The great James Cagney

Jimmy Cagney, possibly the most talented actor to immerse himself into the Golden age of Hollywood cinema. He started his career in Vaudeville, as many young aspiring actors and actresses would; some of the most important entertainers were based on this platform. His characters were diverse, intense and head strong. Some say he was typecast in traditional gangster films, but many fail to know about manifold. With a career in film spanning 51 years he can easily be considered a influential and multitalented star.

His first notable film role came in 1930 with ‘Sinners’ holiday’, an early crime drama based on the play ‘Penny Arcade’, about a penny-arcade owner who attempts to frame her daughter’s boyfriend for the murder her son committed. Cagney starred in both the broadway production and the film production as Harry Delano, the bootlegger son. Cagney showed audiences early on that he could play tough guys with attitudes, and was not dismayed by his co-stars talent.

After being recognised as a young talent, his next significant role came in 1931 with ‘Blonde Crazy’. He starred as a con artist parading  as a bellboy with his partner, but eventually get conned themselves. This role was more familiar to Cagney, as the lighthearted romantic aspect of his performance took him back to his early musical entertainment. Famously in his career Cagney is misquoted for saying, “you dirty rat”, however a line from Blonde Crazy, “That dirty, double-crossin’ rat”, echos with the relevance for this commen misconception.

Coming into 1931 Cagney was cast as ‘Tom Powers’ in ‘The Public Enemy’; his most famous role to date and possibly his greatest. Based on the accounts of two street thugs, his character was looesly based on the rise and atrocities of Al Capone. Cagney was originally chosen to play ‘Matt Doyle’, a supporting character opposite Edward Woods, whom would star as Powers. But due to his instinctive gift for the tough guy role, his natural New York accent and quick vocal pace; which was now favourable to movie studios in creating films that reflected more accurately of real life. Sound recording had advanced and actors no longer had to annuncaite as clearly as before. He was subsequently swapped to the lead role. Many scenes were infamous but the most considerable scene came from the director William Wellman’s personnel experience with his wife, where Cagney forcefully pressed a grapefruit into the face of his co star Mae Clarke. How masterfully Cagney make us both admire and despise him at the same time, the perfect anti hero. The Public Enemy in my opinion is a very close contender to the greater gangster film ever made, closely with The Godfather, Little Caesar and Scarface (1932).

1932, Cagney is a commercial success, the crowds love him the studios want to use him. For the next 6 years Cagney stared in: 7 crime films, 2 musicals, 4 comedies and 7 dramas. He showcased his acting talent and proved that he could master various genres, with immaculate comic timing, excellent body rhythm, a strong singing voice and a flair for the romantic hero, he truly couldn’t be typecast anymore.

1938. His most promising year. He was to star in ‘Angels with Dirty Faces’. The scenario was created by Rowland Brown but failed to make any ground when pitched to the studios. It was for Grand National Studios that the scenario was accepted and wouid start by casting Cagney as the films star. After Cagney’s only film in 1937, ‘Something to Sing About’, he returned to Warner studios with Brown’s scenario and pitched the idea to make it into a feature. They agreed. The film went on to Ben nominated for 3 Academy Awards: 1 for Cagney, 1 for Rowland Brown and 1 for the director Michael Curtiz. This was a change to prove he had a wide acting range that went beyond traditional ‘tough guy’ roles. His melodramatic gangster character provide audiences with sensitivity, aggression, even sympathy. I’m the films climax he is sent to be put to death in the electric chair, his closest friend, (a priest played by Pat O’Brien) tells him he can redeem himself by making sure the street rats who look up to him don’t follow the same path he chose. Cagney’s emotional final moments are harsh and full of angst, he cowers and begs not to die. Was he faking it so the young  boys could see he was a coward or was he truly afraid of death, we will never know. This is the brilliance of his performance, ambiguity, a clever actor who’s layers of character development can break apart a supposedly straight forward genre.

Hollywood and the people could see this point in his career was his peak, he continued to enjoy good roles in various genres.
His most successful role came in 1942 with the musical ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’. He was cast as the broadway sensation George M. Cohan, in a biopic of his life and rise to fame. There are distinct similarities with his character and  his own up bringing that aided his performance to be Oscar winning. Cohan as a child would perform in his family’s vaudeville act. Then on to his success as an actor, writer, director and producer. Cagney was perfect for the role, his dance style and physique were second to none and his acting talent would carry the performance to its most believable.

Later on in his career he starred in less demanding role, he was getting older and making only one film per year. By the turn of 1949 he hadn’t played a gangster for 9 years. Until he was cast in ‘White Heat’, it was this film that reinstated his craft. His intense psychotic performance reminded audiences he was still relevant and a talent not to be wasted on cheaply made films. On his career progressed and he settled for roles that suited his aging process. Seemingly his final role at the age of 62, he accepted a role in Billy Wilder’s farcical comedy ‘One, Two, Three’. Many questioned if Cagney could handle such a leap into new waters, but Wilder was confident that his work on screwball comedies and his impeccable timing would carry the film.

20 years pass, Cagney is 82. He is enticed by his old friend and co star Pat O’Brien to accept an offer to star in a final film. His health had been deteriorating over his time off and he had been fighting weight problems and diebeties. The opportunity of working with O’Brien eventually was enough to get him back one last time. Cagney left for England on a boat to be swamped by hundreds of adoring fans. Many of the younger actors were intimidated by the thought of working with such an accomplished actor. Nevertheless, he was humble, kind and played the role with the same energy as he always did, even if his health wouldn’t permit it. The film was nominated for 8 Oscars and was widely revived as a parting gift from possibly the greatest screen actor who ever lived.

Dancer, gangster, hero, villain, no matter what role he took, every one he played he did so with ferocious energy and intelligence to what was demanded to tell the truth of each person he portrayed.
You dirty rat.