Wonderland Burlesque: Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies: It's In His Kiss

Thursday, June 04, 2026

Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies: It's In His Kiss - Part I

Wonderland Burlesque's

Let's All Go To The Movies:

It's In His Kiss

Part I

It's in his kiss.

Isn't that where it all begins?

A caress of the lips. A deep longing. Sharing a single breath?

On the silver screen such a kiss can be captured forever, frozen in time.

Or so these films would have us believe.

So, let's kiss and tell and spill the beans on these everlasting smacks, smooches, and snogs.

Yes, things can get pretty heated.

Chapstick exists for a reason, you know!

Grab a seat on the aisle.

Popcorn at the ready.

Pucker up and roll film!

- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

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The Good-bye Kiss

(1928)

A Great War American doughboy whom everyone, including his sweetheart, assumes is a coward, turns out to be a real hero.

This American synchronized sound comedy was directed by Mack Sennett and stars Johnny Burke, Sally Eilers, Matty Kemp, Wheeler Oakman, Irving Bacon and Lionel Belmore.

While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-disc Vitaphone process. The film featured a theme song entitled Your Good-Bye Kiss which was composed by Byron Gay and Neil Moret, along with Just Another Night which was composed by Walter Donaldson.

With his studio's fortunes spiraling ever downward, Mack Sennett helmed this surprisingly effective comedy-drama for Warner Brothers under their newly acquired First National subsidiary. Sennett's studio would be forced into bankruptcy in 1933 and sold to become Republic Pictures. Sennett would end his film career at Paramount working in their musical shorts division and would be all but forgotten by the mid-1930's.

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Kiss the Bride Goodbye

(1945)

Joan, a factory girl, has a mother who, concerned for her daughter's future prospects, wants her to marry her pompous boss, but Joan loves another - a sweet, but penniless soldier.

British romantic comedy drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Patricia Medina, Jimmy Hanley, Marie Lohr, Frederick Leister, and Jean Simmons.

This comedy romance was once thought lost, but turns out its prints had been taken to the US. It was re-released in the UK in 2013.

Jimmy Hanely and Patricia Medina

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "In spite of the worn-out central theme, leading to usual sort of jokes, this is a well-acted and directed comedy, with a strong supporting cast, and it will doubtless amuse many people."

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Kiss Tomorrow Good-bye

(1950)

During the trial of those who survived, we flash back to amoral crook Ralph Cotter's violent prison break, assisted by Holiday Carleton, sister of another prisoner... one who doesn't make it. Soon Ralph manipulates the grieving Holiday into his arms, and two crooked cops follow her into his pocket. Ralph's total lack of scruples brings him great success in a series of robberies. But his easy conquest of gullible heiress Margaret Dobson proves more dangerous to him than any crime!

Based on the novel by Horace McCoy, this American film noir was directed by Gordon Douglas and stars James Cagney, Barbara Payton, Helena Carter, Ward Bond, Luther Adler and Barton MacLane.

The film was banned in Ohio as "a sordid, sadistic presentation of brutality and an extreme presentation of crime with explicit steps in commission."

In February of 1950, the Cagney brothers (James and William) bought the film rights to the bestselling novel by Horace McCoy from independent producer William Schiffrin, who had beaten Humphrey Bogart and Robert Lord to the punch. William Cagney served as producer. This was the first of four movies that the Cagney brothers made for Warner Bros.

The film received mixed reviews. Critic Fred Camper, in The Chicago Reader, criticized the film's directing, writing: "Gordon Douglas's direction is almost incoherent compared to Raoul Walsh's in White Heat (1949), which features Cagney in a similar role; the compositions and camera movements, while momentarily effective, have little relationship to each other, and the film reads a bit like an orchestra playing without a conductor." On the other hand, William Brogdon of Variety liked the film, praising Cagney's performance by giving a tough character "an occasional light touch". He also commended Douglas's direction, the musical score, and its tight editing.

Both of the ingenues, Barbara Payton and Helena Carter, ended their movie careers in the early-to-mid 1950s; one happily, the other - not so much. Carter left the industry on her own terms in 1953 to marry and raise a family, and died of natural causes in 1997. Payton's career unfortunately ended in 1955 in a morass of alcoholism, arrests for such crimes as passing bad checks, public intoxication and prostitution. She died of heart and liver failure in 1967, brought about by years of heavy drinking.

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.

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Kiss Her Goodbye

(1959)

Emily Wilson is a beautiful, curvaceous young woman with the mental capacity of a six year old. This dichotomy has led to issues with men often trying to have their way with her, she in turn lashing out in fear, not understanding what's happening. Rather than keep her in an institution where he feels she has not received the love she requires to thrive as a person, her older brother Ed, her only relation, is her caregiver, the two of them constantly on the road traveling from place to place to escape the problems arising from her interactions with men. They are forced to stay in a small Florida seaside town for a few days when their car breaks down. There, they have the mix of the same potentially problematic issues of people who see her solely as a sexual object and others with whom they make a true human connection - which leads to Ed thinking about settling down in one place, this place.

Based on the novel by Wade Miller, this American psychological drama was directed by Albert Lipton and stars Elaine Stritch, Steven Hill, Gene Lyons, Andrew Prine and Sharon Farrell.

Sharon Farrell

Was filmed in Cuba and confiscated due to the Fidel Castro takeover of the country. As such, it was released later than planned.

Steven Hill and Sharon Farrell

Sharon Farrell and Andrew Prine, love interests in this film, married each other three years later. The marriage only lasted one month. Elaine Stritch, as we all know, is a much beloved gay icon. Steven Hill went on to great success in the television program Law and Order.

Elaine Stritch

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on Youtube.

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Kiss Me Good-bye

(1982)

Waiting a full three years after the death of her husband Jolly, Kay finally moves back into their former house, persuaded by her new fiancé Rupert. But soon her worst fears come true, when not only old memories haunt her, but also Jolly's ghost! Jolly, a former Broadway showman, immediately lets her know he doesn't approve of her new mate. Invisible to anyone but Kay, he does all he can to prevent the wedding.

A remake of Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, a 1976 Brazilian film, based on Jorge Amado's book of the same name, this American romantic comedy was directed by Robert Mulligan, and stars Sally Field, James Caan, Jeff Bridges, Claire Trevor and Mildred Natwick.

Producer and Director Robert Mulligan offered Sally Field a one million dollar salary, combined with top billing to attract her to the project. Field was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical for her performance.

This was screen legend Claire Trevor's final film.

Caan later said he disliked the film, as he did several ones in which he appeared either just to keep working or for the money. He claimed that director Robert Mulligan was the most incompetent filmmaker he had ever worked with. "A lot of mediocrity was produced." In a 1991 interview, Caan claimed that making Kiss Me Goodbye was one of the most unpleasant experiences of his life, and that as a consequence, he did not make another film for five years.

The film's theme song, But It's a Nice Dream, was written by Peter Allen and sung by Dusty Springfield.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that: "Robert Mulligan's Kiss Me Goodbye is like a Nassau cruise ship with eight bars, seven discos, five swimming pools and no compass. It sails out of New York, turns left instead of right at the Ambrose Lightship and heads confidently toward sunny Iceland. Mr. Mulligan's direction perfectly matches Charlie Peters's screenplay in that both are humorless. The leads aren't great either. Miss Fields is neither Sonia Braga nor Irene Dunne and Mr. Caan, who appears to be imitating Gene Kelly, can't. Mr. Bridges behaves as if he were a family's faithful old dog, the sort of slobbering animal that will sell his soul for a pat on the head."