Stars: James Cagney, Sylvia Sidney, Porter Hall Director: Frank Lloyd In pre-WWII Tokyo, dedicated American reporter and a beautiful spy uncover a Japanese plot for world domination!
My dad saw this movie as a child and pursued martial arts as soon as he could. He passed on a love of old movies, and Cagney in particular, to me. Watching this again in memory of you Dad. Miss you.
Hi Lori ,my mom & i would watch old movies together too and like your dad, my moms gone too , but their memories live on every time we watch an old movie : )
We miss and love you James Cagney. You're a great actor as well as these other actors in the movie 🎥. You bring a magnetic energy to every movie you make.
I remember the first time I watched James Cagney in a movie, always heard about him and how he played the toughs guys, but the movie I'm speaking of was "Yankee doodle dandy" and let me tell you, he was incredible, I couldn't believe, how I was clued to the television, just watching him dance and sing, ever since that day I watched every Cagney movie I could find, I always though he was the greatest actor I ever watched, I just loved him in every movie, he was also a wonderful human being away from Hollywood.
klari geiszler. "Top of the world mom!" My first Cagney film was "Angels With Dirty Faces." The part where he was being led off to be executed haunted me. Wonderful man. Raised horses and studied soil after acting in his last movie "Ragtime."
When he slapped actor Leo Gorcey for butting in while he was performing on set and told him they would be working together and he'd better be a good boy, it was not in the script...it was so well done, the producer left the incident in the movie "Angels with..."@@juliat6221
Watched the "White Heat" yesterday... my first James Cagney film... I knew him when I was little but never got to watch a full film as I was more interested in romantic films. He was just incredible, top of the world... Along with Edward G. Robinson, he is the best villain I've seen on the screen. Now I'm here to watch more!!
It's amazing how Youthful Cagney's stance and movements were even though he's in his mid 40's here. From far away shots I could swear that was him in his early 30's. He really held his youth a long time.
Ted thesailor alcohol was considered a “social drink”, back then up to the 70’s everyone had a bar in their living room or liquor cabinet in their living room. It was a natural pastime like drinking milk everyday . Times were different and the mindset. Women even drank wine and smoked while they were pregnant! 😳
You know, William Cagney was a Very Good Movie Producer... There aren't many of his films I haven't enjoyed, & this is amongst those. It Helps A Bunch When James [his brother] is the Star of His Films! The Duo Made Music TOGETHER, lol - Thank Goodness For The Oldies But Goodies We Are So Blessed To Have At Our Finger-tips Today. Thanks For Sharing!
Sylvia Sydney (1910 - 1999) had a remarkable career spanning more than seventy years and unlike so many popular female stars of the 1930s, she kept getting roles as a middle aged and then elderly lady - for example, she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1973 for her performance in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973). In 1985, she won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in An Early Frost and in 1988 she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice. Her first film in 1927 was Broadway Nights and by the early 1930s she was an established star often playing the girlfriend or sister of a gangster. She appeared with Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracey, Henry Fonda, Joel McCrea, Frederic March, George Raft and Gary Grant. In 1936 she starred in Hitchcock's British film Sabotage which was a smash hit and she was earning a staggering $10,000 a week and she earned $80,000 for Sabotage. Her career dimmed somewhat in the 1940s and in 1949 exhibitors voted her "box office poison" but she bounced back and went on to play highly successful character parts in movies and on TV. Her final film was another Tim Burton production, Mars Attacks in 1996.
i am a great admirer of Silvia Sidney. I met her once in Bangor, Maine in 1956 when she was doing a summer performance, live on stage. Afterwards I went backstage and introduced myself. She was in her dressing room alone and packing her suitcase as it had been the last performance of the play. She was a tiny lady, She had the most wrinkled face skin of anyone I've ever seen. It did not show on stage, nor any movie I ever saw her in. How this was managed is beyond me. A great actress.
@@thomasgansevoort929 written by a smooth faced nobody at the time. Moma said if you don't have anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all. That goes for writing too...
Sorry for your loss.2018 was just yesterday. I am so glad you have fond memories of togetherness with your Dad. That in itself shows how much he loves you still.
