Editing James Cagney (section)

====''Smart Money'' (1931), ''Blonde Crazy'' (1931), and ''Taxi!'' (1932)====
[[File:Taxi lobby card 2.jpg|thumb|right|Lobby card for ''Taxi!'' (1932)]]
[[File:Taxi film still 3.jpg|thumb|right|[[Loretta Young]] and Cagney in ''Taxi!'' (1932)]]
[[File:Taxi film still.jpg|thumb|right|[[David Landau (actor)|David Landau]], Loretta Young and Cagney in ''Taxi!'' (1932)]]
Warner Bros. was quick to team its two rising gangster stars, Edward G. Robinson and Cagney, for the 1931 film ''[[Smart Money (1931 film)|Smart Money]]''. Eager to follow the success of Robinson's ''Little Caesar'', the studio filmed ''Smart Money'' concurrently with ''The Public Enemy''.<ref>Warren, page 82</ref>

With the introduction of the [[Motion Picture Production Code]] of 1930 that placed limits upon on-screen violence, Warner Bros. allowed Cagney a change of pace, casting him in the comedy ''[[Blonde Crazy]]'', again opposite Blondell.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/4302?sid |title=The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893-1993:''Blonde Crazy'' |access-date=August 20, 2022 |archive-date=July 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714094157/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/4302?sid |url-status=live }}</ref>

''The Public Enemy'' was an enormous box-office success, and Cagney began to compare his pay with that of his peers, believing that his contract allowed for salary adjustments based on the success of his films. However, Warner Bros. refused to allow him a pay raise. The studio heads also insisted that Cagney continue promoting their films, even those in which he did not appear, despite his opposition. Cagney returned to New York, leaving his brother Bill to look after his apartment.<ref>Warren, page 85</ref>

While Cagney was in New York, his brother, who had effectively become his agent, sought a substantial pay raise and more personal freedom for him. Following the success of ''The Public Enemy'' and ''Blonde Crazy'', Warner Bros. offered Cagney a contract for $1,000 per week.<ref>Warren, page 89</ref> Cagney's first film upon returning from New York was ''[[Taxi!]]'' (1932), a critical success in which Cagney danced for the first time on screen. It also marked the last time that he permitted live ammunition to be shot at him, a relatively common occurrence at the time, as [[Blank (cartridge)|blank cartridges]] and [[Bullet hit squib|squibs]] were rare and expensive. During filming for ''Taxi!'', he was almost hit by gunfire.<ref name="Warren90">Warren, page 90</ref> In the film's opening scene, Cagney speaks fluent [[Yiddish]], a language that he had learned during childhood in New York City.<ref name="de Sales" /><ref name="Warren90" />

{{quote box
| quote = "I never said, 'Mmm, you dirty rat!' What I actually did say was 'Judy, Judy, Judy.'"
| source = ''Cagney, in his acceptance speech for the [[AFI Life Achievement Award]], 1974''
| width = 250px
| align = left
}}

''Blonde Crazy'' and ''Taxi!'' contain lines that became the basis of many misquoted celebrity impersonations of Cagney. He never said "Mmm, you dirty rat!" on film; in ''Blonde Crazy'', he says: "That dirty, double-crossin' rat!"<ref name=":1" /> and in ''Taxi!'', he says: "Come out and take it, you dirty, yellow-bellied rat, or I'll give it to you through the door!" The quote from ''Blonde Crazy'' was nominated for the [[American Film Institute]]'s 2005 [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes]] list.<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/quotes400.pdf |access-date=July 30, 2016 |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706070525/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/quotes400.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The film was swiftly followed by ''[[The Crowd Roars (1932 film)|The Crowd Roars]]'' and ''[[Winner Take All (1932 film)|Winner Take All]]''.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}