James Cagney Movies I've Seen
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- 56 titles
- DirectorJoseph PevneyStarsJames CagneyDorothy MaloneJane GreerThe life and career of vaudevillian and silent-screen horror star Lon Chaney, including his contentious relationship with his neurotic wife and his premature death.First Cagney movie, pre-2017. Cagney great, but fictionalized script and over-emphasis on Cleva don't do him or Lon any favors.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyJoan LeslieWalter HustonThe life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer, and singer George M. Cohan.June 2017. Episodic story feels longer than it is, but a treat to see Cagney showing off his skills as a singer and dancer, his beautiful sister Jeanne, and a great tribute to Cohan.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyOlivia de HavillandRita HayworthQuick-tempered yet likable Biff Grimes falls for the beautiful Virginia Brush, but he is not the only young man in the neighborhood who is smitten with her.August 2017. Slightly overlong, but great turn-of-the-century atmosphere. Cagney great as nice guy snubbed by titular strawberry-blonde. Great chemistry with Olivia de Haviland.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyHumphrey BogartPriscilla LaneThree men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I.August 2017. Overstretched gangster drama, but often compelling, with a veneer of quality. Downbeat ending, but Cagney great as soldier-turned-bootlegger.
- DirectorCharles VidorStarsDoris DayJames CagneyCameron MitchellA fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to gangster Marty Snyder, who helped propel her to stardom.August/September 2017. Somewhat slow in spots, but Cagney electrifying as tough mobster with a soft spot for singer (Day) who doesn't love him.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyBette DavisStuart ErwinA financially-strapped charter pilot hires himself to an oil tycoon to kidnap his madcap daughter and prevent her from marrying a vapid band leader.September 2017. Sometimes forced but sometimes funny screwball comedy, but Cagney great and charming regardless alongside Bette Davis.
- DirectorVictor SchertzingerStarsJames CagneyEvelyn DawWilliam FrawleyA New York bandleader journeys to Hollywood when he is offered a contract with a studio, but he is determined to do things his way and not theirs.September 2017. Disjointed and overlong, but has its moments of comedy. Cagney's dancing skills on show.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJames CagneyLoretta YoungGeorge E. StoneIndependent cabbie Matt Nolan is primed to let his fists and handgun deliver payback after a big taxi firm uses intimidation and violence to squeeze out small-timers.September 2017. Fast-paced ubergenre film with Cagney at his charming, talented best as a hot-tempered yet sympathetic taxi-driver. Shows off his range as tough guy, lover, and dancer. Personal favorite Cagney film.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJames CagneyMarian NixonGuy KibbeeYoung boxer Jim Kane, resting at a New Mexico "health ranch," meets and falls for Peggy Harmon, former nightclub table singer...who needs $600 more for her sickly son to stay in the place. To help her, Jim endangers his health with a tough boxing match in Tijuana. Before long, he's back fighting while Peggy stays in the desert. But in the city, after new triumphs, Jim meets Joan, a teasing Society blonde. Will he see through her before it's too late?September 2017. Cagney totally unbelievable as dense, fickle boxer, but great to see his fighting skills in action.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyJoan BlondellRuby KeelerChester Kent struggles against time, romance, and a rival's spy to produce spectacular live "prologues" for movie houses.September 2017. Overlong and dull till the final two musical numbers, but great seeing Cagney hoofing and singing.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJames CagneyJoan BlondellLouis CalhernThe adventures of an egoistic con man and his glamorous accomplice.September 2017. Unlikeable characters and disappointing ending bring story down, but Cagney charming regardless as young con man opposite Joan Blondell.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsGrant WithersMary AstorRegis ToomeyEvents take an unhappy turn for two Bill and Jack, two locomotive engineers, after Bill is attracted to his best friend's wife.September 2017. Cagney stands out in otherwise soapy story, despite the small size of his part, and even gets in a dance. Shots on top of moving train a real achievement.
