James Cagney
Acting
James Francis Cagney, Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) was an American film actor. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of roles, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys". In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time. In his first performing role, Cagney danced dressed as a woman in the chorus line of the 1919 revue Every Sailor. He spent several years in vaudeville as a hoofer and comedian until his first major acting role in 1925. He secured several other roles, receiving good reviews before landing the lead in the 1929 play Penny Arcade. After rave reviews for his acting, Warners signed him for an initial $500 a week, three-week contract to reprise his role; this was quickly extended to a seven year contract. Cagney's seventh film, The Public Enemy, became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period. Notable for its famous grapefruit scene, the film thrust Cagney into the spotlight, making him one of Warners' and Hollywood's biggest stars. In 1938, he received his first Academy Award Best Actor nomination for Angels with Dirty Faces, before winning in 1942 for his portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy. He was nominated a third time in 1955 for Love Me or Leave Me. Cagney retired for 20 years in 1961, spending time on his farm before returning for a part in Ragtime mainly to aid his recovery from a stroke. Cagney walked out on Warners several times over his career, each time coming back on improved personal and artistic terms. In 1935, he sued Warners for breach of contract and won; this marked one of the first times an actor had beaten a studio over a contract issue. He worked for an independent film company for a year while the suit was settled, and also established his own production company, Cagney Productions, in 1942 before returning to Warners again four years later. Jack Warner called him "The Professional Againster", in reference to Cagney’s refusal to be pushed around. Cagney also made numerous morale-boosting troop tours before and during World War II, and was President of the Screen Actors Guild for two years.
Becoming Marilyn
Parkinson at 50
Self (archive footage)
This Is Bob Hope...
Self (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
Self (archive footage)
Warner at War
(archive footage)
Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film
Self (archive footage)
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
Self (archive footage)
Angels with Dirty Faces: Whaddya Hear? Whaddya Say?
Self (archive footage)
Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public
Self (archive footage)
White Heat: Top of the World
Self (archive footage)
Remembering Ragtime
NY Police Commissioner Rheinlander Waldo (archive footage)
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Tom Powers in The Public Enemy (archive footage)
Tupac: Resurrection
Self (archival)
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
Doris Day: It's Magic
Self
Bogart: The Untold Story
Self (archive footage)
James Cagney: Top of the World
Self (Archive footage)
Movie Tough Guys
Self (archive footage)
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Self (archive footage)
That's Dancing!
From 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (archive footage)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
Self (archive footage)
Terrible Joe Moran
Joe Moran
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Showbiz Goes to War
(archive footage)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
(in "White Heat") (archive footage)
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Self (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars
Self
James Cagney: That Yankee Doodle Dandy
Ragtime
New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
Self
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
It's Showtime
Self (archive footage)
Hooray for Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television
(archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
Dynamite Chicken
Self (archive footage)
Arizona Bushwhackers
Narrator
Ballad of Smokey the Bear
Narrator (voice)
The Day of the Oath
Narrator
The Road to the Wall
Narrator
One, Two, Three
C.R. MacNamara
The Gallant Hours
Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey
Shake Hands with the Devil
Sean Lenihan
Never Steal Anything Small
Jake MacIllaney
Short Cut to Hell
Himself (prologue)
Man of a Thousand Faces
Lon Chaney
The Bob Hope Chevy Show
Himself
These Wilder Years
Steve Bradford
Tribute to a Bad Man
Jeremy Rodack
The Seven Little Foys
George M. Cohan
Mister Roberts
Captain Morton
Love Me or Leave Me
Martin Snyder
Run for Cover
Matt Dow
A Lion Is in the Streets
Hank Martin
What Price Glory
Captain Flagg
Starlift
James Cagney
Come Fill the Cup
Lew Marsh
The West Point Story
Elwin Bixby
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Ralph Cotter
White Heat
Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett
The Time of Your Life
Joseph
Blow-Ups of 1947
Self
13 Rue Madeleine
Robert Emmett 'Bob' Sharkey
Okay for Sound
Tommy Powers (archive footage)
Blood on the Sun
Nick Condon
The Voice That Thrilled the World
Self (segment 'Yankee Doodle Dandy') (archive footage)
Johnny Come Lately
Tom Richards
Show-Business at War
Self
You, John Jones!
John Jones
Yankee Doodle Dandy
George M. Cohan
Captains of the Clouds
Brian MacLean
Calling All Girls
Himself (archive footage)
Breakdowns of 1941
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Bride Came C.O.D.
Steve Collins
The Strawberry Blonde
Biff Grimes
Breakdowns of 1940
Self
City for Conquest
Danny Kenny
Torrid Zone
Nick Butler
The Fighting 69th
Jerry Plunkett
Breakdowns of 1939
Self
The Roaring Twenties
Eddie Bartlett
Each Dawn I Die
Frank Ross
Hollywood Hobbies
Self (uncredited)
The Oklahoma Kid
Jim Kincaid
Angels with Dirty Faces
Rocky Sullivan
Boy Meets Girl
Robert Law
Something to Sing About
Terrence 'Terry' Rooney
Breakdowns of 1936
Self
Great Guy
Johnny 'Red' Cave
Ceiling Zero
Dizzy Davies
A Dream Comes True
Himself (uncredited)
Things You Never See on the Screen
Self
Frisco Kid
Bat Morgan
Mutiny on the Bounty
(uncredited)
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Bottom
The Irish in Us
Danny O'Hara
'G' Men
‘Brick' Davis
Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 8
Devil Dogs of the Air
Tommy O'Toole
A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio
Himself (uncredited)
The St. Louis Kid
Eddie Kennedy
The Hollywood Gad-About
Self (uncredited)
Here Comes the Navy
Chesty O'Conner
He Was Her Man
Flicker Hayes, aka Jerry Allen
Jimmy the Gent
Jimmy Corrigan
Screen Snapshots No. 11
Himself
Lady Killer
Dan
Footlight Parade
Chester Kent
The Mayor of Hell
Richard 'Patsy' Gargan
Picture Snatcher
Daniel Patrick "Danny" Kean
Hard to Handle
Lefty Merrill
Winner Take All
Jim 'Jimmy' Kane
The Crowd Roars
Joe Greer
Taxi!
Matt Nolan
Intimate Interviews: James Cagney
Himself
Blonde Crazy
Albert 'Bert' Harris
Smart Money
Jack
The Millionaire
Schofield
The Public Enemy
Tom Powers
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 11: 'Practice Shots'
Himself
Other Men's Women
Ed 'Eddie' Bailey
The Doorway to Hell
Steve Mileaway
Sinners' Holiday
Harry Delano
The Singing Fool
Handsy Patron at Blackie Joe's (uncredited)