James Cagney Appreciation Day

That picture, by the way, is from the unbelievable last scene of Roaring Twenties – the “big shot” moment.

I thought it would be appropriate to post the excerpt that mentions how beautifully Cagney always did death scenes. Bogdonavich – who had a chance to hang out with Cagney – relates a story about this:

From Who the Hell’s in It: Conversations with Hollywood’s Legendary Actors:

One of the guests asked how he had developed his habit of physically drawn-out death scenes, probably the best coming at the conclusion of The Roaring Twenties, where he runs (in one long continuous shot) along an entire city block, and halfway up, then halfway down, the stairs in front of a church before finally sprawling dead onto them. In answer, Cagney described a Frank Buck documentary he’d once seen, in which the hunter was forced to kill a giant gorilla. The animal died in a slow, “amazed way,” Cagney said, which gave him the inspiration, and which heplayed out for us in a few riveting moments of mime.

I think it’s definitely in the top 5 death scenes ever filmed. His physical acting is truly amazing. I’m sure it has something to do with his training as a dancer, and how comfortable he is in his own skin … but I LOVED to learn that he used the inspiration of a gorilla, dying in a slow “amazed” way … for the death scenes he did.