What a great actor Cagney was, slick, clean, honest, mean, tough and above all a true professional...........wish i could go back and watch him all over again.....................YOUCH !!!!
Either way. Using his fists, or a gun. He got his point across violently, but James Cagney was a wonderful character actor. R.I .P. James, & thanks for the wonderful movies. & memories.
@@iansilo105 I enjoy watching JC do his thing. Plus, I'm a classic kind of lady; black & white movies, sub-titles, and Zombies... what a pleasure. I saw my first black and white in 1968, I was seven-years-old. Night of the Living Dead. My mom had eight children. I'm the oldest, and the only one sitting in the dark watching the movie. Ahh, the good old' days. "Baby Come Back!"
Great Cagney film. It's interracial, despite being jingoistic and introducing post war Americans to Japanese "life style." And the mixed judo boxing was a novelty in movies. JC is terrific. Sad that diabetes affected in his later years and the quality of life not good.
Can you tell me of his brothers roll in movies. I Have no idea of his involvement and his first name Please thank you. James Cagney in 'White Lightning' and there is a rare one calledI believe it was called 'Angle in my ear' Saw it only once.
If there is a film with Mr. Cagney reading a PHONE BOOK I would WATCH IT ! Loved the man ! Many years ago my uncle & JC owned farms near one another in up state NY . We went to his daughters restaurant often. She had her dads MEMORABILIA on EVERY WALL ! Thanks PIZZAFLIX. Your viewers STILL would ORDER from your ENTERTAINMENT MENUE any day...every day..
Cagney put his Judo skills (he was black belt) combined with his boxing prowess to good effect, this could’ve been the first visual demonstration of “mixed martial arts”
Met Cagney almost 72 years ago with a friend, Shorty Stark, who was a dead ringer for him. At one time Shorty held five world records in skydiving. James Cagney said meeting Shorty was like looking in a mirror.
I had to double check the year of release as I couldn’t believe how youthful Cagney looked. Another film I’ve never seen before. Cagney always good value and Sylvia Sidney was suitably exotic.
I lived through the war years and wonder why this propaganda play pussyfoots around Hirohito, blaming all the evil on Adm. Tanaka? The weasel emperor was in on ALL of it from start to finish.
@@jjoohhnnx John, I was referring to now, in 2021. Both of the actors you mentioned did some excellent work. Anyone whose seen Cagney in 'White Heat' will never forget the stunning, and staggering end of that film.
Years ago, one of the reviewers for this film sniffed, "It is a clear example of anti-Japanese sentiment..the tone and direction of the movie." Hello??, of course. This was 1945. Keeping history in context, Hiroshima, Pearl Harbor and we had just literally ended the Second World War. Our perception of the Japanese, xenophobia at its highest, and not without good reason because of atrocities upon American prisoners in the war. Excellent material for a thesis: Hollywood's treatment of this subject. I'd partner this with 'Japanese War Bride", and "Sayonara", and maybe even "Bridge to the Sun", all showing the way cinema handles this subject. Though I'm sure it's been done. But back to this film - I always thought Cagney a much better actor than many gave him credit for..and Sylvia is excellent as well!
+Cynthia Hawkins The Jews WERE STILL GAINING POWER THEN, TOLD A LITTLE BIT OF THE TRUTH THEN. AND RELIED ON ACTING ABILITY AND PERSONAL CHARISMA for a good movie
joe west-brown: What is your fucking problem? The Jews, what was left of them in Europe, were recuperating in detention camps and sanitoriums all over Europe thanks to the American JDC funded by American JEWS. It took them YEARS to physically recover from the concentration camps. You're a POS. GFY.
German jews declared an economic boycott of German goods in March of 1933. Then when the National Socialists made a counter boycott in April, the Jewish controlled media in the west claimed that this anti-semitism came from nowhere. It's always someone else's fault, not the self appointed chosen ones.
Although Cagney is light on his feet, and actually did a lot of the throws himself in this film. It was Cagney's stuntman that did the heavy lifting (pun intended!) during the last fight scene. Between the expert camera work, the great editing, and the fact that the stuntman was a real expert at hiding his face, this was extremely impressive, especially for the time. WOW!
