Line #19 Creator/JamesCagney


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/james_cagney_promo_photo.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:310:The ''[[UrExample original]]'' [[Film/ThePublicEnemy1931 Public Enemy]].]]
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4	-> ''"You dirty rat!"''
5	-->-- '''[==]''[[BeamMeUpScotty Not]]'' James Cagney''' [[note]] The quote originally spawned from the 1932 film ''Taxi!'', and while he technically said the words, the line In question was actually "Come out and take it, you dirty yellow-bellied rat, or I'll give it to you through the door!."[[/note]]
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7	James Francis Cagney (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) was an American film actor most famous for his gangster roles in the [[TheGreatDepression 1930s]] and [[TheForties '40s,]] along with his [[BeamMeUpScotty alleged]] [[CharacterCatchphrase catchphrase]]. He starred in some of the best gangster pictures ever made, including ''Film/AngelsWithDirtyFaces,'' ''Film/WhiteHeat,'' ''Film/{{The Roaring Twenties\|1939}},'' and ''Film/{{The Public Enemy\|1931}}'', the last of which unfortunately is [[PopCultureOsmosis mostly remembered]] for a scene in which he [[DomesticAbuse shoves half a grapefruit into]] [[Creator/MaeClarke Mae Clarke's]] [[DomesticAbuse face]].
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9	What isn't commonly known is that Cagney began his career as a [[RealMenWearPink song-and-dance man]]. Even after he was {{type cast\|ing}} as thugs, he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT0Cvzfh38E leaped at chances to act and dance]] in musicals whenever he could.
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11	His tough-guy persona wasn't all for show, though; Cagney staggered Creator/WarnerBros by walking off the lot when the studio failed to honor his contract, and his example set a precedent for fairer studio practices. On the other hand, Cagney's activism landed him in hot water; he was even branded a communist in some circles, although his iconic role in ''Film/YankeeDoodleDandy'' dispelled such rumors pretty quick.
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13	Creator/MichaelJFox is one of his biggest fanboys, for [[PintsizedPowerhouse obvious reasons]]. In 1992 he hosted a TV special on Cagney's life and times entitled ''Top of the World''.
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15	Cagney's story was immortalized in a 2016 off-Broadway musical simply titled ''Cagney'', following his life and career from his humble beginnings as a dock worker, through his success and eventual falling out with Warner Bros., right up to his acceptance of a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute.
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17	----
18	!!James Cagney films with pages on TV Tropes:
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20	* ''Film/BlondeCrazy'' (1931)
21	* ''Film/OtherMensWomen'' (1931)
22	* ''Film/{{The Public Enemy\|1931}}'' (1931)
23	* ''Film/TheCrowdRoars'' (1932)
24	* ''[[Film/Taxi1932 Taxi!]]'' (1932)
25	* ''Film/FootlightParade'' (1933)
26	* ''Film/LadyKiller'' (1933)
27	* ''Film/TheMayorOfHell'' (1933)
28	* ''Film/HereComesTheNavy'' (1934)
29	* ''Film/HeWasHerMan'' (1934)
30	* ''Film/JimmyTheGent'' (1934)
31	* ''Film/FriscoKid'' (1935)
32	* ''Film/GMen'' (1935)
33	* ''[[Film/AMidsummerNightsDream1935 A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (1935)
34	* ''Film/AngelsWithDirtyFaces'' (1938)
35	* ''Film/EachDawnIDie'' (1939)
36	* ''Film/{{The Roaring Twenties\|1939}}'' (1939)
37	* ''Film/TheStrawberryBlonde'' (1941)
38	* ''Film/CaptainsOfTheClouds'' (1942)
39	* ''Film/YankeeDoodleDandy'' (1942)
40	* ''Theatre/TheTimeOfYourLife'' (1948)
41	* ''Film/WhiteHeat'' (1949)
42	* ''Literature/MisterRoberts'' (1955)
43	* ''Film/{{Man of a Thousand Faces\|1957}}'' (1957)
44	* ''Film/OneTwoThree'' (1961)
45	* ''Literature/{{Ragtime}}'' (1981)
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48	!!Tropes associated with James Cagney's work include:
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50	* BeamMeUpScotty: Cagney once lampooned his 'best-known" line at the AFI awards.
