Very well executed

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

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.

As far as early-1950's Crime/Thrillers go, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (KTG, for short) was definitely something of a major let-down.This film, which starred veteran actor James Cagney (who at 51 was clearly too old and too tired-looking for his part), had the distinctive feel of being a "quickie" written all over it.And, speaking about James Cagney, I think (in his latter years) that he made for a mighty poor leading man. And here in KTG the viewer was expected to believe that this 5' 6" pipsqueak was a real lady-killer who was able to juggle, not one, but 2 hot, young babes (who were both bitterly jealous of each other) at one time.I mean, c'mon, this "lover-boy" business was just too unconvincing for words, especially since Cagney's character was such an unlikable, little bully with a huge chip on his shoulder to begin with.KTG's story was primarily a courtroom drama where each of the characters got their chance to recall (in extended flashbacks) their involvement in a payroll caper. This predictable, little tale featured the usual line-up of crooked cops, slimy lawyers and, yes (get this!), even newlyweds who slept in separate beds.My advice would be to pass on this dud. With there obviously being so many superior films from that era to chose from, there's no point in one wasting their time watching something as mediocre as this.

Some people here are claiming that this is very similar to WHITE HEAT down to Cagney playing a violent villain in the same vein as Cody Jarrett . I disagree . Ralph Cotter is a violent anti-hero and that's what he is - an anti-hero where as Cody Jarrett is one of the most terrifying psychotic screen villains committed to celluloid which on that score alone makes WHITE HEAT an all time classic of cinema . KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE is a much lesser known film and there might be a very good reason to this The good points are that it stars Cagney . Let's be blunt and say Cagney was never an actor but he was a movie star and his idiosyncratic style can carry the most mediocre of material . The story for the most part is very engaging and what makes Ralph Cotter an anti-hero the audience can empathise with is the fact he's usually only killing and blackmailing villains , stool pigeons and corrupt officials . Do your job , don't grass on your friends , behave yourself and you'll have nothing to worry about from Ralph Where the story falls down quite badly is that there's a couple of character subplots involving dames . One involving a female called Holliday Carleton makes some sense but the other involving Margaret Dobson does not and it's impossible to believe this young woman would have any romantic attraction to Ralph . You also have to overlook the fact that Ralph is a hunted man and yet nearly everyone from traffic cops to Margaret's father fail to recognise Ralph . These two romantic subplots seem merely to exist to set up the ending . In other words the story structure is painfully contrived in order to bring the story to an end and it's this that stops KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE from being a classic crime drama instead of being a watchable thriller

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is directed by Gordon Douglas and adapted to screenplay by Harry Brown from the novel by Horace McCoy. It stars James Cagney, Barbara Payton, Helena Carter, Ward Bond, Luther Adler and Steve Brodie. Music is by Carmen Dragon and photography by J. Peverell Marley. Ralph Cotter (Cagney), career criminal, escapes from prison and crudely murders his partner during the escape. Hooking up with Holiday Carleton (Payton), the oblivious sister of the slain partner, Cotter quickly gets back into a life of crime and violence. But will his evil deed stay a secret? How long can he keep the corrupt coppers under wraps? And is his "other" romantic relationship with Margaret Dobson (Carter) doomed to failure? ……Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, it seems to have been lost in the slipstream of White Heat that was released the previous year. An undoubted classic of the gangster/crime genre, and featuring one of Cagney's greatest acting performances, White Heat has unsurprisingly dwarfed many a poor genre entry. However, while it doesn't equal the searing ferocity of White Heat, both in tone and character performance by Cagney, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is a seriously hard movie. Energetic from the off, film is often brutal and cynical and awash with potently memorable scenes, with some deemed as being too much, resulting in the film being banned from theatres in Ohio! Female or a cripple, it matters not to the menacing force of nature that is Ralph Cotter. Gordon Douglas was a multi genre director, unfussy and able to keep things taut, he gets some super performances from the cast while never letting the pace drag. Cagney is a given, give him this sort of character and let him run with it, in fact it is arguably a detriment to the film as a whole, that it can't match Cagney's blood and thunder show? But Bond (big bad corrupt copper), Brodie (Cotter side-kick) and Adler (shifty lawyer) do shine through with imposing turns. Of much interest is the dual lady characters in Cotter's life. Both very different from each other, this gives the film a double whammy of femme fatales in waiting. Payton takes the honours, in what is the best written part in the film. Her Holiday Carleton is a good girl drawn in to a murky life by a bad man, while Carter as bored rich girl Margaret Dobson is the polar opposite, she likes fast cars and dangerous men, allowing the actress to deftly sidle in with impact in the smaller role. Photography isn't out of the ordinary, and the music is standard boom and bluster for a crime picture. But this is about Cagney's performance and the grim thematics contained within, and much like Ralph Cotter, it doesn't pull its punches. Finally sealing the deal with an ending that firmly pulls the movie into the film noir universe. 8/10