Tomorrow is Another Day / Highway 301

TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY, 1951, Warner Bros., 90 min. Handsome Steve Cochran – he of the perpetual 5 o’clock shadow -- racked up a slew of noir credits before his premature death in 1965, including WHITE HEAT, PRIVATE HELL 36 and THE DAMNED DON’T CRY. Here, he’s an ex-con who’s never been with a woman. Ruth Roman is a dime-a-dance dame with no use for sappy men. A hotel room, a dirty cop, a gunshot -- the perfect jumping-off point for a fugitives-on-the-run love story.

HIGHWAY 301, 1950, Warner Bros., 83 min. Director Andrew L. Stone (CRY TERROR!) was known primarily for musicals (including the pioneering black performers’ showcase STORMY WEATHER with Lena Horne) before suddenly switching to a solid decade of hardboiled yarns shot largely on authentic locations. This was the first in that vein, and one of the best. Steve Cochran is among our favorite noir tough guys -- here he's a cold-blooded outlaw leading the "Tri-State Gang" on a robbery and murder spree.