Fr. John Catoir - Interview with James Cagney

A personal interview with the famous actor, James Cagney, about his life in film and his deep Christian faith. Originally taped as part of "The Christopher's," a weekly television program broadcast in New York. Fr. John Catoir explores a variety of topics with Cagney.

[@Rollo-lq9jq]

The good Lord broke the mold after creating James Cagney!!! Will NEVER see another like him, MISS him so badly!! THE GREATEST EVER!!

[@elizabethcoleman5729]

James Cagney made Movies fun and exciting Love you Mr. Cagney

[@peterdyer3864]

A truly talented man. Remarkable timing and his movement was incomprable. I love watching his work.

[@baymaxc1647]

Great Man, one of my all time favorites! This Man loved And feared God! Great family man! Great Patriot of this greatest country on Earth ! He did USO troop tours during WW 2. Total class! “Salt of the Earth “ RIP

[@seanohare5488]

I agree

[@kathrynbellerose6216]

Humility, talent, class, and a deep faith in God. Loved and miss him. May perpetual light shine upon his soul.

[@traditionalgirl3943]

“Make no demands on each other.” Short, sweet and right on the mark. Cagney was cool in so very many ways. 🙂

[@seanohare5488]

I agree super Cool

[@claudettedelphis6476]

He is the Very Best 🍒☄️🌈🌼🌸🦩🦚 Joan Blondel was exquisite 🌱 Of course his dancing 🕺 was over the top 🐳🥂🍾 Just enjoyed his role with Doris Day ⏰ What a wonderful philosopher 💎 His wisdom lives on 🧲 Forever my favorite star 🌟 Sunny days to everyone 🛎🧸🖼😉

[@scottnapier943]

One of my favourite performances from Mr Cagney is in his film 'Come Fill The Cup' Absolutely magnificent. Orson Welles said many times that Mr Cagney was the greatest screen actor of his generation, who are we to argue such praise.

[@philiphalpenny3783]

Brando, Kubrick & many others said the same about Cagney...in his time though, he & Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant & even John Wayne were so familiar that they were taking for grant critically...consider how few Oscar nominations each of those brilliant performers had...

[@spactick]

Cagney gave films energy and vitality. none of his films are boring, none

[@peace-yv4qd]

"We make no demands on each other". Recipe for a successful marriage. Notice how he doesn't answer a question with a long insightful response. Simple and direct. How I miss that about people. My family was like that. Just tell the truth. Wow.

[@flynnterry9848]

Wonderful actor was jimmy. And a lovely human being. And l would say a real tough man but never showed. Pure talent. Different class

[@ssnoc]

Cagney was incredible - defined the “tough guy” but would much rather dance and he did both perfectly 👏

[@rayb170]

Great actor. Rest in peace Mr Cagney. Thank you for this upload

[@qwer123211]

I have heard two actors say that it was "Just a job". James Cagney and Robert Mitchum and their performance and success is a testament to that belief.

[@philiphalpenny3783]

My two favourite actors...Cagney was an expressionistic firecracker whereas Mitchum had that great poetic stillness...

[@joep8787]

When they said "just a job", they were being modest. Both actors prepared meticulously for their roles, knew their lines cold and were great observers of other people. They incorporated their observations into their acting. Cagney especially liked to throw in a mannerism in each movie that he never repeated in another movie. When you watch a Cagney movie, try and find that mannerism or line that he says over and over. In "Taxi!" he says to Loretta Young more than once, "If I thought you meant it" and nudges her under the chin with his fist. In "Winner Take All", Cagney frequently runs into a scene and skids to a stop. In "Angels With Dirty Faces", he hunches his shoulders when he enters a scene and says over and over "Whadda ya hear, whadda ya say". In "Boy Meets Girl", even though he doesn't play a dancer, he incorporates little tap dancing moves. In other movies, Cagney sported a pencil thin mustache in order to annoy Jack Warner, who had a similar mustache.

