Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950)

Starting with a violent prison break, clever, ruthless Ralph Cotter corrupts everyone around him.

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Harry Brown (screenplay), Horace McCoy (from "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye")

Stars:

James Cagney, Barbara Payton, Helena Carter

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Cagney	...	Ralph Cotter
Barbara Payton	...	Holiday Carleton
Helena Carter	...	Margaret Dobson
Ward Bond	...	Inspector Charles Weber
Luther Adler	...	Keith 'Cherokee' Mandon
Barton MacLane	...	Police Lt. John Reece
Steve Brodie	...	Joe 'Jinx' Raynor
Rhys Williams	...	Vic Mason
Herbert Heyes	...	Ezra Dobson
John Litel	...	Police Chief Sam Tolgate
William Frawley	...	Byers
Robert Karnes	...	Detective Tom Gray
Kenneth Tobey	...	Detective Fowler
Dan Riss	...	District Attorney
Frank Reicher	...	'Doc' Darius Green

Storyline

From the trial of the survivors, we flash back to amoral crook Ralph Cotter's violent prison break, assisted by Holiday Carleton, sister of another prisoner...who doesn't make it. Soon Ralph manipulates the grieving Holiday into his arms, and two crooked cops follow her into his pocket. Ralph's total lack of scruple brings him great success in a series of robberies. But his easy conquest of gullible heiress Margaret Dobson proves more dangerous to him than any crime...

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Plot Keywords:

robbery | blackmail | champagne | femme fatale | psychopath | 

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Taglines:

Unarmed... He's dangerous. Armed... He's Lethal.

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Corazón de hielo

Filming Locations:

Chino, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

William Cagney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the earliest films to involve a church that leans on Spiritualism over fundamental Religion: one that practices Cosmic Consciousness i.e. "The Psychology of Knowledge."

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Quotes

Holiday Carleton: He's too smart for you!
Ralph Cotter: Oh no, he stopped being smart when he took my money.

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Connections

Referenced in Messiah of Evil (1973)

User Reviews

very watchable Cagney flick

While this is not a great Cagney flick and it has a few silly plot elements, it is a surprisingly good film. This film immediately followed Cagney's best film (WHITE HEAT) and is a slight letdown because of this.

Mostly I like the movie because the plot, for a Noir film, takes so many odd and difficult to predict turns--it certainly is NOT like most of the other gangster films you've seen. Cagney isn't quite the total nut case he was in WHITE HEAT, but plays a Narcissistic Antisocial criminal. He has zero regard for others and is naturally drawn to the criminal life. BUT, because of his intense narcissism (i.e., self love), he cannot imagine his complex schemes and double-dealing NOT succeeding. He certainly BELIEVES in himself! At first, this makes him a very successful hood (which feeds his ego) and so he takes another risk (feeding his ego) and another and another until he ultimately destroys himself due to his arrogance.

So, I like the plot and interesting character study. The negative I noticed in the film is that some of the supporting cast really didn't seem like very good actors (particularly his blonde girlfriend). Maybe that's because Cagney IS the entire show.