Editing James Cagney (section)

===1949–1955: Back to Warner Bros.===
====''White Heat'' (1949)====
[[File:James Cagney in White Heat trailer crop.jpg|alt=Head and shoulders shot of Cagney, wearing black fedora and smiling slightly, scenery in the background|thumb|upright|Cagney as Cody Jarrett in ''[[White Heat]]'' (1949)]]
[[File:Virginia Mayo and James Cagney in White Heat trailer.jpg|thumb|left|upright|With [[Virginia Mayo]] in ''[[White Heat]]'' (1949)]]
Cagney's portrayal of Cody Jarrett in the 1949 film ''[[White Heat]]'' is one of his most memorable.<ref name="PFrench"/><ref name="Rage">{{cite news|last = Thomson|first = David|date = June 26, 2004|title = Rage in Motion|url = http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1246682,00.html|access-date = June 15, 2008|location = London|work = The Guardian|archive-date = February 19, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210219224427/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/jun/26/books.featuresreviews|url-status = live}}</ref> Cinema had changed in the 10 years since Walsh last directed Cagney (in ''The Strawberry Blonde''), and the actor's portrayal of gangsters had also changed. Unlike Tom Powers in ''The Public Enemy'', Jarrett was portrayed as a raging lunatic with few if any sympathetic qualities.<ref name="auteur112114">McGilligan, pages 112–114</ref> In the 18 intervening years, Cagney's hair had begun to gray, and he developed a paunch for the first time. He was no longer a dashing romantic commodity in precisely the same way he obviously was before, and this was reflected in his performance.<ref name="auteur112114"/> Cagney himself had the idea of playing Jarrett as [[Psychosis|psychotic]]; he later stated, "it was essentially a cheapie one-two-three-four kind of thing, so I suggested we make him nuts. It was agreed so we put in all those fits and headaches."<ref name="Warren181">Warren, page 181</ref>

Cagney's final lines in the film – "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" – was voted the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes|18th-greatest movie line]] by the [[American Film Institute]]. Likewise, Jarrett's explosion of rage in prison on being told of his mother's death is widely hailed as one of Cagney's most memorable performances.<ref name="Rage"/><ref>McGilligan, pages 114–116</ref> Some of the extras on set actually became terrified of the actor because of his violent portrayal.<ref name="Rage"/> Cagney attributed the performance to his father's alcoholic rages, which he had witnessed as a child, as well as someone that he had seen on a visit to a [[Psychiatric hospital|mental hospital]].<ref name="Rage"/>

{{Quote box|quote="[A] homicidal paranoiac with a mother fixation" | source=''Warner Bros. publicity description of Cody Jarrett in [[White Heat]]''<ref name="Warren181"/> | width=225px| align=left}}
The film was a critical success, though some critics wondered about the social impact of a character that they saw as sympathetic.<ref>McGilligan, page 116</ref> Cagney was still struggling against his gangster typecasting. He said to a journalist, "It's what the people want me to do. Some day, though, I'd like to make another movie that kids could go and see."<ref name="Warren182">Warren, page 182</ref> However, Warner Bros., perhaps searching for another ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'',<ref name="Warren182"/> assigned Cagney a musical for his next picture, 1950's ''[[The West Point Story (film)|The West Point Story]]'' with [[Doris Day]], an actress he admired.<ref>Warren, page 183</ref>

His next film, ''[[Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (film)|Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye]]'', was another gangster movie, which was the first by Cagney Productions since its acquisition. While compared unfavorably to ''White Heat'' by critics, it was fairly successful at the box office, with $500,000 going straight to Cagney Productions' bankers to pay off their losses.<ref>Warren, page 184</ref> Cagney Productions was not a great success, however, and in 1953, after William Cagney produced his last film, ''[[A Lion Is in the Streets]]'', a drama loosely based on flamboyant politician [[Huey Long]], the company came to an end.<ref name="SIMPP"/>