51	-->"I never said, '[=MMMMmmm=] you dirty rat.' ''({{beat}})'' What I actually said was '[[Creator/CaryGrant Judy, Judy, Judy!]]'"
52	* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: His characters almost always got their comeuppance, largely due to the encroaching [[UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode Hays Code]] and to maintain PlausibleDeniability about "glorifying violence."
53	* TheCastShowoff: Was a RealLife street fighter and amateur boxer. He would insist on doing his own fight scenes in movies:
54	** During the filming of ''Film/MisterRoberts'', director Creator/JohnFord either wanted to prove himself or thought it would be funny to try and intimidate Cagney. Cagney threatened a full-out beatdown if Ford kept pushing him. Ford backed off.
55	** And of course, the whole reason (well, [[RedScare one of the reasons]]) he wanted to do ''Film/YankeeDoodleDandy'' was because he was tired of only getting roles as rough and tough gangsters, and wanted to return to his roots as a tap dancer.
56	* ChronicallyKilledActor: Due to the encroaching UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode and its rules about "glorifying violence."
57	* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: Had to be invoked, due to his gangster characters and the Hays Code, with disclaimers aplenty.
58	* EscapistCharacter: Most of his characters invoked the best examples of DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster.
59	* EvilIsCool: Even if the studio pretends to have invoked that they think it isn't.
60	* LargeHam: Yet pulled off hamminess in an effective and un{{narm}}y way. Creator/StanleyKubrick once cited him as an example how to do seemingly over-the-top acting while still making it dramatic.[[note]]Kubrick was talking to Creator/StevenSpielberg, who at the time didn't like ''Film/TheShining'' because he felt that Creator/JackNicholson's acting was too hammy. After asking Spielberg to list off his favorite actors, Kubrick asked him "Where's James Cagney?" Spielberg was at a loss as to how he could have missed him, and that eventually caused him to change his mind about the film.[[/note]]
61	* MediaWatchdog: A lot of his best movies were made in the early days of UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode, when you could still get away with a little bit more. As the code grew in power, subsequent rereleases of some of his films had objectionable material cut. Most notably, ''Film/ThePublicEnemy1931'' had next to ''no'' violence cut from its rereleases -- [[DoubleStandard but vague allusions to sexuality were left untouched.]]
62	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Cagney quickly spawned tons of parodies, particularly mocking his gangster works. ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' was particularly fond of mimicking Cagney's acting style, such as in ''WesternAnimation/HollywoodStepsOut'' (where he is among multiple caricatured celebrities) and "Porky's Pastry Pirates" (where Porky is harassed by an aggressive bee with his on-screen demeanour). Perhaps to show no disrespect, their own star, Bugs Bunny, loses the Academy Award to Cagney in ''WesternAnimation/WhatsCookinDoc'' in spite of heavy lobbying.
63	* OneBookAuthor: ''Short Cut to Hell'' (1957) is the only film Cagney ever directed.
64	* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: His movies often come with a disclaimer decrying violence to deter accusations of glorifying violence. Creator/WarnerBros maintained that gangster pictures were meant to serve as a warning, but no one was fooled. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools (Not that anyone was complaining, though...)]]
65	* PintSizedPowerhouse: According to the man himself, he insisted on fighting men who were bigger than him. Had he beaten up someone his "own size", Cagney felt he would have been taking advantage of them.
66	* StarMakingRole: ''Film/ThePublicEnemy1931''.
67	* WorkingClassHero: Perhaps the original. In the Depression era, Cagney's short looks, working-class accent and rambunctious energy made him an obvious hit with the times. He was a working-class son of Irish immigrants who didn't make his accent poshed to work in the business.
68	* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: Quite literally; he was fluent in Yiddish. He grew up in a neighborhood with a large population of immigrant Jews and picked it up in his childhood.

Context Creator / JamesCagney