James Cagney Films of the 1930s [Hardcover]

One of the biggest stars of the golden age of Hollywood, James Cagney appeared in more than sixty films throughout his career. In addition to starring in the classics White Heat, Mister Roberts, and One, Two, Three, Cagney received the Academy Award for his performance as George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy. From his debut in Sinners Holiday to one of his many gangster portrayals in The Roaring Twenties, the actor appeared in more than thirty films of the 1930s. Though he started out in supporting roles, Cagney quickly became a leading man and by the end of the decade, he was a box-office star.

In James Cagney Films of the 1930s, James L. Neibaur reviews the first decade of the great actors work. A film-by-film look at Cagneys movies during this pivotal period, this book traces the actors transition from a song-and-dance man on stage to a tough guy on screen. Although Cagney occasionally was able to deviate from studio typecastingin such films as Footlight Parade and A Midsummer Nights Dreamhis most notable roles were in gangster dramas like The Public Enemy and Angels with Dirty Faces.

Throughout this book, Neibaur provides readers with plot summaries, production details, and critical and commercial reception of each film. For fans of the actors work, James Cagney Films of the 1930s is an invaluable resource that will also appeal to anyone interested in movie-making during one of Hollywoods greatest eras.

James L. Neibaur is a film historian and educator who has written hundreds of articles, including more than forty essays in the Encyclopedia Britannica. He is the author of several books on film, including The Fall of Buster Keaton (2010), Chaplin at Keystone (2012), The Silent Films of Harry Langdon (2012), and The Charley Chase Talkies (2013), and coauthor with Terri Niemi of Buster Keaton's Silent Shorts: 1920-1923 (2013), all published by Scarecrow Press.

The amount of attention Neibaur pays to each film is striking, and his l³o