[@NoOne-kr4jc]

@@joep8787 Are you sure Mitchum meticulously prepped for his role? I think Mitchum was basically the real deal. He was from the rough South. He was that kind of tough guy. If he was told to get on the horse, he got on the horse. If he was told to step back, he did that. I get the feeling he was just being himself.

[@joep8787]

@@NoOne-kr4jc Well, saying that Mitchum was from the South shows how well he prepared for his roles. He was from Bridgeport CT. He was a master of accents. Could play a Southerner, an Irishman or An Australian with equal ease. Mitchum worked hard, but like James Cagney, liked to pretend as if he'd just wandered on to the set. He prepared very well, knew his lines as well as his costars lines cold.

[@NoOne-kr4jc]

@@joep8787 My bad. I didn't know he was from CT. I thought he was from South Carolina and got into trouble and just shifted all around the country. He got in a chain gang in Savannah, Georgia. So this means he went through all kinds of regions, but eventually made his way into California and got a Hollywood job. So to correct my information, he was born in Connecticut. His dad died in South Carolina. The widow remarried and the family moved to Delaware. Then the mother moved Mitchum with his grandparents in NYC. As a kid, he left home and rode "the rails". He was getting into trouble in school a lot of his life. He got thrown into prison at Savannah, Georgia, but escaped. He came to Hollywood later on. I'm sure he could pick up on all kinds of accents, as even his mother was Norwegian. The impression I got was he was a Hollywood actor who simply did what he was told and did not think of many strategies, just only acting as himself. I remember Don Rickles comparing Clark Gable to later stars who were very meticulous in really getting into the frame of mind in order to cry or to do whatever to really make things as realistic as they could. Rickles said Gable just did it, he was the same guy in person, whereas someone in 90s would still be crying in the corner and its lunch time. He must have been sort of joking about method actors. He pounced on De Niro every shot he could as De Niro was that style and everyone on the set went to stitches.

[@TheTrashStash]

total class act! its rare that an actor is more likeable out of character than in a movie

[@NealManig]

I just love James Cagney!! Superb actor and dancer!! One of a kind!!

[@eddiemurphy5781]

Nothing to say about this Man.Simply the Best ever Modest honest.And what an Actor.

[@MBIKES21]

Worlds best actor.

[@jubalcalif9100]

He was no Huntz Hall but Mr Cagney was indeed a truly gifted actor.

[@bobareeniobobareenio2935]

A joy to hear Cagney..

[@joslinblake8556]

What a talent. Unparalleled. Superb. I'm working on collecting all his films, although some are hard to find. When he dances, the screen crackles with electricity. Thanks to whomever posted this interview. James Francis Cagney - bless his memory.

[@rossfoster5897]

No stress,no strain. The great ones make it look easy. But we know it takes great effort. What a humble man! Thank goodness we can still enjoy his body of work.

[@vincentroberto968]

Top of the world ma! Simply the Best.

[@rogerwinters9856]

I love all his work but when he did a comedy with Bette Davis my goodness on a cold winter night this movie had me dying laughing, God bless him such a humble person.

[@veronicawhatley5044]

Great Man - there are no words to do him justice. I love him , just love him.A real human being with empathy , standards , morals.

[@FordFracture]

How could you not like and love Mr Cagney . True no bullshit talent what you see is what you get and what you get is pure gold !!!!!

[@seanmacmurchadha1807]

What an astonishing group of genius made up the Goldrn Era from Judy Garland to Fred Astaire and of course Jimmy C one of the greatest. No fakery here a real actor, gentleman and human being. We will never see the likes again.

[@isabellabuckley7999]

A gentleman is our Jimmy🌈👍

[@bennyjazzful]

WOW WOW WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From a mad keen 76yo Aussie fan Wonderful interview of a incredible man & actor.

[@johnharrington1800]

Fr. John Catoir does a great job interviewing Cagney.

