There's the great scene in "The Public Enemy" where Cagney leans against the lamppost in the rain, defining his character and persona as a force to be reckoned with. In "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye", it's the one where the oblique upward camera angle captures Ralph Cotter over the garage pit right after he dumps the body of Vic Mason (Rhys Williams). It personifies the 'stark staring nuts' quality of Cagney's character, ranking him right up there with Tom Powers and Cody Jarrett.<br /><br />The film skillfully weaves together strands of various sub plots to create a masterful gangster drama, even if it isn't as well known as Jimmy Cagney's premier movies. Teaming up Ward Bond and Barton MacLane as corrupt cops comes in stark contrast to their pairing in Bogart's "The Maltese Falcon"; it never took much time for Inspector Weber (Bond) to cave in to Cotter's demands when it meant a bigger and bigger payoff. Somehow I don't think the cheesecake calendar in Weber's office would be deemed politically correct today.<br /><br />I'm a bit apprehensive over the Holiday Carleton character, I actually found her to be somewhat pathetic, particularly when she trades lip locks with Cotter after he slaps her around with a towel. Then again right after she manages to miss Cotter with all that kitchen artillery. For Cotter to be attracted to her didn't require much of a stretch though, he was as much a womanizer as a maniac.<br /><br />Here's a puzzler. When it was revealed that Ezra Dobson was the most powerful man in the state, and that he could get the goods on anyone within twenty four hours, how is it he didn't find out that there was no such person as Paul Murphy? As mad as he was when he first discovered Cotter/Murphy and his daughter together, I wonder what he would have done if he hadn't caught the newlyweds fully clothed in separate beds. <br /><br />Even though a modern day remake of the film would find a way to eliminate those pesky plot points, I'm not sure you'll ever find a better gangster to take a powder on screen than Cagney's death scene here, in an ode to the movie's title; it was brilliant. If one didn't know better, it looks like it might have reflected a personal experience. I wonder though, if an earlier line uttered by an off screen elevator operator was meant to reference Cotter's ultimate fate when he asked - "Going down?"