Directed by Gordon Douglas
Cagney Productions, Inc./Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. Producer: William Cagney. Screenwriter: Harry Brown. Cinematographer: Peverell Marley. Editors: Truman K. Wood, Walter Henneman. With: James Cagney, Barbara Payton, Helena Carter, Ward Bond, Luther Adler. 35mm, b/w, 103 min.
After his brilliantly ruthless performance in the highly successful White Heat (1949, Raoul Walsh), James Cagney and brother William were contractually free from Warner Bros. to go off on their own to produce Cagney’s next project. The perfect follow-up vehicle for Cagney seemed to be screenwriter Harry Brown’s adaptation of the sordid 1948 crime novel Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye by Horace McCoy (best known for his 1935 novel They Shoot Horses, Don’t They).
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye tells the story of wild hoodlum Ralph Cotter (played by Cagney), who after a daring prison jailbreak, careens out of control via a repugnant mess of twisted associations, heists, and blackmail schemes. Ward Bond, Barbara Payton, and the particularly effective Luther Adler deliver solid performances that virtually slip into the background as Cagney snarls, struts, and chews up the scenery in his final time playing a gangster. The performance almost becomes a cartoonish characterization of his past roles (particularly in one scene when the famous grapefruit found in The Public Enemy is now replaced by a creamer). Fittingly, the film was banned in Ohio once state lawmakers deemed it “a sordid, sadistic presentation of crime with explicit steps in commission.”
Primarily remembered for his successful work on the Our Gang comedy shorts at Hal Roach Studios before his many respected projects at Warner Bros., Gordon Douglas’ efficient direction suits the sadistic low-budget independent production. Even though some critics felt that this film lacked the visceral one-two punch that worked so well for Cagney in the 1930s and 1940s, it is still regarded as one of the better post-war gangster films. British critic Raymond Dugnat later called the film “quiet and astonishing” and compared it to A Place In the Sun (also written by Brown and released the very next year).
In an interesting trivia side note, Cagney’s producer brother William makes a minor appearance as the lead character’s brother at the end of the film during a crucial courtroom scene.
Todd Wiener
Preserved in cooperation with Paramount Pictures from the original 35mm nitrate picture and track negatives and a 35mm safety print. Laboratory services by The Stanford Theatre Film Laboratory, Audio Mechanics, DJ Audio, Film Technology Company, Inc. Special thanks to: Barry Allen and Andrea Kalas.
