A Look Back At James Cagney's 'The Roaring Twenties'

Long before Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino portrayed American mobsters in films, the late, great James Cagney appeared as a gangster in several classic American crime films. 

James Cagney is one of my favorite actors. 

I recently rewatched James Cagney in 1939’s The Roaring Twenties. 

Directed by Raoul Walsh, Cagney and two friends, Humphrey Bogart and Jeffrey Lynn, return home after serving together in the U.S. Army in WWI. 

Cagney and Bogart go into the bootlegging business during Prohibition, and Lynn, a lawyer, works for the two gangsters. 

Cagney, a dancer and a former amateur boxer, was very good as the tough guy Irish hoodlum. I love the way he threw a realistic punch upwards at taller and bigger men. 

He had a great face, voice and swagger. Although a short man, Cagney had a powerful screen presence. 

Bogart is also very good as a truly bad guy in the film. 

James Cagney was one of Warner Brothers’ movie stars during their Gold Age of crime films, along with Bogart, Edward G. Robinson and George Raft. 

Cagney’s breakout gangster film was 1930’s The Public Enemy, in which he famously squashed a grapefruit into a girl’s face. 

Cagney’s last portrayal of a gangster was in Raoul Walsh’s 1949’s White Heat, where the older, heavier Cagney dies shouting, “Top of the world, Ma!” 

You can watch The Roaring Twenties via the below link:        

Bing Videos 

Cagney also starred as song & dance man George M. Cohan in 1942’s Yankee Doodle Dandy.  

You can also read a biography of Jimmy Cagney via the below link:

James Cagney [biography]:Biography Description: Performing Arts Encyclopedia, Library of Congress (loc.gov) 

Joe Pesci’s 10 Most Brutal Movie Scenes As The Mob Actor Turns 73, From 'Goodfellas' To 'Home Alone' (Warning — Graphic content) Now Go Get Your Shine Box

Yesterday was actor Joe Pesci's birthday and to celebrate the day, Mark Emery at the New York Daily News offers a piece on the actor and presents 10 of his most brutal movie scenes.

Few can dish it — and take it — like Joe Pesci. 

The short actor with an even shorter fuse became famous for playing ruthless mobsters eager to inflict pain, and often their propensity for violence catches up to them — sometimes in savage fashion.

With Pesci turning 73 on Tuesday, here are his 10 most brutal movie scenes:

You can read the rest of the piece and watch the video clips via the below link:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/joe-pesci-10-brutal-movie-scenes-actor-turns-73-article-1.2525617

Happy Birthday To Martin Scorsese

As Biography.com notes, today is the 71st birthday of film director Martin Scorsese.

Born November 17, 1942, in Flushing, New York, Martin Scorsese is known for his gritty, meticulous filmmaking style and is widely considered one of the most important directors of all time.

Martin Scorsese was born November 17, 1942, in Flushing, New York. Raised by Italian-American parents in the Little Italy district of Manhattan, Scorsese later remembered his neighborhood as being "like a village in Sicily." Scorsese's parents, Charles and Catherine, both worked part-time as actors, helping set the stage for their son's love of cinema.

Because Scorsese was afflicted by severe asthma, his childhood activities were limited; rather than play sports, he spent much of his time in front of the television or at the movie theater, where he fell in love especially with stories about the Italian experience and films by director Michael Powell. By the time he was eight years old, Scorsese was already drawing his own storyboards –often complete with the line, "Directed and Produced by Martin Scorsese."

You can read the rest of the piece and watch a video clip about Martin Scorsese via the below link:

http://www.biography.com/people/martin-scorsese-9476727?et_cid=57335117&et_rid=704027439&linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.biography.com%2fpeople%2fmartin-scorsese-9476727

You can also read my column about Martin Scorsese's world of crime via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/11/happy-birthday-to-martin-scorsese.html