John McCabes participation in the writing of James Cagneys autobiography; the many years of friendship that followed; and an intense period of interview and discussion in preparation for a musical comedy based on Cagneys life--a show that never saw the light of day--make him Cagneys ideal biographer. And; indeed; he has written a searching chronicle of this major actors life and career; packed with history and anecdote; and profusely illustrated.Cagney came from a poor Irish-American New York family but once he found his meacute;tier as an actor; it was not long before he was recognized as a brilliantly energetic and powerful phenomenon. After the tremendous impact of Public Enemy--in which he notoriously pushed half a grapefruit into Mae Clarkes face--he was typecast as a gangster because of the terrifying violence that seemed to be pent up within him. Years of pitched battle with Warner Brothers finally liberated him from those roles; and he went on to star in such triumphs as the musicals Yankee Doodle Dandy (winning the 1942 Oscar for best actor) and Love Me or Leave Me. Even so; one of his greatest later roles involved a return to crime--as the psychopathic killer in the terrifying White Heat. He retired from films in 1961 after making Billy Wilders One; Two; Three; only to return twenty years later for Ragtime.But however much Cagney personified violence and explosive energy on the screen; in life he was a quiet; introspective; and deeply private man; a poet; painter; and environmentalist; whose marriage to his early vaudeville partner was famously loyal and happy. His story is one of the few Hollywood biographies that reflect a fulfilled life as well as a spectacular career.
#216554 in eBooks 2013-10-08 2013-10-08File Name: B00C8RZHM4
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Well; its psychotic; lovely and hypnotic for sure ...By Scarlet HawthorneWell; its psychotic; lovely and hypnotic for sure. Miss Julie is a product and victim of her repressive times.Classic play though; a must read.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Classic; but not my play of choiceBy Alexandra LevitasStrindbergs "Miss Julie" is definitely on the list of classic plays that any theater lover should read.Written at the end of the XIX century its both revolutionary in staging techniques and representative of the class struggles of the period. But its probably not THE play you want to read if youre new to reading drama. Terribly misogynistic and not particularly current in the emotional themes "Miss Julie" feels like more of a play designed for the study of the history of drama; then for downtime enjoyment.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Unsurprisingly goodBy WMRI wasnt shocked that this new version of Miss Julie was good; but I was pleasantly surprised by the frankness of the language as opposed to older translations that err on the side of gentility. While the play retains its original period the language of the translation here is far from the ossified antiquarian language of some older translations from Strindbergs original.