Welles did not specify 'character' ... he said that Cagney was the best screen actor ever ... not a moment wasted ... it was one of the times he was on Dick Cavett ... on youtube somewhere ...
The film version of "Penny Arcade". Cagney and pal Joan Blondell started in Hollywood at the same time, and made several movies together. Lifelong friends.
This is the beginning era of gangster movies.James Cagney ,Edward G Robinson,Jean Gabin nd Paul Muni were pioneers if such kind movie.Truly awesome.Thanx for sharing such a nice quality video.Cagney looks very good.
Let's not forget about Humphrey Bogart, and on lesser known scale, Dwight Frye who played , "Wilmer Cook" in the original 1931 film, "The Maltese Falcon". The hit "Monk" who went around carrying his Tommy gun in a violin case, in the 1930 mob film, "The Doorway to Hell", which cast Jimmy Cagney as Lew Ayers second in command, and last but not least, The 1940 gangster movie, "The Gangs Of Chicago". Dwight Frye played, "Pinky" the formidable trigger man with a mission to eliminate Lloyd Noland.
@@blackcougar1959 Heck, even Boris Karloff played a gangster in SCARFACE (1932)! And also George Raft in the same. Raft's best work was in 1930's cinema, though he didn't evolve his acting chops over time like Cagney and Bogart had done. Still, Raft had his glory days, but it's kind of a shame that most of his work after the 30's was mediocre at best.
Forty years later, Joan Blondell played private-eye Robert Forster's secretary in the series "Banyon", set in the Thirties. Who knew the period better than she did?
Warner Bros. owes Al Jolson a great deal. He made The Jazz Singer a success, discovered James Cagney & Joan Blondell and demanded if they made this movie they recreate their original roles, and Jolson's wife Ruby Keeler was a vital component that made Busby Berkeley's early musicals a success.
It's said that despite Jolson's role in bringing James Cagney and Joan Blondell to Hollywood, Cagney and Jolson would never meet (though I'm slightly skeptical of that trivia tidbit's veracity because surely Jolson and Cagney had attended some of the same public appearances of celebrity gatherings and ceremonies, etc.) Cagney also felt indebted to his one time benefactor, showman Eddie Foy, who sponsored a room and board shelter for starving young actors and entertainers like Cagney had been before finding some success on the stage which led to his Hollywood stardom. Cagney reprised his George M. Cohan role UNPAID (at his own insistence!) to appear with Bob Hope (as Foy) in the famous "tabletop dancing duel" scene in THE SEVEN LITTLE FOYS (1955.)
Wow! I watched a lot of these old films when I was a kid. I loved them! They were a glimpse into the past! This one was 24yrs before I was born in 1956. I've never seen this one. I'll have to find it! 👍🏻😉
A star is born. Film acting was so easy for him. More easy than the seasoned veterans of silent movies still trying to find their way in the talkies. Cagney didn't have to adapt from one medium to another. he just did what he always did on the stage only the camera became the audience. He was the first superstar made for the talkie era. The best. I'm trying to find the full movie but can't. Any suggestions?
jon callum well in the 8 years since I left that note, I have the movie on DVD...and I didn’t have to violate the 4th dimension or disrupt the space time continuum to get it.
they were still learning how to act for film back then, especially for sound, but Cagney could do no wrong he gave life to dreary films that questioned the viewer as to why they made it in the first place
@@anthonycrnkovich5241 Cagney once said that if he had ever gotten married to any of his lady colleagues, it would have been to his favorite and most warmly regarded of all his co-stars, Miss Joan Blondell. 😊
Some say that Lucille La Verne who portrayed James Cagney's mother in this film would have been good as Cagney's ma in "White Heat" due to her toughness features and rough attitude. And yet others say that she would most likely to be too old in 1949 as Ma Jarrett if she'd lived to that year. Well at least they had a tough looking Margaret Wycherly as Ma Jarrett. And speaking of Lucille La Verne in gangster films she appeared in "Little Caesar" with Edward G Robinson the same year "Sinners Holiday" was filmed. 🔫🔫👵🛒
And the other impediment to Lucille La Verne's being a great Ma Jarrett is that she was slightly dead by the time White Heat was made in 1949. She would have been 77 in 1949 and I agree it would have made a very strong Ma Jarrett, not quite as subdued as Margaret Wycherly. Wycherly was 68 in 1949. Both were very intense personalities, but Lucille La Verne would have been in-your-face Steam Roller intense. Margaret Wycherly would have been like a saucepan of poison, slowly and quietly simmering away...
