词条 | Cagney, James |
释义 | Cagney, James American actor in full James Francis Cagney, Jr. born July 17, 1899, New York, New York, U.S. died March 30, 1986, Stanfordville, New York American actor noted for his versatility in musicals, comedies, and crime dramas. ![]() ![]() Cagney's uniqueness as an actor lay in his ability to convey emotional extremes in a manner that was both broad and natural. He exuded a tremendous energy that rendered any character larger-than-life, yet his innate grasp of the subtleties of the script ensured that his performances were multidimensional and credible. Although he eschewed an internal “method” approach to acting, his perennially pugnacious screen persona was a natural extension of his real-life character, formed in part during his pugilistic youth among Irish street gangs. Cagney's philosophy of acting, revealed in his autobiography, Cagney by Cagney (1975), was simple, direct, and sagacious: “Plant yourself, look the other fellow in the eye and tell the truth.” Although specializing in charismatic criminals for much of his career, Cagney's best-known role is that of the legendary Broadway song-and-dance man George M. Cohan (Cohan, George M.) in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). Exhibiting the same brash charm in his dancing style that he brought to his portrayals of street toughs, Cagney's tour-de-force as Cohan earned him an Oscar for best actor. After this film, Cagney devoted his energies to entertaining troops overseas, serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild (an organization he helped found in the early 1930s), and, with his brother, establishing William Cagney Productions, a company that was moderately successful for several years, producing such noteworthy films as an adaptation of William Saroyan (Saroyan, William)'s The Time of Your Life (1948). Cagney ended the 1940s with his portrayal of Cody Jarrett, perhaps the most pathologically Oedipal criminal in screen history, in the B-film classic White Heat (1949). His legendary performance climaxed with one of the cinema's most indelible images, that of the cornered Jarrett atop an oil refinery tank, screaming “Made it, Ma! Top of the world!” as he unloads his gun into the tank and perishes in the ensuing inferno. Cagney experienced continued success throughout the 1950s, with highlights such as his roles as a gruff ship captain in Mister Roberts (1955) and as silent-screen legend Lon Chaney (Chaney, Lon) in Man of a Thousand Faces (1957). His most acclaimed performance of the decade was in Love Me or Leave Me (1955) as Chicago racketeer Martin “The Gimp” Snyder, the man who obsessively controlled the career of torch singer Ruth Etting (played by Doris Day (Day, Doris)). As Snyder, Cagney created one of his most frightening screen characterizations and was nominated for an Oscar. He was also memorable as Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey, Jr., (Halsey, William F., Jr.) in The Gallant Hours (1960), and as a harried Coca-Cola executive in the Billy Wilder (Wilder, Billy) farce One, Two, Three (1961). After One, Two, Three, Cagney spent the next 20 years in retirement on his farms in New England and California. In 1974 he made one of his few public appearances during these years when he received a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Cagney's health deteriorated during the late 1970s, and his doctors suggested a return to work. He performed admirably in his final two films, Ragtime (1981) and the television film Terrible Joe Moran (1984). Contrary to the popular perception created by scores of impressionists throughout the years, Cagney said neither “You dirty rat!” nor “All right, you guys!” in any film. Additional Reading Homer Dickens, The Films of James Cagney (1972, reissued as The Complete Films of James Cagney, 1989); Richard Schickel, James Cagney (1999). |
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