Cagney Speaking Yiddish | Taxi! | Warner Archive 

My grandfather was a close friend of Cagney's from childhood, they later went to college together. Grandpa was 6 when he came to the States, and Yiddish was the language he spoke at home. No surprises here that Cagney spoke some also, with the proper accent. He had to have known my great grandparents, and spoke to them too. Until now, I never knew or realized that! Very touching video.

Many of Cagney's classmates were Jewish. He said that he picked up Yiddish as he went along. He was an incredible man, actor, dancer, and a truly great American!!!!!

My dad was born and raised on the lower Eastside of NY too and was of Irish & German decent. He had a great ear for languages and became quite fluent in Yiddish. He spent his adult life in the entertainment industry and most of his friends and associates were Jewish. I can still remember him correcting many of them when they mispronounced a Yiddish word or misinterpreted a Yiddish expression.

It's comforting to know that New York hasn't changed in 90 years.

Having been raised on the lower East Side Cagney really was fluent in Yiddish. A remarkable actor with tremendous energy. My personal favorite!

My dad was a watch maker and I remember when we went on a day trip to Tijuana, Mex. he didn't speak Spanish, but could converse with other vendors in Yiddish. Those days are long gone.

James Cagney - A real Mensch!

An actor with talent and a past that never left him. Using what he learned before becoming famous.

Director Francis Ford Coppola spent a day at Cagney's New York state home in 1973 showing him the script to The Godfaher part 2. He wanted Cagney to play the part of Jewish mob boss, Hyman Roth in the film. Cagney loved the script and called Coppola an amazing talent, but decided to stay in retirement. Lee Strasberg took the role and garnered an Oscar for it. I think Cagney would have been awesome in the part as well. A shame he didn't take it.

The greatest of the greats...still no one to compare him to.

That was great. It kinda shows how we New Yorkers grew up in the Melting Pot.

When Stanley Kubrick was asked, "Who is the greatest actor you ever saw?" Kubrick replied, "Cagney."

Cagney is a wonder man. Thank you

This happens every time I use Uber.

A good Irish Catholic lad who was smarter than most in his era to appreciate diversity! Always has been my favorite!

Man, that mick sure could speak the mama loshen!

Jimmy Cagney actually could speak Yiddish in real life

Wow he’s got a great accent

Yiddish Doodle Dandy.

On my own curiosity, I looked up on Google about James Cagney grew up in Yorkville, which the answer I received was he was born in the Lower East Side & grew up there then grew up in Yorkville as well.

DAMN what a scene. "Cagney speaking Yiddish" is why I clicked, but I stayed for this excellent solution to a parking problem.

The actor playing the cop portrayed Cagney's mob boss, Paddy Ryan in The Public Enemy.

There is a short scene in THE FIGHTING 69TH when Cagney speaks Yiddish also.

Great clips, too bad the full film isn't available any more. George Raft's first screen appearance in the dance contest? Dangerous use of live ammunition in scenes that led Cagney to get such recklessness stopped.

The Yiddish actor is Joe Barton (1878-1937)

How about THAT? One of the greats....

Road rage 1.0: it has been around since people started driving.

Thanks for posting!!!

Love that accent!

James is the best.thank you

Love this more and more each time I see it

Did you ever notice that he actually does say "You dirty rat" at 1:43!!!.

You have to love the close-captioning!

Cagney also spoke Yiddish in a movie called The Fighting 59th. A Jew asks him about the drill sergeant..."iz duss der balaboos?' (is that the boss?) and Cagney answers "Nisht far mayn gelt". (Not for my money).

1:47 And the thing about this is, James could really do it!

I LOVE IT !!!! He went to Stuyvestant High School, didn't he ?

Cagney claimed he learned it in Hell's Kitchen, but that was almost entirely Irish (with some Germans mixed in). I think he learned during his years playing vaudeville houses; Yiddish was the lingua franca of the lower rungs of show business.

My favorite forever!

I believe James Cagney went to old Stuyvesant High School on 15th Street near 1st Avenue. So did I, but much later on!

1:47 I know this is a classic movie, but judging from the way that James Cagney was throwing his punches in this scene, he was definitely WAY ahead of his time. If he was acting in modern times in an alternate universe, he'd fit in perfectly with the action sequences from films made over the past 30 or 40 years.

Cagney used to insult Jack Warner in yiddish.

Very Nice

Great!!

There was a cop there just less than a minute ago when the old man got into the cab. Where was he when Cagney's cab got blocked in?

I did see the whole movie online recently. Forget where.

Many Jewish actors spoke Yiddish with him ,but the Warner Brithers were shocked by his knowledge of Yiddish!