Talented man, speaking Yiddish- but Cagney(Irish descent) is from the Lower East Side, NYC that was a predominantly Jewish community, he said in a interview he learned Yiddish young because most of his classmates were Jewish.
blue- T Cagney was physically born on Manhattan's Lower East Side, but grew up in multi-ethnic, working class Yorkville on the Upper East Side. He had Jewish kids among his friends there, and attended Stuyvesant High School, then and now a top NYC academic magnet school for bright kids. He took German there as his foreign language and frequently studied with Jewish classmates from immigrant families. Since Yiddish is a dialect of German, with Hebrew and Slavic influences mixed in, he was able to pick it up easily, and said he thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the slang and funny insults.
I know the voice of the woman who played Cagney's mother in here , her name was Lucille la Verne . I'll give you a little line from one of her movies " Now I'll be fairest in the land " . Can't remember where that line was from , It was from 1937's Disney film " Snow White and the Seven Dwarves " . She played the Evil Queen in the film , and that was her last one . I haven't seen this one , but I kinda' saw his next film debut 1931 " The Public Enemy " . Lucille la Verne 1872 - 1945 . She lived to be 72 .
She was also in the silents, e.g. opposite Lillian and Dorothy Gish in ORPHANS OF THE STORM (1921.) And played a similar "creepy old woman" in A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1935.)
James Cagney As Natural Actor Like Mothers Milk, I'd Bought His Movies On Dvd When I Had The Money , I Want A Download Copy Its A Rip Off And You Can't Have A Copy That's Transferable.....
@cary derryberry I'd still rather wear one o' those straw hats than that haircut. That's probably why people wore those hats: to cover up the 'do they had on their head.
Didn't they have strong women characters in movies back then? Even Cagney met his much in film after film, for example his ma in White Heat. Robin Witting
Not all of today's actors crowd are so bad (Sandra Bullock, for one but there are numerous other exceptions to the rule) but overall, you're right and I have absolutely no use for most of them.
how cute is he!! no wonder he became a star, he's a natural
Me too I watch anything with James Cagney because he’s so cute💋💋❤️❤️🌸🌸/ August 28 Friday at 730 Phoenix Arizona time
James Cagney is the best actor ever. Orson Wells said it and its right.
Welles did not specify 'character' ... he said that Cagney was the best screen actor ever ... not a moment wasted ... it was one of the times he was on Dick Cavett ... on youtube somewhere ...
The film version of "Penny Arcade". Cagney and pal Joan Blondell started in Hollywood at the same time, and made several movies together. Lifelong friends.
best actor ever
I love Cagney class
This is the beginning era of gangster movies.James Cagney ,Edward G Robinson,Jean Gabin nd Paul Muni were pioneers if such kind movie.Truly awesome.Thanx for sharing such a nice quality video.Cagney looks very good.
Glad you included Jean Gabin. He was kind of a combo of Cagney and Spencer Tracy.
Let's not forget about Humphrey Bogart, and on lesser known scale, Dwight Frye who played , "Wilmer Cook" in the original 1931 film, "The Maltese Falcon". The hit "Monk" who went around carrying his Tommy gun in a violin case, in the 1930 mob film, "The Doorway to Hell", which cast Jimmy Cagney as Lew Ayers second in command, and last but not least, The 1940 gangster movie, "The Gangs Of Chicago". Dwight Frye played, "Pinky" the formidable trigger man with a mission to eliminate Lloyd Noland.
@@blackcougar1959 Heck, even Boris Karloff played a gangster in SCARFACE (1932)! And also George Raft in the same. Raft's best work was in 1930's cinema, though he didn't evolve his acting chops over time like Cagney and Bogart had done. Still, Raft had his glory days, but it's kind of a shame that most of his work after the 30's was mediocre at best.
I love all hes movies hes a handsome man 😍😍😍😍😍😍
He sure was young. A true blessing of a Icon 🍃👼🍃 Beloved James Cagney RIP 😇💙🌠🌟🌠
Actually he was 30 yrs old here.
Forty years later, Joan Blondell played private-eye Robert Forster's secretary in the series "Banyon", set in the Thirties. Who knew the period better than she did?
