Cagney: The actor as auteur

by Patrick McGilligan

Illustrates the vital creative influence upon the cinema of James Cagney in his gangster, vaudeville, Western, and other film roles

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Patrick McGilligan is the author of Clint one of America’s pre-eminent film biographers. He has written the life stories of directors George Cukor and Fritz Lang — both New York Times “Notable Books” — and the Edgar-nominated Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light. His books have been translated into ten languages. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so excited to get a copy of this book! I asked in a forum about books about Hollywood what were the best bios on Mr. Cagney and this came highly recommended, among other things, for the quality of it's research. It's the updated version, expanded from the original 1975 edition. I abhor rumors and fabrications and avoid them like the plague. There are a number of writers in the forum so I can't ask for a better place for guidance. I'm so glad to be able to read this book about such a wonderful human being.

Whereas McCabe's book excelled at giving us insight into Mr. Cagney from someone who was his friend, and Schickel's book gives insight to Cagney's career in a broader social context, and his frustration with what he was able to do within the context of the studio, McGilligan's book is the most scholarly and equally satisfying as the other two books. It's not as if the most recent book I've read is the best, but these three are essential for understanding the complexity of our lovely man with the staccato voice and nimble feet. McGilligans book is a masterpiece.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book and yet at first was a little disappointed - from the title, I expected it to go into a lot of depth about James Cagney's movies and look at the details of how particular scenes work. But it doesn't really do this - which, to be fair, it would have been very difficult for the author to do, since he was writing before videos, and wouldn't have had copies of the movies to hand. A lot of it seems more like a potted run-through of the films, similar to others I've read already, except that the author likes and dislikes different movies... but he does make some interesting points, especially about the few independent movies Cagney made away from Warner.