- DirectorJohn G. BlystoneStarsJames CagneyMae ClarkeJames BurkeThe adventures of an investigator (Cagney) for the Bureau of Weights and Measures.September 2017. Cagney excellent in otherwise moderately entertaining, low-budget quickie about principled guy fighting corruption. Worth it to see his dancing and fighting skills.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsJames CagneyMae ClarkeMargaret LindsayA former gangster makes it big in Hollywood, but his old life catches up with him.September 2017. Cagney charming as ever depite uneven and forgettable story about gum-chewing smart-aleck who goes from movie usher to racketeer to movie actor. One of his rare happy endings.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyBette DavisAllen JenkinsAn unpolished racketeer, whose racket is finding heirs for unclaimed fortunes, affects ethics and tea-drinking manners to win back the sweetheart who now works for his seemingly upright competitor.September 2017. Typical 30's crime-comedy fluff with Cagney as a professional swindler who vows to go straight to win back his old girlfriend. Neither he nor Davis liked the script, but great to see them working together.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsEdward G. RobinsonJames CagneyEvalyn KnappA Greek barber has uncommon skills in playing poker and soon rises in the seedy world of illegal gambling, but pretty blondes remain his Achilles' heel.September 2017. Robinson's film as barber/professional gambler, but Cagney shines in his second-billed role as loyal sidekick. Tragic end for both.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyMargaret LindsayRicardo CortezAfter a roustabout sailer avoids being shanghaied in 1852 San Francisco, his audacity helps him to arise to a position of power in the vice industry of the infamous Barbary Coast.September 2017. Interesting period crime-drama about life on San Francisco's Barbary Coast. Cagney, in a more sympathetic role as sailor-turned-town boss, gives great, subdued performance, and even ends up with the girl. More enjoyable than 1936's "San Francisco."
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyGeorge RaftJane BryanA corrupt D.A. (Thurston Hall) with political ambitions is angered by news stories implicating him in criminal activity and decides to frame the reporter (James Cagney) for manslaughter in order to silence him.September 2017. Another quality production from 1939. Engrossing prison drama unafraid to show the cruelty and injustice of the prison system. Cagney gives intense, emotional performance as framed reporter wrongly sent to jail, one of the best of his career. Real-life buddy George Raft gives strong support.
- DirectorsAnatole LitvakJean NegulescoStarsJames CagneyAnn SheridanArthur KennedyDanny is a content truck driver, but his girl Peggy shows potential as a dancer and hopes he too can show ambition. Danny acquiesces and pursues boxing to please her, but the two begin to spend more time working than time together.September 2017. Overlong melodrama that never quite decides on a tone or who is really the main character. Cagney great regardless as boxer who loses his sight for the sake of his overly-ambitious girlfriend Ann Sheridan.
- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsJames CagneyWilliam BendixWayne MorrisA wide variety of persons come into Nick's Pacific Street Saloon, some to ask for work and others just to pass the time.September 2017. Stagey, meandering ensemble piece about misfits who frequent a second-string bar. Cagney great as genial loafer/philosopher. Worth watching only for him, his sister Jeanne, and scene of Cagney and Bendix singing harmony.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsJames CagneyJean HarlowEdward WoodsAn Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.October 2017. Surprisingly untalky Pre-Code gangster talkie with noirish feel despite 1931 release. Off-camera deaths pack powerful punch. Cagney great as cold-hearted Chicago hoodlum Tom Powers, the role that made him famous. An unsympathetic turn until the final reel. Classic scenes of Cagney with grapefruit and him staggering through the gutter in the pouring rain, not to mention his brief dance with Jean Harlow.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyVirginia MayoEdmond O'BrienA psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.October 2017. Cagney great as always as insane criminal leader Cody Jarrett, whose only soft spot is for his mother. His coldest-blooded role. Unlikable characters and literally explosive ending bring it down.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyBarbara HaleAnne FrancisA charismatic peddler from the bayous finds his true calling in politics. Is he a demagogue in the making?October 2017. Cagney good as always, despite being miscast as unlikable Louisiana peddler-turned-politician. Unfocused story makes it worth seeing only for his brief moments of singing and dancing, and his sister Jeanne's performance as Jennie.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyDennis MorganBrenda MarshallInspired by Churchill's Dunkirk speech, brash, undisciplined bush pilot Brian MacLean and three friends enlist in the RCAF but are deemed too old to be fliers.November 2017. Cagney moving and charming as always, despite slightly unlikeable role as smart-aleck pilot, and limitations of propaganda/RAF promo film that is more about the planes than the people.
- DirectorsWilliam DieterleMax ReinhardtStarsJames CagneyDick PowellIan HunterTwo couples and a troupe of actors have an encounter with some mischievous fairies in the forest.November 2017. Cagney a delight as the hapless Bottom, a bright spot in an otherwise trippy and over-the-top film. His performance is broad but very funny, and more grounded than that of his ridiculously scene-chewing co-stars. Role gives him the chance to show off his talents as a singer and comedian as well as an actor; his physicality in the transformation and awkening scenes are worth the price of admission alone.