James Cagney..a real natural! I love it! Thanks for posting!
Lucille LaVerne was a terrific character player.
Did U know she did the voices 4 both Regina (Evil Queen) & Zelena (Wicked Witch) in Snow White & The 7 Dwarfs?...🍎
I'll watch Cagney in anything.
You could make a fair argument that he's the best movie actor ever.
So would I! He was great and cute, too!!
You and me both!!
Yes, he was!!
Me, too. I love him.
Warner Bros. owes Al Jolson a great deal. He made The Jazz Singer a success, discovered James Cagney & Joan Blondell and demanded if they made this movie they recreate their original roles, and Jolson's wife Ruby Keeler was a vital component that made Busby Berkeley's early musicals a success.
It's said that despite Jolson's role in bringing James Cagney and Joan Blondell to Hollywood, Cagney and Jolson would never meet (though I'm slightly skeptical of that trivia tidbit's veracity because surely Jolson and Cagney had attended some of the same public appearances of celebrity gatherings and ceremonies, etc.)
Cagney also felt indebted to his one time benefactor, showman Eddie Foy, who sponsored a room and board shelter for starving young actors and entertainers like Cagney had been before finding some success on the stage which led to his Hollywood stardom. Cagney reprised his George M. Cohan role UNPAID (at his own insistence!) to appear with Bob Hope (as Foy) in the famous "tabletop dancing duel" scene in THE SEVEN LITTLE FOYS (1955.)
Also the debut of pal Joan Blondell. The two had appeared in the stage version, "Penny Arcade".
Can’t wait to see the whole flick!! JC - the Best!!
Wow Joan Blondell looked so cute in this early classic movie with James Cagney!
This looks like quite a good film.
Wow! I watched a lot of these old films when I was a kid. I loved them! They were a glimpse into the past! This one was 24yrs before I was born in 1956. I've never seen this one. I'll have to find it! 👍🏻😉
One word.. LEGEND
Jumps off the screen. Star quality.
A star is born. Film acting was so easy for him. More easy than the seasoned veterans of silent movies still trying to find their way in the talkies. Cagney didn't have to adapt from one medium to another. he just did what he always did on the stage only the camera became the audience. He was the first superstar made for the talkie era. The best. I'm trying to find the full movie but can't. Any suggestions?
hm now let me think.... www.amazon.com/Sinners-Holiday-MOD-Grant-Withers/dp/B00S9CN4J0/
Go back in time.
jon callum well in the 8 years since I left that note, I have the movie on DVD...and I didn’t have to violate the 4th dimension or disrupt the space time continuum to get it.
@@holydiver73 very good reply🙂 Is it a good film with getting then, or is that a daft question?
jon callum the film itself is quite forgettable. It’s definitely one for Cagney and Blondell fan completists only. (Or Grant Withers fans obvs).
For Blondell at her best, watch "Stand-In" (1937), with Leslie Howard. And a guy named Bogart.
I want to see the whole 🎥 I love how everyone sounds angry when they speak
It was on TCM recently.
@@susanb2015 I caught that on TCM late, i did however rented this movie out at the library today. looking forward to seeing the whole movie. Cheers.
they were still learning how to act for film back then, especially for sound, but Cagney could do no wrong he gave life to dreary films
that questioned the viewer as to why they made it in the first place
Joan Blondell as herself!: a natural brunette...
It's her debut as well.
@@Baltimore1894 she was a cutie pie!
Cagney and Blondell had great chemistry together.
@@anthonycrnkovich5241 Cagney once said that if he had ever gotten married to any of his lady colleagues, it would have been to his favorite and most warmly regarded of all his co-stars, Miss Joan Blondell. 😊
@@vincentsartain3061 makes sense. she was cute, smart and had a great sense of humor
Some say that Lucille La Verne who portrayed James Cagney's mother in this film would have been good as Cagney's ma in "White Heat" due to her toughness features and rough attitude.
And yet others say that she would most likely to be too old in 1949 as Ma Jarrett if she'd lived to that year.
Well at least they had a tough looking Margaret Wycherly as Ma Jarrett.
And speaking of Lucille La Verne in gangster films she appeared in "Little Caesar" with Edward G Robinson the same year "Sinners Holiday" was filmed. 🔫🔫👵🛒
Margaret Wycherly also played mother York in Sargent York.
