1930'S JAMES CAGNEY ORIGINAL AQUATONED PORTRAIT 5" X 7" MOVIE STAR PHOTO...U.S.A

Description

MOVIE STAR
CARDS
1930'S JAMES CAGNEY
A WARNER BROTHERS PICTURE MOVIE STAR
AQUATONED CARD---U.S.A.
This is a
1930'S JAMES CAGNEY
.
James Francis Cagney Jr.
(
/
ˈ
k
æ
ɡ
n
i
/
; July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances. He is remembered for playing multifaceted tough guys in films such as
The Public Enemy
(1931),
Taxi!
(1932),
Angels with Dirty Faces
(1938),
The Roaring Twenties
(1939),
City for Conquest
(1940) and
White Heat
(1949), finding himself
typecast
or limited by this reputation earlier in his career. He was able to negotiate dancing opportunities in his films and ended up winning the Academy Award for his role in the musical
Yankee Doodle Dandy
(1942). In 1999 the
American Film Institute
ranked him eighth among its list of
greatest male stars
of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Orson Welles
described Cagney as "maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera".
In his first professional acting performance in 1919, Cagney was costumed as a woman when he danced in the chorus line of the
revue
Every Sailor
. He spent several years in
vaudeville
as a dancer and comedian, until he got his first major acting part in 1925. He secured several other roles, receiving good notices, before landing the lead in the 1929 play
Penny Arcade
.
Al Jolson
saw Cagney in the play and bought the movie rights, before selling them to
Warner Bros.
with the proviso that James Cagney and Joan Blondell be able to reprise their stage roles in the movie. After rave reviews, Warner Bros. signed him for an initial 0-a-week, three-week contract; when the executives at the studio saw the first dailies for the film, Cagney's contract was immediately extended.
Cagney's fifth film,
The Public Enemy
, became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period. Notable for a famous scene in which Cagney pushes half a grapefruit against
Mae Clarke
's face, the film thrust him into the spotlight. He became one of Hollywood's leading stars and one of Warner Bros.' biggest contracts. In 1938 he received his first
Academy Award nomination for Best Actor
for his subtle portrayal of the tough guy/man-child Rocky Sullivan in
Angels with Dirty Faces
. In 1942 Cagney won the Oscar for his energetic portrayal of
George M. Cohan
in
Yankee Doodle Dandy
. He was nominated a third time in 1955 for
Love Me or Leave Me
with
Doris Day
. Cagney retired from acting and dancing in 1961 to spend time on his farm with his family. He came out of retirement 20 years later for a part in the movie
Ragtime
(1981), mainly to aid his recovery from a stroke.
Cagney walked out on Warner Bros. several times over the course of his career, each time returning on much improved personal and artistic terms. In 1935 he sued Warner for
breach of contract
and won. This was one of the first times an actor prevailed over a studio on a contract issue. He worked for an independent film company for a year while the suit was being settled, establishing his own production company, Cagney Productions, in 1942 before returning to Warner seven years later. In reference to Cagney's refusal to be pushed around,
Jack L. Warner
called him "the Professional Againster". Cagney also made numerous
USO
troop tours before and during World War II and served as president of the
Screen Actors Guild
for two years.
[
The card was printed in the U.S.A. Approx. size is 5” X 7” inches. Aquatoned was printed in the U.S.A.
CONDITION: EX+
. (some fading, couple bends...better seen on back)
POSTAGE:
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