So THEN what happened? Did he ever get his cab out on the road? Did he take that man where he wanted to go?

Here is a little background on the Yiddish language for anyone who is not very familiar with it and wonders why it resembles German: Yiddish and modern German both descend (both evolving through the years) from Middle High German, the language spoken in the Rhine River area about a thousand years ago. Jews had migrated there and needed to communicate with their neighbors, so they learned the language, but for use among Jews they retained many Semitic (Hebrew and Aramaic) words, today about 15% of modern Yiddish. They had also retained some words from medieval French and other Romance languages. Further migrations into Poland and other Slavic-speaking countries added Slavic words (maybe 5% of modern Yiddish) and even some influence on the grammar. In the last 150 years or so, English and other "international" words have entered Yiddish, but it is still a Germanic language, with 75% or so of the vocab intelligible by German-speakers. Yiddish speakers can usually understand German, but a German-speaker will be unable to understand Yiddish if the sentences include key words of Semitic or Slavic origin. In conclusion, Yiddish is a separate language, not a dialect of German, but related (the way Spanish and Portuguese are related [Romance] languages -- neither is a dialect of the other).

WOW!!!

1932. when this film was made millions of people were in their houses, working in the fields, and factories. They had dreams, they loved their families and they wanted to prosper. 13 years later they all had met the most horrendous death. Whole families disappeared forever from the face of this earth. Cities, towns, history, livestock, pets, people. Erased from this earth through immense pain and suffering.

man he was great rip🚓🇺🇸

He says "You dirty fink"

When Cagney was negotiating his contract with the Warner Brothers , they spoke Yiddish to try to lower what they wanted to pay him. He surprised them by also speaking Yiddish.

О, так это Джеймс Кэгни.

I am trying to find this on warner archive but without success? I am in the UK maybe that is the problem?

Fulton Mackay !

Can someone please translate the extensive Yiddish dialogue in this clip? Thanks in advance!

"Valenti's???"

Perhaps Mary Nolan on Maureen is calling cards names

Now a days if two cars bumped like that it would be 2-3 grand in damage.

Our delancey St family reference Philadelphia independence Hall

Berosus books with berosis books are ledged by st Eusebius station at shrine for Vatican guard's decisions domestic policy

Ha ha ha!

Maureen is Mary Maureen Nolan. They said these Days

It would have been nice to have subtitles put on this. Just saying.

He grew in a neighborhood that was predominantly made up of Russian immigrant Jews. He learned Yiddish from the kids he played with and could speak it fluently. He learned a lot from watching shows from the Yiddish theater.

Jit got finna clapped

Officers admittance by nunciature I was speaking Yiddish by carriages carryover

Cagney it says ellis island by kinder books dilemmas return foiblies

We should have Yiddish as a high school language choice. More likely to use it here with a fellow American citizen than French.

If you look around the comment I'm making now, you'll see a lot of great comments! Yes, Cagney was wonderful, but after reading your comments, I think all of you are wonderful too!!!!!!

vas ken ikh zagn? di velt darf mer eydish! :)

😉👌

Jesus l hope ur lrish😊

How do you say , in Yiddish : “ Don’t talk to us about stealing land , you stole yours from the Native Americans “

Fun Fact: Did you know that the language Yiddish, what James is fluent in and speaking, it's actually sounds similar to German.

Cagney may our relatives from Ellis Island registration included declancey vst include Doylestown source book directory by D-Town by Declan type of name's

Doos is Manish gevaldig

Officer Nolan relay Maureen does know you by conte naste Traveller Dublin and Belfast

Actually, as a young man, he was a “shabbos goy”. The job was to turn of and on for Jewish people who could not do these things on the sabbath. They could drive or be driven or use the oven. Lots of things that Cagney would be paid for because it was not his religion. That is how he picked up Yiddish.

ער האָט זײער גיך גערעדט! כ'האָב ניט גאָרניטש פארשטאנען.

in the start of the talkie films set in large cities, Jewish people were presented as comedic stereotypes due to their agitated nature and their habit of breaking into Hebrew; when a hero treats such a person with regard instead of ridicule, its a short cut method of identifying him/her as square minded and humanitarian. In the 40's on to today, this method of identifying a nice guy has the (Caucasian) hero bonding with Black characters exhibiting stereotypical behavior.

Food lions black water tigers lynx II Gemini man relay is Jewish brown beanie lined nasturtium jaune. Yamica is Yiddish brown with yellow nasturtium italics design for her atheist from Ellis island to Delaney st. It was their abbeyance by obedience that Raul particular womanizing