Search - Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children Movie Release: 1950 DVD Release: 03/26/2002 Format: DVD - Black and White Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 42 mins Studio: Republic Pictures Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Crime, Film Noir, Crime Thriller, Gangster Film

Based on a novel by Horace McCoy (They Shoot Horses, Don't They), Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye offers James Cagney at his nastiest. The star plays career criminal Ralph Cotter, who gets things started by violently busting out of jail, then murdering his partner in crime. Seeking out female companionship, he "courts" his ex-partner's sister Holiday (Barbara Payton) by beating her black and blue. After committing a robbery, he is approached by two crooked cops who want a piece of the action. Blackmailing the cops, Cotter gains control of the situation. Is there any way to stop this fascinating creep? Filmgoers in Ohio never found out, because Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye was banned in that state as "a sordid, sadistic presentation of brutality and an extreme presentation of crime with explicit steps in commission." Supporting Cagney are Luther Adler as his equally crooked lawyer, Ward Bond and Barton MacLane as the dishonest cops, and Cagney's brother William (who produced the film) as Ralph Cotter's brother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Cagney - Ralph Cotter
Barbara Payton - Holiday Carleton
Helena Carter - Margaret Dobson
Ward Bond - Inspector Weber
Luther Adler - Cherokee Mandon

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is one of James Cagney's more personal films, a movie he produced himself and chose very deliberately as a follow-up to White Heat. Artisan Entertainment's disc is a generally excellent transfer of the film from a good quality source -- what mostly looks like a nicely preserved fine-grain print, though some of the middle reels seem a little soft in texture. The movie was originally distributed by Warner Bros., and most of the disc looks as good as any of Warner Home Video's releases of classic 40's titles such as The Big Sleep, Key Largo, or The Maltese Falcon -- that's saying a lot for the workmanship here, because this disc runs circles around many of Artisan's earlier issues of titles from Republic Pictures' catalog (of which Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is a part).

This DVD is the way to finally see this movie properly. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is usually treated as a poor relation to Cagney's earlier crime films and has never had half the reputation that it deserves. This release runs circles around the old laserdisc edition -- though the medium shots lose a little resolution, in many of the close-ups you can just about see the pores in Cagney's skin. Beyond that, the audio is also mastered at a reasonably high volume level, which not only brings out the dialogue and sound effects (there's a lot of mayhem in this picture), as well as Carmen Dragon's score, which is written very much in the manner and tradition of Max Steiner. The DVD opens with a handy montage of the action scenes before going to the menu, which offers only a choice between "play" and a scene breakdown. The producers have provided 24 chapter breaks in a 102 minute movie, which is generous and much appreciated since this is a busier movie than White Heat in terms of plot and it rates the treatment. One only wishes that a trailer could have been included, but at half the price of the laserdisc, this DVD is a bargain. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide