although not up to the high standard of his previous work in white heat the year before and kiss tomorrow goodbye be still a worthy follow up for james cagney . whereas cagney cody jarrett in white heat be a deranged psychopathic killer and his character here ( ralph cotter ) be more of a calculate cynic who play on the fear and weakness of others . he the type of ruthless criminal who could corrupt a cloister of nun and he leave a trail of misery wherever his path take him . unfortunately and he have one lovely lady name holiday who believe all his lie and will do his bidding without question . play by the beautiful barbara payton and holiday do all she can to aid and abet cotter until he take away the only other person she love in the world represent her brother . that a mistake that cotter pay for in one of the most well remember death scene in 1950 cinema . veteran director gordon douglas keep the brutal action move at a brisk pace and he employ a trove of famous character actor who weave themselves in and out of the twisted plot . ward bond be around a a suspicious cop with a shady past . good look helena carter play a young and very rich socialite who cagney take advantage of so he can pass himself off a legitimate . kenneth tobey play an honest detective and theyre in short supply in this film . barton maclane and john litel and luther adler and william frawley ( fred mertz from i love lucy ) round out the stellar cast . director douglas have a prolific career direct a slew of famous and not so famous film all the way into the late 1970 . cagney and a always and dominate the screen whenever he appear and his performance definitely raise the level of this work quite a few notch . without him and kiss tomorrow goodbye would have be a standard 1950 cop and robber film with few redeem value . a it stand and the movie be not a classic like some of cagney other gangster epic and but it certainly have it moment especially at the end . when ms. payton find out that cagney have murder her brother and she get the opportunity to give new meaning to the title . she stick a gun in jimmy face and spit out the word you can kiss tomorrow goodbye .