Six men and one woman are on trial, and the prosecutor tells the jury that each one is evil. The camera slowly pans past the group, which includes several veteran character actors, while the prosecutor says that an eighth defendant should be on trial with them. The first witness is then called from that group, and as he begins to testify, the story flashes back to a prison scene. The eighth person is likely James Cagney, who reprises his iconic gangster persona in "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye." However, the film and his performance are less engaging than "White Heat" made only a year earlier. Although still a charismatic actor, Cagney is in a mid-career limbo; past his prime as a young tough and prior to his re-emergence as a distinguished elder character actor.
Unlike his Cody Jarrett in "White Heat," at age 51, Cagney is visibly too old for the part of Ralph Cotter, and his age is a factor in the film's disappointment. The two young women who play Cagney's romantic interests are young enough to be his daughters, and the love scenes between them lack any chemistry, spark, or believability. Cagney's appeal to the two young women, especially the reckless young heiress, is mystifying, and, when her father addresses Cagney as "young man," viewers will question the man's eyesight. However, the tougher grittier scenes, planning heists or conspiring to entrap corrupt cops, evoke some of the early Warner Brothers gangster epics that featured Cagney, Robinson, and Muni at their best.
Unfortunately, Harry Brown's screenplay, from a novel of the same title by Horace McCoy, often lacks credibility. The heists seem unplanned, casual, and even sloppy. One robbery occurs in broad daylight at a neighborhood grocery, where the criminals regularly shop; the robbers use no disguises, yet, incredibly, a witness after wards claims to have seen nothing but the guns, and other witnesses, who clearly saw the men, are not even questioned. Equally astounding, Brown evidently thinks that feigning a fever is enough to fool prison guards and successfully break out. While the supporting players include such stalwarts as Ward Bond, Luther Adler, and Barton MacLane, the plot is not worthy of their talents. Character motivations are often unexplained or non-existent. Arguably the film's worst performance is given by Barbara Payton as Holiday Carleton, a suitably pulp-fiction character name; her histrionics and mood swings are overly dramatic and unbelievable, to be polite.
Produced by Cagney's brother, William, and directed by Gordon Douglas, the film has the look of a modestly budgeted programmer, the bottom half of a double bill. While not really bad, "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye," despite a great pulp-fiction title, is just not good enough; certainly not good enough to be the vehicle for a great star, even one beyond his prime. Viewers may want to revisit "White Heat" instead.