[@patbest7057]

Glad lady doing sign language for ppl like me thankyou

[@dougreed2257]

Lovely lovely man, talented beyond description👏🙂

[@grahamstevens3658]

Angels With Dirty Faces...what a film 👍

[@edrick826]

the days of the GREAT ones are ALL gone now.....glad I was born in a time to see the likes of Mr. Cagney , Edward G Robinson, George Raft, Humphrey Bogart and on and on..............!!!! RIP you all, you are missed by many................

[@quickchris10comcast]

He's so fair-skinned on color tape. Were his eyes blue/hazel, then? The makeup artists just poured on the eyebrow pencil for those old, black-and-whites, apparently.

[@coloren1]

This priest asks more intelligent questions than most of the interviewers today.

[@misterwhitman4368]

Is that priest still alive? (2019)

[@stephaniestanley8041]

You got that. It was an incredible interview.

[@NoOne-kr4jc]

@@philiphalpenny9761 I feel there are times people should keep their beliefs to themselves. That is the best self defense against time. Time judges how you look and you may never ever know about it. People should recognize how silly it makes other people look whether in your opinion the people are brainwashed or not. They should see how oblivious it makes the other person. I am more a lefty, but I do not believe in either party.

[@ciaran6309]

a very down to earth man , no ego at all, unlike some other actors. . lovely to see.

[@gerardmazzarese9363]

I loved to watch him dance. If they love to watch you then you are a good dancer. He was very good.

[@gangstaman2069]

It's kinda bizzare to see a priest as an interviwer, but any interview with james cagney is more than welcome

[@philiphalpenny9761]

Yes, you half expect Pat O' Brien to wearing the collar!

[@alanwitton5039]

Great actor!

[@johnstevenson2890]

What a joy to listen to a genius, as Orson Welles once said he was the greatest actor to appear in front of a camera,

[@anneroy4560]

Welles also said that there was never a wasted movement ... all were there to move the story along ...

[@philiphalpenny3783]

@@anneroy4560 A critic reviewing 'White Heat' once opined..."Mr Cagney achieves the fascination of a brilliant bullfighter at work...deftly engaged in the business of violence with economy & grace"...

[@dennisvaccato4441]

To this day he's one of my favorites.To go from Public Enemy, Yankee Doodle Dandy( best actor), White Heat & Man of a thousand faces.To him just a job.Amazing & Impressive.

[@stephaniestanley8041]

Amazing unbelievable talent Dennis

[@strothermartin5368]

CLASS PERIOD! !!

[@rkomgm3932]

Legend !

[@kashu66]

I'll tell you a little story. I was 10 years old when my father died - I adored him. He was an Irishman from Co. Leitrim. When I was about 13 years old I saw my first James Cagney picture, and I thought he was wonderful. While other teenagers had photographs of Elvis Presley on their bedroom walls - I had James Cagney! When asked (as silly teenage girls do) who is YOUR heartthrob ..... my reply was 'James Cagney' and everyone laughed. Imagine my surprise when I read much later that James Cagney's forbearers had emigrated from Co. Leitrim! Strange old world. I still love him all these years later - a great man. Such a shame he and his wife's lives were overtaken by a zealous couple who assisted in estranging them from their two adopted children and the rest of the Cagney family.

[@dorisdavenport3440]

kashu66 I

[@dorisdavenport3440]

Loved him too. I saw Yankee Doodle Dandy probably 20 times.

[@rossdemarco1206]

Paul Gallagher Maybe Paul , I thought Cork . I have reason to believe so . But whatever you should go a little easy there Paul it’s not so important to go to that extreme .

[@michaelmuldowney8]

Thanks for sharing. Great questions.

[@Polish2317]

If you have not seen Angels with dirty faces, and haven't seen Cagney, Bogart, and the Bowery Boys in same movie! See it, ending was topic of conversation for years as to Cagneys crying scene at end, still not sure myself. Great film

[@i-a-g-r-e-e-----f-----jo--b]

My mother knew Martin Sheen from Greenwich Village days when I was born in the early 1960s, funny how he mentioned him. Always loved Jimmy, I'm Irish so that's part of the reason. Thanks for posting! FYI, the presentation got cut off (sad) but, "The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organization founded in 1945 by the Maryknoll priest James Keller."

