Early Days Productions

EARLY DAYS PRODUCTIONS

JAMES CAGNEY

James Francis Cagney Jr was born July 17th 1899 on the Lower East Side above his father's saloon on the corner of Avenue D and 8th Street to James Cagney Sr., an Irish American bartender and amateur boxer, and Carolyn Nelson. He started tap dancing as a boy (a skill that would eventually contribute to his Academy Award) and was nicknamed 'Cellar-Door Cagney' after his habit of dancing on slanted cellar doors. He was also a good street fighter, fighting on his older med-student brother Harry's behalf when necessary. The red-haired, blue-eyed Cagney graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City, in 1918 and attended Columbia College of Columbia University, where he intended to major in art. He also took German and joined the Student Army Training Corps. He dropped out after one semester and returned home upon the death of his father in a flu epidemic.

1899 - 1986

Stats:

Birth Name:
James Francis Cagney Jr

Height: 5' 6"

Hair Color: Red

Eye Color: Dark Brown

Nickname: Jimmy

Quote: "There's not much to say about acting but this. Never settle back on your heels. Never relax. If you relax, the audience relaxes. And always mean everything you say."

While working at Wanamaker's Department Store in 1919 Cagney learned (from a work colleague who had already seen him dance) of a role in the upcoming Every Sailor based on Every Woman, a war-time play in which the chorus is made up of servicemen dressed as women. Cagney auditioned for the role of a chorus-girl. Had Cagney's mother had her way, his stage career would have ended when he quit Every Sailor after two months; proud as she was of his performance, she felt it better that he get an education. This didn't stop him looking for more stage work though, and he went on and successfully auditioned for a chorus part in Pitter Patter. Amongst the chorus line was 16 year-old Frances Willard 'Billie' Vernon, who he would marry in 1922. After many more years of stage work and odd jobs, Cagney finally had his big break when he appeared in Penny Arcade opposite Joan Blondell in 1929.

Whilst the critics did not take to Penny Arcade, Cagney and Blondell were both highly praised. Al Jolson, sensing a potential film success, bought the rights for $20,000 and sold the play to Warner Brothers with the stipulation that Cagney and Blondell be cast in the film version, which became Sinners' Holiday and was released in 1930. With the good reviews that Cagney received, he immediately starred in another gangster role in Doorway to Hell which was a financial hit, helping cement Cagney's growing reputation. He made four more movies before his breakthrough role. In The Public Enemy, Cagney was cast to play the role of nice-guy Matt Doyle, opposite Edward Woods' role of Tom Powers. However, after the initial rushes, the two were swapped.

For more information about James Cagney please visit: Wikipedia

James Cagney's Selected Filmography

1981 Ragtime
1968 Arizona Bushwhackers
1961 One, Two, Three
1960 The Gallant Hours
1959 Shake Hands with the Devil
1959 Never Steal Anything Small
1957 Man of a Thousand Faces
1956 These Wilder Years
1956 Tribute to a Bad Man
1955 Mister Roberts
1955 The Seven Little Foys
1955 Love Me or Leave Me
1955 Run for Cover
1953 A Lion Is in the Streets
1952 What Price Glory
1951 Come Fill the Cup
1950 The West Point Story
1950 Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
1949 White Heat
1948 The Time of Your Life
1947 13 Rue Madeleine
1945 Blood on the Sun
1943 Johnny Come Lately
1942 Yankee Doodle Dandy
1942 Captains of the Clouds
1941 The Bride Came C.O.D.
1941 The Strawberry Blonde
1940 City for Conquest
1940 Torrid Zone
1940 The Fighting 69th
1939 The Roaring Twenties
1939 Each Dawn I Die
1939 The Oklahoma Kid
1938 Angels with Dirty Faces
1938 Boy Meets Girl
1937 Something to Sing About
1936 Great Guy
1936 Ceiling Zero
1935 Frisco Kid
1935 Mutiny on the Bounty
1935 A Midsummer Night's Dream
1935 The Irish in Us
1935 'G' Men
1935 Devil Dogs of the Air
1934 The St. Louis Kid
1934 Here Comes the Navy
1934 He Was Her Man
1934 Jimmy the Gent
1933 Lady Killer
1933 Footlight Parade
1933 The Mayor of Hell
1933 Picture Snatcher
1933 Hard to Handle
1932 Winner Take All
1932 The Crowd Roars
1932 Taxi!
1931 Blonde Crazy
1931 Smart Money
1931 The Millionaire
1931 The Public Enemy
1931 Other Men's Women
1930 The Doorway to Hell
1930 Sinners' Holiday

Early Days Productions: James Cagney 03/08/2012

Full Movie: Taxi! (1932)

Independent cab drivers struggling against a taxi company consortium find a leader in Matt Nolan. - Edited from IMDB

In 1938 Cagney starred in Angels With Dirty Faces opposite Pat OBrien and the Dead End kids. Cagney played Rocky Sullivan, a gangster fresh out of jail looking for his former associate (played by supporting player Humphrey Bogart, their first film together) who owes him money. The film is regarded by many as one of Cagney's finest and garnered him an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for 1938. His next notable career role was playing George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy, a film Cagney himself "took great pride in" and considered his best film. Many critics of the time and since have declared it to be Cagney's best film, and draw parallels between Cohan and Cagney. Certainly it was Cagney's most important film in terms of awards, winning him the Best Actor Oscar (amongst three others Oscars for the film and eight nominations).

Cagney continued to act in such classic films as White Heat (1949), A Lion in the Streets (1953), Mister Roberts (1953) and a Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) until his retirement from films in 1961. Cagney's health deteriorated substantially after 1979. Cagney's final appearance in a feature film was in Ragtime (1981), capping a career that covered over 70 films. James Cagney died at his Dutchess County farm in Stanfordville, New York, aged 86, of a heart attack.