by Clint Eastwood is a fan of a single actor and his choice is not the one you expect! He is a hero of police films from the 1930s: James Cagney.
Clint Eastwood, well known for his roles in western films and his talents as director, has never been a big fan of stars. But there is an actor whom he admired by growing up, an actor specializing in the police genre …
In the work Clint Eastwood: interviewspublished in 1999, the latter evokes his admiration for an actor in particular, who marked his cinematic youth: no other than James Cagney, the emblematic actor of the 1930s, especially recognized for his roles in police films.
It was when he asked him if he was a fan of John Wayne when he was young that Clint Eastwood made this revelation. His answer was clear and unequivocal: “Younger, I loved some of the films of [John Wayne]but I was never a fan of an actor: James Cagney.»
Warner Bros. Pictures The public enemy (1931)
Who was James Cagney?
James CagneyDied in 1986, remains an essential figure in the cinema of the 1930s, although today his name does not necessarily speak to the youngest. A real star in his time, he was known for his roles in gangster films, where he shone with his natural play and his energy. Among his most famous films, we find Smart Money, the Battalion of Sans-Amour and especially the public enemy, a feature film that marked the history of cinema. The latter is particularly memorable for a scene where Cagney crushes a grapefruit on his partner's face, Mae Clarke.
This scene has marked the spirits and was even a central element in the admiration that Clint Eastwood door to James Cagney.
“” “He absolutely does not play like me. When I started as an actor, the secretaries called me coop, because they found that I looked like Gary Cooper (…). But Cagney … I have always loved her style and her energy. He was intrepid. To talk about his most famous action, crush a grapefruit in the face of people, they were not afraid to do shocking things. [Aujourd’hui]many actors are locked in their image.»
Warner Bros. Pictures The public enemy (1931)
The myth of the grapefruit
The scene of the grapefruit in The public enemy is often surrounded by myths. Many think that she was an improvisation from Cagney, but the actress Mae Clarkein his autobiography, revealed that it was actually a joint idea of the actor and director William A. Wellman.
She said, however, that she was not comfortable with this gesture but that she had no choice, because refusing could have harmed her career. In addition, she had not given her consent so that the scene was integrated into the film, which testifies to the sometimes difficult conditions on the film sets of the time.
(Re) Discover the scene in question below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4R5WZS8CXI
Cagney: much more than a gangster actor
Although he stayed famous for his nervous and angry gangster roles, like his character in hell is his, James Cagney Also explored a vast palette of different roles, playing in films like the Angels with dirty figures, the glorious parade, the fantastic 1920s or the traps of the passion, where he demonstrated an incredible diversity of talents. It is not only the image of the angry man he left, but also that of an actor capable of constantly reinventing himself.
For Clint Eastwood,, James Cagney therefore represents a form of freedom and artistic courage that few actors of his time had. In a cinematographic world where many actors are forced by their image, Cagney embodied audacity, risk taking and authenticity. It is this spirit that Eastwood seems to have adopted throughout his own career.
The public enemy (1931), among others, is available in VOD.
