James Cagney Articles

Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Dames Joan Blondell has always been a favorite of mine, much like fellow wisecracking 1930s Warner Bros. players Aline MacMahon and Glenda Farrell. The fact that Blondell never became a top star says more about audiences — who preferred, say, Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney — than about Blondell's screen presence and acting abilities. As part of its "Summer Under the [...]

William Powell, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy in Jack Conway's Libeled Lady Turner Classic Movies' Jean Harlow film series continues this evening with four of Harlow's MGM vehicles — Bombshell, Personal Property, Reckless, and Libeled Lady — and one supporting appearance in Warner Bros.' The Public Enemy. Harlow really doesn't have much to do in The Public Enemy (1931). She looks about as out [...]

Edward G. Robinson in Mervyn LeRoy's Little Caesar Turner Classic Movies' Moguls & Movie Stars, A History of Hollywood continues this evening with "Brother, Can You Spare a Dream?" which takes us to the beginning of the talkie era and the Great Depression. That was the time when most studios faced bankruptcy; directors, screenwriters, and actors formed unions; the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and [...]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCPZ-BkpU0w[/youtube] Following an introduction by Frank Sinatra, Doris Day salutes James Cagney, recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award back in 1974. In her tribute, Day tells "Jimmy" that being with him again that evening was a "sentimental journey" adding that "I can't help but wish we were starting out to do Love Me or Leave Me all over again." In that 1955 Charles Vidor [...]