[@philiphalpenny9761]

Interviews with Cagney are a rare thing. So this is a special find. Not much is revealed, though, as he was so private and gaurded. His maxim for acting-look'em the eye and tell the truth- is as unassuming as the man himself. His great individual talents set him apart other's who can ascrib to his direct approach- "walk in plant your feet" etc. but will not quite match his choreographed grace, wit, humour, pathos and intensity.

[@eenavid]

just reading very good book on cagney by doug warren ,interesting book,,

[@philiphalpenny9761]

The best books on Cagney are Actor as auteur by Patrick Magilligan (1982) and Cagney (1997) by John McCabe.

[@philiphalpenny9761]

Actor as auteur by P. Magilligan (1982) and Cagney(1997) are great books to study for anyone interested in the mercurial little dynamo that was James Cagney.

[@eenavid]

im just reading cagney by doug warren ,,good book,,

[@ThePurplebear77]

I liked the doug warren book but my favorite james cagney book is cagney by cagney.

[@acedrumminman]

That generation and the next were all of the same cloth..."Do the job, you're taking good money for it, do you best, it's as simple as that."

[@davidtowers1282]

If you had to sum up James Cagney ! in one word ! it would be Empathy ! he had a abundance of empathy for his fellow man. Rest in peace James Francis Cagney.

[@philiphalpenny3783]

Nicholas Ray said the same thing when they did the picture 'Run For Cover' together in 1955...

[@davidparris7167]

As James Cagney said his one aim in acting was to convey the truth. He certainly did that and more.

[@garysicemore3907]

I grew up watching this guy in movies on TV. When ragtime came out it was the first movie on the screen that I seen him in it was only because of him that I went to see the movie.😂

[@essessessesq]

I did read once that Cagney said he would ONLY play criminals if the criminal was not glorified, and if justice prevailed at the end of the film.

[@ald668]

A GREAT TALENT!

[@laureencallahan6946]

He's my Role Model! GREAT Human!

[@Raelspark]

Of his 65 films, I think only 8 were filmed in color.

[@guillermocama9077]

genius james cagney

[@jimkev3684]

I wish i'd had the chance to meet mr james cagney he played and awsome tough guy i loved all the gangsta movies he had played the other one was my favorite when he'd was in japan as a news reporter during the wwll he practice judo there it was a good movie to watch thank you mr cagney for all your work

[@martinjoyce1982]

Brilliant actor, jame Cagney

[@richardbartolo2890]

14 thumbs down, It has to be some mindless lost millennium's who think its just some old guy talking to a priest. Just goes to show how little today's mutants know about whats good and whats not, but also how little they know about or even care to understand about history. That will come back to bite them. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.

[@spockboy]

Thanks for posting! :)

[@avehaddon8622]

Luv jimmy cagney

[@dhss333]

Down to Earth - compare With today's boypunks.

[@adrinathegreat3095]

165,000 bucks to make public enemy in 1931. That's around 2.5 million in today's money. At the time it made 550m dollars at the box office. Ragtime in 1981 cost a stupid 28.3 million and only pulled in 21m at the box office so was a commercial failure. Paying actors more doesn't make a movie better

[@malefrmbk]

One thumbs down must have been Big Ed .......white heat...

[@sammavacaist]

Cagney had to drop out of Columbia when his father died in the flu epidemic in 1918 to earn money for the family. He was studying art history and 2 of his brothers were in medical school, so it was decided their education was more important. He wanted to be a painter, not an actor.

[@josephcarpenter6921]

The True Boyo Always

[@anthonyc.trimarchi1769]

A few are asking what year this interview is. I would say after 1981 since he mentioned Ragtime. Ragtime came out in 1981. Cagney had a stroke before making Terrible Joe Morgan that came out in 1984 (his speech was stroke distorted to the point he spoke too low and off that they dubbed his dialog with a voice actor in post production). So I would say between 1982-1984 is this interview.

