Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye *** (1950, James Cagney, Barbara Payton, Ward Bond, Luther Adler, Helena Carter, Steve Brodie, Rhys Williams, Barton MacLane, Frank Reicher, John Litel, William Frawley, Neville Brand, Kenneth Tobey) – Classic Movie Review 13,940

Director Gordon Douglas’s 1950 black and white film noir Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is written by Harry Brown, based on a novel by Horace McCoy, and stars James Cagney and Barbara Payton, along with Ward Bond, Luther Adler, Helena Carter, Steve Brodie, Rhys Williams, Barton MacLane, Frank Reicher, John Litel, William Frawley, Neville Brand, and Kenneth Tobey.

Returning to a gangster role after years away through fears of being typecast, James Cagney finds an appropriately tough vehicle, playing Ralph Cotter, a gangster who escapes from jail and resumes his career in crime.

Cagney is on good form in this unpleasant career criminal role, and this little-known film is energised and entertaining if not quite the success of the similar White Heat, maybe because director Douglas isn’t quite as distinguished and imaginative as Raoul Walsh, though still he is still strong and capable enough. J Peverell Marley’s black and white cinematography is authentic noir. The story (based on Horace McCoy’s bestselling novel published in 1948) is authentic pulp.

The great supporting players are major assets to the movie. It is a very fine team indeed. Luther Adler plays a crooked lawyer, while Ward Bond and Barton MacLane play crooked cops. Cagney’s real-life brother William plays his brother (uncredited), as well as producing the film.

Complaints of it being sordid, sadistic and brutal led it to being banned in Ohio.

Filming began on April 14, 1950, at General Service Studios (now Sunset Las Palmas Studios) in Hollywood, and it was released on August 4, 1950 (US) by Warner Bros. Pictures.

The film was restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in 2011.

It is the first of four movies that the Cagney brothers made for release by Warner Bros. They bought the film rights in February 1950. The plan was to pay off their $500,000 debts to the banks from The Time of Your Life (1948). Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye took only $1.7 million at the box office, so that may not have happened.

American writer Horace McCoy (April 14, 1897 – December 15, 1955) was famed for his hardboiled stories set in the Great Depression. His best-known novel is They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1935), made into the 1969 movie They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? 

Screenwriter Harry Brown won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 1951 film A Place in the Sun (shared with Michael Wilson).

Cast: James Cagney as Ralph Cotter, Barbara Payton as Holiday Carleton, Ward Bond as Insp. Charles Weber, Luther Adler as Keith ‘Cherokee’ Mandon, Helena Carter as Margaret Dobson, Barton MacLane as Lt. John Reece, Steve Brodie as Joe ‘Jinx’ Raynor, Rhys Williams as Vic Mason, Frank Reicher, John Litel as Police Chief Tolgate, William Frawley as Byers, Neville Brand as Carleton, Kenneth Tobey, Herbert Heyes as Ezra Dobson, Robert Karnes, Dan Riss, John Halloran, William Cagney as Ralph Cotter’s Brother, Georgia Caine, John Daheim, King Donovan, Jack Gargan, Frank Marlowe, Matt McHugh, Charles Meredith, Gordon Richards, Dick Rich, Ric Roman, George Spaulding, Mark Strong, Ann Tyrrell, Frank Wilcox, Mack Williams.

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is directed by Gordon Douglas, runs 103 minutes, is made by William Cagney Productions, is released by Warner Bros, is written by Harry Brown, based on a novel by Horace McCoy, is shot in black and white by J Peverell Marley, is produced by William Cagney, is scored by Carmen Dragon, and is designed by Wiard Ihnen.

© Derek Winnert 2026 – Classic Movie Review 13,940

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com