James Cagney

"Although James Cagney was branded 'tough guy' almost from the moment he asserted his claim to stardom over half a century ago in Public Enemy, Richard Schickel argues in this analysis of the actor's screen characters and career that this label could not be more misleading.". "This book shows how he began his Hollywood career as the movies' first symbol of the aspirations of America's urban second generation. But after the apotheosis that was Yankee Doodle Dandy, both Cagney and the world began to age and change.". "Richard Schickel's study of Cagney's screen personality is far more than a…