====''Love Me or Leave Me'' (1955)====
[[File:James Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me trailer.jpg|alt=face shot of Cagney with short hair parted slightly off center|thumb|right|upright|Cagney as gangster [[Martin Snyder|Martin "Moe the Gimp" Snyder]] in ''[[Love Me or Leave Me (film)|Love Me or Leave Me]]'' (1955)]]
Cagney's next notable role was the 1955 film ''[[Love Me or Leave Me (film)|Love Me or Leave Me]]'', his third with [[Doris Day]], who was [[Billing (performing arts)|top-billed]] above Cagney for this picture, the first movie for which he'd accepted second billing since ''Smart Money'' in 1931. Cagney played [[Martin Snyder|Martin "Moe the Gimp" Snyder]], a lame [[American Jews|Jewish-American]] gangster from Chicago, a part Spencer Tracy had turned down.<ref name="Cagney135">Cagney, page 135</ref> Cagney described the script as "that extremely rare thing, the perfect script".<ref name="Cagney135"/><ref name="Warren189">Warren, page 189</ref> When the film was released, Snyder reportedly asked how Cagney had so accurately copied his limp, but Cagney himself insisted he had not, having based it on personal observation of other people when they limped: "What I did was very simple. I just slapped my foot down as I turned it out while walking. That's all".<ref name="Cagney135"/><ref name="Warren189"/>

His performance earned him another Best Actor Academy Award nomination, 17 years after his first.<ref name="oscar"/> Reviews were strong, and the film is considered one of the best of his later career. In Day, he found a co-star with whom he could build a rapport, such as he had had with Blondell at the start of his career.<ref name="auteur135">McGilligan, page 135</ref> Day herself was full of praise for Cagney, stating that he was "the most professional actor I've ever known. He was always 'real'. I simply forgot we were making a picture. His eyes would actually fill up when we were working on a tender scene. And you never needed drops to make your eyes shine when Jimmy was on the set."<ref name="auteur135"/>

====''Mister Roberts'' (1955)====
[[File:Mister Roberts (1955 movie poster).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Poster (in public domain) for ''[[Mister Roberts (1955 film)|Mister Roberts]]'' (1955) with [[Henry Fonda]], Cagney, [[William Powell]] and [[Jack Lemmon]]]]
Cagney's next film was ''[[Mister Roberts (1955 film)|Mister Roberts]]'', directed by [[John Ford]] and slated to star Spencer Tracy. Tracy's involvement ensured that Cagney accepted a supporting role in his close friend's movie, although in the end, Tracy did not take part and [[Henry Fonda]] played the titular role instead.<ref name="Warren190">Warren, page 190</ref> Cagney enjoyed working with the film's superb cast despite the absence of Tracy. Major film star [[William Powell]] played a rare supporting role as "Doc" in the film, his final picture before retirement from a stellar career that had spanned 33 years, since his first appearance in ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1922 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' with [[John Barrymore]] in 1922. Cagney had worked with Ford on ''[[What Price Glory (1952 film)|What Price Glory?]]'' three years earlier, and they had gotten along fairly well. However, as soon as Ford had met Cagney at the airport for that film, the director warned him that they would eventually "tangle asses", which caught Cagney by surprise. He later said, "I would have kicked his brains out. He was so goddamned mean to everybody. He was truly a nasty old man."<ref name="Warren191">Warren, page 191</ref> The next day, Cagney was slightly late on set, incensing Ford. Cagney cut short his imminent tirade, saying "When I started this picture, you said that we would tangle asses before this was over. I'm ready now – are you?" Ford walked away, and they had no more problems, though Cagney never particularly liked Ford.<ref name="Warren191"/>

Cagney's skill at noticing tiny details in other actors' performances became apparent during the shooting of ''Mister Roberts''. While watching the ''[[Kraft Music Hall (TV series)|Kraft Music Hall]]'' [[anthology]] television show some months before, Cagney had noticed [[Jack Lemmon]] performing left-handed, doing practically everything with his left hand. The first thing that Cagney asked Lemmon when they met was if he was still using his left hand. Lemmon was shocked; he had done it on a whim, and thought no one else had noticed. He said of his co-star, "his powers of observation must be absolutely incredible, in addition to the fact that he remembered it. I was very flattered."<ref name="Warren190"/>

The film was a success, securing three Oscar nominations, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing|Best Sound Recording]] and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] for Lemmon, who won. While Cagney was not nominated, he had thoroughly enjoyed the production. Filming on [[Midway Island]] and in a more minor role meant that he had time to relax and engage in his hobby of painting. He also drew caricatures of the cast and crew.<ref>Warren, page 192</ref>