On July 17, 1899, at the gates of a new century, New York saw the birth of one of the most charisma actors of classic Hollywood.
A man capable of overshadowing film legends like Humphrey Bogart in films like The Roaring Twenties (1939). We are talking, of course, about James Cagney, a tough guy with a big heart.
Born into a humble family, before becoming an actor he did every job imaginable for a hardened boy in the underworld of New York. His small stature was not an impediment for Cagney to develop enviable agility, with fists of steel that suggested a great boxer, at a time when this was the king of sport. A boxing glory, which in 1940 he would portray in the magnificent City of Conquest (1940).
However, his destiny had another Olympus in Hollywood in store for him and thanks to the fact that his mother forbade him from getting into the ring, Cagney's steps were directed towards the art of acting. Of course, before being a real hard boiled, he went with the musical - he was a brilliant dancer, as he demonstrated in Footlights Parade - where he launched his career on Broadway. There he met the love of his life, Frances Willard Vernon, and one of his best friends, Pat O'Brien, with whom he shared several films.
Small roles introduced him to the big screen, but his fame came suddenly with his unforgettable role as Tom Powers in Public Enemy (1931). From there, Cagney's career skyrocketed, making a genre like film noir immortal with the help of the Warner studios and with which he had a love-hate relationship. Although he did not let himself be dazzled by the lights of fame and fought for the rights of actors against the excesses of the studios.
With that mix of a dancing boxer, Cagney had an innate talent for this cinema, starring in action scenes that over the years have aged like fine wine. Also in the war he demonstrated that innate talent for acting, where he stood out in films such as The Fighting 69th (1940) or 13 Madeleine Street (1947).
Throughout his career, the New York actor showed that no one like him knew how to die with dignity and emotion on screen - an unforgettable ending in Angels with Dirty Faces. His characters shined for being that antihero with bad manners, but with a sincere heart and inalienable values, as was evident in Al Rojo Vivo (1949), where he collaborated again with Raoul Walsh giving life to Cody Jarret and leaving that phrase to be remembered. anthology: "On the top of the world, mom."
He also knew how to be on the side of the law as he taught us in The Big Guy (1936), chasing swindlers and starring in one of the funniest scenes in memory, when he throws his hat right under the nose of the mafia boss. the window of the skyscraper. One more sign that Cagney did not flinch at anything and that no genre resisted him.
That comic gift that permeated his characters, most of them long-suffering, overflowed like a torrent from the hand of Billy Wilder in the unforgettable, One, Two, Three (1961), one of his last roles before leaving the cinema. The Iron Curtain was never as fun as the Cagney-Wilder tandem taught us.
And despite such a historically successful career, the Academy only recognized him with the Oscar for best actor for his role in Yankee Dandy (1942), a biographical film about the famous vaudeville dancer George M. Cohan.
Having already reached the top of the world and Hollywood, Cagney's star went out on March 30, 1986. However, his light continues to shine with each review of his work. Those movies that make you love cinema. Thanks James Cagney. Thanks, giant.