And the other impediment to Lucille La Verne's being a great Ma Jarrett is that she was slightly dead by the time White Heat was made in 1949. She would have been 77 in 1949 and I agree it would have made a very strong Ma Jarrett, not quite as subdued as Margaret Wycherly. Wycherly was 68 in 1949. Both were very intense personalities, but Lucille La Verne would have been in-your-face Steam Roller intense. Margaret Wycherly would have been like a saucepan of poison, slowly and quietly simmering away...
The girl was cute. What was with that guy's hair? lol
2:19 Now THAT'S how you rock a comb-over with confidence! He just styled that little patch right up!
Talented man, speaking Yiddish- but Cagney(Irish descent) is from the Lower East Side, NYC that was a predominantly Jewish community, he said in a interview he learned Yiddish young because most of his classmates were Jewish.
blue- T Cagney was physically born on Manhattan's Lower East Side, but grew up in multi-ethnic, working class Yorkville on the Upper East Side. He had Jewish kids among his friends there, and attended Stuyvesant High School, then and now a top NYC academic magnet school for bright kids. He took German there as his foreign language and frequently studied with Jewish classmates from immigrant families. Since Yiddish is a dialect of German, with Hebrew and Slavic influences mixed in, he was able to pick it up easily, and said he thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the slang and funny insults.
I know the voice of the woman who played Cagney's mother in here , her name was Lucille la Verne . I'll give you a little line from one of her movies " Now I'll be fairest in the land " . Can't remember where that line was from , It was from 1937's Disney film " Snow White and the Seven Dwarves " . She played the Evil Queen in the film , and that was her last one . I haven't seen this one , but I kinda' saw his next film debut 1931 " The Public Enemy " . Lucille la Verne 1872 - 1945 . She lived to be 72 .
She also played ma in Little Caesar. at the end where she said to Caeser I'll give you $150.00 if you be a good boy. LOL.
She was also in the silents, e.g. opposite Lillian and Dorothy Gish in ORPHANS OF THE STORM (1921.) And played a similar "creepy old woman" in A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1935.)
Straw boaters were at their height.
They're working at an arcade, get it ( ya mug).
Lucille La Verne did a brilliant turn in "Orphans of the Storm" by D. W. Griffith.
Also in A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1935) and, of course, as the voice of the evil "Snow Queen / witch" in SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937.)
Good ol' Ma Frochard! :)
"Yeah?" "Yeah! Yuz wanna make sumpin' of it?"
At 1:14 that is Lucille La Verne, she played Ma Magdelena, the one holding Lil Caesar's money while he's on the lamb..
James Cagney and Snow White's Evil Queen / Hag!
Lucille LaVerne was considered a beauty in her youth, oddly enough
@@scotnick59 I can believe that. She just played tough old broads a bit too well.
James Cagney As Natural Actor Like Mothers Milk, I'd Bought His Movies On Dvd When I Had The Money , I Want A Download Copy Its A Rip Off And You Can't Have A Copy That's Transferable.....
This guy’s hair
I will have a hair cut like that one day
i love your stuff
Really early stuff looks like it was filmed on location.
also been looking for the film with no luck
2:19 And the worst hairstyle EVER award goes to...
@cary derryberry I'd still rather wear one o' those straw hats than that haircut. That's probably why people wore those hats: to cover up the 'do they had on their head.
0:40 Great clam shell mutoscope machine, 0:44 phonograph in background adjacent to classic lollipop scale, also an upright slot machine at 0:36
Didn't they have strong women characters in movies back then? Even Cagney met his much in film after film, for example his ma in White Heat. Robin Witting
Warren Hymer at 0:16
i have the film
10th avenue cruiser lol
where could i get it?
Yummy a cutie
buy it yhen send me a copy
Grest movies back then. Today trash with arrogant actors
Not all of today's actors crowd are so bad (Sandra Bullock, for one but there are numerous other exceptions to the rule) but overall, you're right and I have absolutely no use for most of them.
Joan Blondell as a brunette!
She looks good.
Miss Blondell was a natural brunette.
@@samjones4451 I think she was the prettiest woman in the "pre-Code" era. ❤️
What does she say at 1:22?
"Then where was you?"
1:44 to 1:46. 😢
So long. If Cagney wasn't already married he probably would have married Joan Blondell. He said she was the only other woman he ever liked.
1:14