[@philiphalpenny9761]

1982, he mentions his imminent 60th wedding anniversary, which clarifies the year of this interview...

[@magoo9767]

That's the kinda hair pin I am.

[@philiphalpenny9761]

Biff grimes...

[@peggyh4805]

The Strawberry Blonde 1941

[@philiphalpenny9761]

@@peggyh4805 "...and the band played on"." Oh Hugo..."fab comic turn from Jim...

[@flylooper]

A mensch1 In every way.

[@joeorrego7247]

Anyone know what year this interview took place? One of my all time favorite actors.

[@philiphalpenny9761]

1982

[@michaelwolter6076]

GOAT

[@lashondafelton1756]

What Year?

[@philiphalpenny9761]

1982.

[@moriahjacobs6131]

What's the Christopher Award?

[@mollycaz1]

When was this interview done

[@philiphalpenny9761]

1982

[@michaelhall2138]

What year?

[@markthomas6703]

Both actors he said he liked are Catholics. Pat O'Brian and Martin Sheen. Coincidence?

[@jesus.christis.lord.foreve899]

♥︎ no secret about Good Theater it's just ♥︎ Good Actors ♥︎ no, they don't make them like they used to do they?

[@brkitdwn]

Guess there are a lot of deaf Catholics needing a Nurse Ratchet explanation.

[@cw1294]

Lol

[@WillScarlet1991]

😂😂

[@audreydempsey7269]

Jsmes ur more lrish dan u.think

[@TheTrashStash]

angels with dirty faces part 2!!

[@philiphalpenny3783]

Angels Was Their Faces came out in 1939...without Cagney & O' Brien though, it made no sense...

[@cw1294]

Do we really need the sign lady, so distracting to put it over him

[@guileniam]

Wonder how hed feel about 200 million spent on movies today

[@anthonyc.trimarchi1769]

Yeah, and all these actors/actresses/producers being exposed as sexual predators and so forth. Hollywood today is a joke. Not to say 1930's Hollywood didn't have its scandals and problems...but compared to today...today's Hollywood is just a joke.

[@manofiske3318]

@@anthonyc.trimarchi1769 "and all these actors/actresses/producers being exposed as sexual predators and so forth. Hollywood today is a joke" lol and who, pray tell, are "all these actors... today" A few, ...yes, however, back in the 'good ol' days' it was far worse and even exposure of a small percentage of those cases from yesteryear that have been "exposed" dwarfs what we find today. "today's Hollywood is just a joke" but NOT because of the odd silly, exploitative, sex obsessed "producer" and a few whores, sluts, and the occasional ingénue offering up the goods 'to get a head' in the biz instead "Tinseltown" is a joke due to the infestation of grotesque, politically motivated perverts that rule the roost in the industry and the hordes of colossally ignorant and/or dumb leftist lunatic rank and file that follow their lead and command; churning out tons of trash in support of their various diabolical "causes" designed to trigger sympathetic responses from the audiences they garner to consume their product. The sexual shenanigans pale in comparison to the schemes devised and put into action by the studios and their minions that seek to indoctrinate the unsuspecting and anesthetized among the masses drawn to screens dominated by by the Hollywood "Elite"

[@colemanadamson5943]

Mr. Cagney was a gentleman and a humble man and a fine actor, excellent dancer and a great showman. That said, be advised that Roman Catholicism is full of pagan rituals and doctrines and is not truly Christian.

[@joanmulhall5616]

Get a life.

[@susanb2015]

At least they didn't let my abusive bigamist husband get a Catholic divorce. But they did ask me if he knew I had obsessive compulsive disorder before we were married. Why? What about in sickness and in health? And my illness only got worse from his abuse. Then this sick American country let him throw me in the goddamn gutter and move a slut into my children's home and my bed.

[@amjoshuaf]

Ah, but you’re wrong. Mr Cagney turned out a gentleman, as you say, because of his Catholic upbringing.

[@HollywoodCharityAuctioncom]

What year?

[@philiphalpenny9761]

1982...