a seedy lawyer is almost Mephistophelian. What can one say about Cagney? Orson Welles considered him the greatest and in this he was not far wrong. Very few actors could play a psychopathic hood so convincingly yet still be sufficiently charming to capture the affections of the millionaire's daughter, played by classy former model Helena Carter. Critics found this ludicrous of course and made a point of emphasising Cagney's 'maturity'. Producer William was by all accounts thoroughly taken by the sexual charisma of Barbara Payton but of course he was far from being the only one! Of all the sad tales of Tinseltown hers was surely one of the saddest. No need to dwell on this as her bio is freely accessible on IMDB for those who can bear to read it. Mainly peopled by beastly characters with no redeeming features at all this film has sufficient twists and turns to maintain ones interest and has a mesmerising central performance by Mr. Cagney.

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.

Spoilers here.

If they made this movie today, they would call it "White Heat 2: Cody Lives". Cagney is as ruthless as in White Heat, but here, his pathology is under control, (brain surgery after his Oil Tank "accident" in Part 1?) so he can blackmail cops and smoothly double-cross his erstwhile moll while skimming wherever else and whenever he can. In the first couple of minutes of the film, he shoots a fellow prison escapee "just because". His sense of loyalty to his supposed accomplices goes downhill from there.

Barbara Payton is a more resonant and convincing actress than Virginia Mayo, and it can be argued that her strength as an actress creates much of the tension here: We want to see her get wise to the Cagney character's dirty game, and also succeed in avenging her brother's death (the fellow escapee shot in the beginning of the film). And unlike the case of Virginia Mayo's unsympathetic moll in White Heat, we actually do root for her to gain a comeuppance against the Cagney character. But we're torn. Cagney has so much natural charisma, even when playing a snake, that we can never entirely want him to get his. There is a sense of justice and inevitability to the ending. But there remains the nagging hurt feeling at what Cagney-- with all that bristling energy and industry and charisma-- COULD have accomplished if he hadn't succumbed to the dark side. Ten stars. See it!

"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" is about a jail convict (James Cagney) who escapes from prison and goes on the run, relentlessly pursued. He eventually winds up in a small town where he gets a girl and starts a normal life, but begins to corrupt everyone around him.

The movie is not very well known and I'm not sure quite why. Although this movie might not be definitive film noir it surely carries certain elements of the genre, and of course it's got James Cagney in it, one of the ultimate veterans of the genre! Cagney delivers a really solid performance and comes across as both likable and despicable. We feel for him and those around him as his bad influence spreads and the tragic tale takes a turn for the worst.

Although it's a very clear moral tale and ends up exactly where we can expect, "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" is nevertheless a very good, underrated film whose virtually nonexistent reputation is as depressing as the film itself.