Hold Back Tomorrow 1955
Hold Back Tomorrow
A condemned murderer, scheduled to hang in the morning, asks for the company of a woman in his final hours.
A condemned murderer, scheduled to hang in the morning, asks for the company of a woman in his final hours.
Videos & Photos
All 0 Videos & 8 Photoscast
Full Cast & CrewUser reviews
See All 1 Reviews20 Jun 2023 by CinemaSerf
This is my favourite performance from the otherwise rather sterile John Agar. He is "Joe", on death row having been found guilty of strangling three women. He's decided to go out in Garbo style, wanting to be alone and angrily resisting any attempts from his family, or the priest, to comfort him as the big day nears. With twenty-four hours to go, though, he decides that the "company" of a lady might help ease his burden and obliged to help him out, the prison manage to recruit "Dora" (Cleo Moore). Now she's not in a very good place either - indeed had earlier tried to jump in the river; so a few dollars for a quickie with "Joe" didn't seem such a bad offer. Whilst there is certainly a predictability about the latter portion of this drama, it's still performed well and is tautly directed by Hugo Haas. Moore delivers an impassioned effort, indeed in many ways her character is far more intriguing than the sorry-for-himself "Joe". It is a bit dialogue-heavy, but for the most part that dialogue is worth listening to as we head towards the expected denouement - expected on just about every level. It does sail perilously close to melodrama at times, but it has a compensating grittiness and realism that I felt made this a much better than average tale to tell. You probably won't remember it for long afterwards, but it's enthralling enough when you watch.
Release Date:
Nov 01, 1955 (United States)
Run Time:
1hr 15`
MMPA Rating:
NR
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United States
Status:
Released

Related Movies To
Hold Back Tomorrow
This is my favourite performance from the otherwise rather sterile John Agar. He is "Joe", on death row having been found guilty of strangling three women. He's decided to go out in Garbo style, wanting to be alone and angrily resisting any attempts from his family, or the priest, to comfort him as the big day nears. With twenty-four hours to go, though, he decides that the "company" of a lady might help ease his burden and obliged to help him out, the prison manage to recruit "Dora" (Cleo Moore). Now she's not in a very good place either - indeed had earlier tried to jump in the river; so a few dollars for a quickie with "Joe" didn't seem such a bad offer. Whilst there is certainly a predictability about the latter portion of this drama, it's still performed well and is tautly directed by Hugo Haas. Moore delivers an impassioned effort, indeed in many ways her character is far more intriguing than the sorry-for-himself "Joe". It is a bit dialogue-heavy, but for the most part that dialogue is worth listening to as we head towards the expected denouement - expected on just about every level. It does sail perilously close to melodrama at times, but it has a compensating grittiness and realism that I felt made this a much better than average tale to tell. You probably won't remember it for long afterwards, but it's enthralling enough when you watch.
Cast & Crew of
Hold Back Tomorrow
Directors & Credit Writers
... Assistant Director
... Director
... Script Supervisor
Cast
... Dora
... Joe Cardos
... Priest
DB
Dallas Boyd... Warden
... Clara
... First Guard
... Detective
... Escort Girl
... Proprietress
KR
Kay Riehl... Warden's Wife
JE
Jan Englund... Girl
PG
Pat Goldin... Dancing Comedian
Produced By
... Producer
RE
Robert Erlik... Associate Producer