TCM Greatest Classic Film Collection: Gangsters - James Cagney (White Heat / City for Conquest / Each Dawn I Die / G Men)

Did you know that Michael J. Fox was set to play Cagney before he struck down with Parkinson's disease? (It was going to take a year or two to teach him that unique dancing.) Or that Cagney is one of Clint Eastwood's heros? Or that in each of the 3 movies he made with Humphrey Bogart--The Roaring Twenties, The Oklahoma Kid (his only western!) and Angels with Dirty Faces--Cagney guns down Bogart in the end? Or that for City for Conquest he jogged for hours each day in a rubber suit to shed 35 lbs? Or that the reason that he became an actor instead of a boxer--the only ticket to fame for many in his New York neighborhood--was because his mother dared to him to fight her and win...or give it up entirely...and he couldn't hit his mother. Or that his very first acting job was playing in a chorus, the guys all in drag?When I was a kid I'd watch old movies with my dad. When I was 13, I wasn't paying that much attention till The Public Enemy. In the very last scene when he's propped up at the front door, with bloody bandages and a blanket tied around him, and when his brother opens the door and he wavers a bit and then falls flat on his face, dead...well...I asked breathlessly, "who is THAT??" I've been a diehard fan ever since.This particular collection holds some of my favorites. It's funny how this great dancer has to play a guy with 2 left feet so Ann Sheridan can go off and live her dream dancing with that cad, Anthony Quinn, in one of his earliest roles in City for Conquest.In G-Men, Warner Bros thought they could modify his gangster stereotype by making him join the FBI. He still had criminal connections. But this movie demonstrates the time that FBI agents were first given permission to carry guns and be able to cross state lines: truly federal.Each Dawn I Die is so interesting: he saves George Raft who then neglects him unfairly. Even though the warden learns that Cagney is innocent, he still has to undergo the savage punishment of standing, handcuffed to the bars of the cell door...in solitary...for 8 hours a day. This is a powerful showcase of a man being framed for murder, maintaining his humanity, losing his humanity, and then regaining it at the end of the movie in a well-produced violent prison uprising.And then there's White Heat. The contemporary coverage at the time said no other actor could pull off sitting on his mother's lap. And during the scene when he goes nuts after hearing his Ma was dead, when he leapt up on the table and ran around like an animal in pain, smacking every prison guard in sight, the hundreds of extras in this cafeteria scene genuinely thought the actor had lost it. For authenticity, the director had not announced what the scene was about: and you can see it on their shocked faces!I could go on and on. Suffice it to say that this is a collection well worth seeing.

Turner Classic Movies - Greatest Gangster FilmsITEM DESCRIPTION:A four movie, four-disk collection of gangster films staring the incomparable James Cagney. The disks are housed is a standard hard DVD case which slides into a cardboard sleeve. For the price - - a very nice package. I particularly like each movie on an individual disk with retro artwork on the disk too. Nice to loan and if one gets messed up you don't lose two or even all four films.THE MOVIES:City for Conquest - 1940"G' Men - 1935Each Dawn I Die - 1939White Heat - 1949EXTRAS:Several short subjects pertaining to the 1930's or the films accompany each movie. WHAT ABOUT THE MOVIES!Fantastic - must sees! If you have never viewed these films before you are in for a real treat. Cagney is one of the movies true, original screen personas. I enjoyed all the films but "White Heat" is a personal and critical favorite. After seeing this film you'll know why the phrase: "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" is a so well know by film lovers. I have no knowledge of the technology employed but these 70 plus year old black and white movies are a visual treat. Images are sharp and clear and the audio is noise free.AMEN:This is my 3rd Turner Classic Movies set and for the price and quality I have no problem recommending them.

If you're a fan of Cagney films: this collection has three of his best.

For James Cagney fans this collection of his films should be a real treat! His energy and personality drive every picture included in this set. The commentaries and accompanying cartoons, newsreels and studio blooper scenes combine for enjoyable and welcome entertainment for several hours. WHITE HEAT, of course, is remarkable filmmaking but G MEN, CITY FOR CONQUEST and EACH DAWN I DIE contain merits of their own. The pictures are all crisp and clear. The only reason I gave this set a four-star rating is because all of the discs are secured to one spindle, which could possibly promote disc scratching.

This DVD is a must for all those James Cagney fans. I don't know if he actually said "You dirty rat!" but in the film "White Heat" he actually delivered another classic line " Look Ma! I'm on top of the world!" James Cagney was a great actor who was able to play a wide variety of roles: gangsters, reporters, prison inmate, soldiers, FBI agent, the actor Lon Chaney, boxers, dancers, ranchers and even played Admiral Bull Halsey in the movie "The Gallant Hours." Not only did he play this great World Was II hero, but he actually had a striking resemblance to him! Clint Eastwood once said that when growing up, James Cagney was one of the actors and films that he enjoyed watching.

Dames, molls, stoolies, pigeons, tuff guys, lifers in the big house, choppers, heaters, coppers... the double cross... the hitting it big time. I think all these movies exceptional. Strong characters everywhere and great acting to great scripts. These are not shallow wading fare, they are four classics of the genre, the TCM extras just add to an already fantastic set and worth owning in their own.

I bought this specifically for White Heat, after seeing it on TCM. The digitally remastered quality just knocked me across the room and this DVD replicates same. Also, the movie G Men, which I had never seen before, was a treat and I was again floored by being able to see the threads on a guy's hat in one scene. The other films are good and worth watching, as well, but White Heat is among the best noirs I've ever seen and hard to compete with. Additionally, the special features on this disc offer hours of additional viewing and laughs. Great stuff and among the best DVD purchases I've ever made.

I was happy with my purchase. No problems at all!

Just about any movie with James Cagney in my opinion is worth watching.I allready have White Heat (1949) in my collection but was keen to have the other three films in the "Greatest Gangsters Films" collection which includes "G" Men (1935), Each Dawn I Die (1939), and City For Conquest (1940).It had been many years since I had last seen these movies and I was not disappointed,Cagney was terrific in all of these Warner Bros, crime movies.I would recommend James Cagney movies to anyone wishing to study film acting during Hollywood's Golden Age, what a screen prescence and also what a dynamic personality, without doubt one of the greatest american movie stars of all-time.RMM.

I bought this for my father because he really wanted to see City for Conquest. As a result, I sat down and watched most of the movies with him. He really enjoyed them and I thought they were great too. Cagney was excellent and the picture quality was quite decent. The sound was also good.

This is James Cagney at his best, he was a wonderful actor and could act sing and dance,he was one of the greatest actors of his time along with the other great actors, George Raft, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson, the young crop of so called great actors these days should study these actors they could probably learn something

EXCELLENT: words fail me!