Cagney was a real life golden glove boxer and black belt Judoka before Olympic Judo training replaced traditional Judo training methods in the west. The flick kick, edge of hand strike and heel palm strikes seen in this fight scene are all part of old school Judo self-defense/unarmed combat training (not used in competitive Judo). The boxing Cagney mixes with his Judo comes from his golden glove background and growing up as a street fighter in New York City where he had to face a lot of bullies due to his small stature. Cagney trained all of his life in Boxing and Judo to remain fit.
Chinese playing japanese and speaking english and americans playing japanese too. A pure propaganda movie, but Cagney is great as always. The world really needs Cagney today.
Thanks, PF. It's been a while since I first saw this great movie. Brilliantly directed, it doesn't leave a spare moment wasted. Mr. Cagney, as always delivers an heroic performance. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Trigger warning for snowflakes: don’t watch old movies if u are going to whine and be offended. You cannot judge those times by today’s weak standards. JC was great in any role even romantic, he has that charisma and charm! That final fighting scene, satisfying! Times when Americans loved patriots🎆
.....the Man was so Great & did I say flawless? I think 85% of the time it was JAMES CAGNEY coming thru -- he really didn't have to do much "acting". Even Bogart wained when in the same room with his character. It was awesome to watch......
Yes, highly dubious that an American who just studies Judo for a year or two in his spare time could be wiping out an entire Japanese secret police force with his Judo skills. But hey, he's Jimmy Cagney, isn't he?
All that I thought Cagney was all about wsere the 3 movies of his: "Public Enemy","Whit e Heat" and "Mr. Roberts" but I am suddenly discovering a rich treasure trove of his other movies ending with "Terrible Joe Moran".
@@cosettecopperfield8397 Well it might be "Entertainment at its best" but I think that Cagney's BEST ASCTING PERFORMANCE was in the brilliant crime movie "White Heat", directed by Raoul Walsh.
@@steveburrus9347 Many times have I heard of that movie, but not seen. I will check that out. Also, I will check out the recommendation by Will Snyder, '13 Rue Madielaene'. Thanks Steve and Will.
I saw a wonderful documentary on James . He was a beautiful and natural person . Organic instincts. charisma galore . He was completely humble about himself. But said he only really wanted to be a dancer , that was his bliss ! And what a dancer he was !!!
ROFL at 9:30 Cagney trolls racist white American guy with "I see- some of my best friends are Chinese, eh?" I thought that was a more recent saying. And Cagney rolls it out beautifully!
Jess Gatt yes, when the press had morals and wrote a story without maligning the story to get people to agree with their personal opinions! When they had to have a verified resource that gave them information. The editors had integrity and nothing could be printed if the journalist didn’t have proof to backup their story! Today the media is sloppy, reports inaccurate news! Never recants and corrects their errors, what were once reputable media outlets write stories like rag gossip magazines today! Give false information! You can’t believe anything you read today, and the stories are biased based on that media outlets personal political viewpoint, like FOX news! It’s sad how the press and news channels have lowered their principles and morals! Smh 🤦🏽♀️
What a wonderful movie, back when you could tell the difference between a friend and enemy. This should be watched by those now in power perhaps it could give them an idea of what an American WAS and IS, although there are fewer of us every day.
Perhaps, however it is a shame that America did not love a number of her citizens as much as they loved her, for example the Japanese Americans, Unionists, Hispanics, Jews, Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Gays, American Indians, and then of course The Poor were not so much. On a side note regarding the "Tanaka Memorial Imperialist Conquest Plan" where Japan is to conquer all of East Asia, and eventually The United States, and which is alluded to in this film was discovered years later after the wary to be forgery.
I am Black, African-American, Colored, Negro, person of color etc., and whatever the USA decides to call my race of people in the future. Whatever that name changes to be; and however diluted it may be, I have the blood of Mother Africa running through my veins. Inspite of all the pain and oppression my people have endured for more than 400 years in this country; I still love this country. America is like a very beautiful woman....who NEVER takes a bath.....but tries to cover up her stench with expensive perfume!
