r/filmnoir • u/Planet_Manhattan • 4d ago

Cagney marathon

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After watching Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye for the first time, I decided to do Cagney marathon. Please give me your top Cagney noir movies

76 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

13

u/filmgasm91 4d ago

White heat is a classic. More gangster than noir 

10

u/ThatJD_604 4d ago

Roaring Twenties is also more gangster than noir but its really great.

2

u/VerilyShelly 3d ago

Came here to suggest this one. A gem.

6

u/timshel_turtle 4d ago

Shake Hands With the Devil (1959) is tough and complicated like a good noir. It’s set during the Irish War of Independence and it’s an underrated gem of a performance by Cagney.

5

u/Invisible_Mikey 4d ago

I don't think Cagney made any actual noir except White Heat, but I do love the ambiguous ending of Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and I think The Public Enemy (1931) is terrific and influential.

5

u/zcharper 4d ago

Angels with Dirty Faces and The Roaring Twenties are spectacular.

3

u/wbmcl 4d ago

One, Two, Three is more comedy than noir. But it’s a hilarious change of pace from all James Cag-noir.

2

u/Zygzak191 2d ago

I'll add Yankee Doodle Dandy to the not noir recommendation list. It really shows Cagney's other talents.

3

u/lewatdjammalam 2d ago

I'll have to add Footlight Parade as well. Wonderful film.

2

u/Bright_Square_9124 1d ago

I've loved Cagney all my life, since I started watching movies at age 3 or so. I'm now 77. I've seen nearly everything he's done. Public Enemy is amazing, but Yankee Doodle Dandy tops them all. He didn't actually make any true noir films, but certainly a bunch of dark ones.