I’m watching Yankee Doodle Dandy in an effort to recover from Mulholland Drive. And remembering that James Cagney is one of my favorite performers ever: equally terrific in noir gangster films (Public Enemy, White Heat), drama (Blood on the Sun, The Time of Your Life), comedy (Strawberry Blonde, Mister Roberts), musicals (Footlight Parade, Yankee Doodle Dandy), even Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
Plus, he had–in this lady’s opinion, anyway–“It.” Offer me Clark Gable or Errol Flynn, and I’d head out for a night on the town with Jimmy Cagney. Nice guy, I’ve heard, too, and married to the same lady for more than 50 years.
Y’know, I just saw The Time of Your Life (1948) on TCM last week, and I found it hard to believe that the same guy in the fine suit and hornrim specs, sitting there in that San Francisco bar, sipping champagne and helping his fellow humans realize their true potential (thanks to Clifford Odets), would, the next year, be standing on top of an oil refinery screaming “TOP O’ THE WORLD, MAAAAAAAA…!”
And he was a damn fine Bottom in that Midsummer Night’s Dream, too.
…and, speaking of Cagney, has anyone else noticed what a spectactularly bad year Mae Clarke had in 1931?
First Jimmy used her puss for a grapefruit juicer in The Public Enemy, and then Boris Karloff does…something…really awful to her in Frankenstein.
I hate to think that the Monster really, ahem, nailed her…but she does look awfully ravished when Colin Clive and John Boles come busting through that door.
You can say what you will about his other roles. But Cagney made the tough guy role his own. And those are the roles he is remembered by.
When you think of Cagney, what scene comes to mind first? It’s not a song and dance from Yankee Doodle Dandy. It’s him shoving a grapefruit into Mae Clarks face in The Public Enemy.
Actually, a song and dance number from Yankee Doodle Dandy is the first thing that comes to my mind, but The Public Enemy is one of my favorite movies.
Plus, she jumps out a window in The Front Page and gets hit by a German bomb in Waterloo Bridge . . . You think the studio bosses had it in for poor Mae?
One of my favorites is One, Two, Three. A Cold War comedy that satirizes both Communism and Capitalism, with Cagney delivering rapid-fire lines with perfect timing. My favorite line: “I wish I was in Hell with my back broken!”
I saw that first run in the theaters. Tells you how old I am. Cagney was the ONLY redeeming reason to see the movie.
I also am of the persuasion that the mention of “Cagnie” invokes “Yankee Doodle Dandy” more than his gangster rolls. Especially since this thread was born on the Fourth of July.
I adore Jimmy Cagney. Yankee Doodle Dandy is in my top 10 Desert Island picks.
I’ve seen nearly all his films ( ones released on video) and the one that is parodied in Johnny Dangerously at the end is brilliant.
One of my goals in my young, idealistic life was to meet James Cagney one day.
I absolutely love Jimmy Cagney. LOVE. Eve’s right – he’s got “It”, and how!
I’m always sure to catch whatever Cagney movies are playing on TCM. My favorites are his earlier films (Footlight Parade, Picture Snatcher, Mayor of Hell), but that’s probably because I’m a Pre-Code nut. Anyway, yeah, can’t get enough Cagney. I likes me them short tough guys. Rowr.
By the way, I’m watching Monster House right now. Does the host Steve Watson remind anyone else of our boy Jimmy? I’ve mentioned this to other people and they just look at me weird.
[QUOTE=Ukulele Ike
I hate to think that the Monster really, ahem, nailed her…but she does look awfully ravished when Colin Clive and John Boles come busting through that door.[/QUOTE]
“Ahhhhhh…sweet mystery of life at last I’ve found you…”
There isn’t much to add about Cagney. He was great in a wide variety of roles. It’s hard to pick his best, but his performance in White Heat was particularly riveting. And though Yankee Doodle Dandy is quite good, for song and dance, I prefer Footlight Parade – better music (Harry Warren) and better choreography (Busby Berkeley).
We showed YANKEE DOODLE DANDY last week at my mother’s assisted living establishment, and the 80 and 90 year olds loved it. As did we. OK, it’s mostly lies as a bio pic, but the songs are fantastic and Cagney is wonderful.
Why isn’t FOOTLIGHT PARADE available on DVD???
When I think of Cagney, my first thought is of him jumping on the train and yelling “Hold it right there!” in the opening of WHITE HEAT.
Every time I see a Cagney performance, I’m a little more impressed. His range is virtually unmatched: the meanest motherfucker in the history of cinema, and some of the warmest, most human characters of all time as well. I prefer *Footlight Parade * to Yankee Doodle Dandy, myself; the latter is just too camp for me. But The Strawberry Blonde; One, Two, Three; and any of his many collaborations with one of my favorite actresses, Joan Blondell; are among my all time favorite movies. His performance in Love Me or Leave Me grounded Doris Day, I believe, and helped her turn in one of her best performances. (Don’t get me wrong: Doris is one of my main divas, but a great actress she was not.)
