6 Best James Cagney Movies

By Vlad Zakh · April 5, 2027

Drama intense

James Cagney defined the gangster picture with a coiled, explosive physicality, and he brought that same electric energy to musicals when he got the chance.

One, Two, Three (1961) 01

One, Two, Three (1961)

IMDb ★ 7.7

A frantic Coca-Cola executive in Cold War Berlin scrambles to cover up his boss's daughter marrying a communist.

Mister Roberts (1955) 02

Mister Roberts (1955)

IMDb ★ 7.5

A tyrannical cargo ship captain clashes with an officer longing for real combat duty.

White Heat (1949) 03

White Heat (1949)

IMDb ★ 8.0

A psychotic, mother-obsessed gangster's criminal empire is infiltrated by an undercover federal agent.

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) 04

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

IMDb ★ 7.7

A dramatization of songwriter and performer George M. Cohan's rise through American vaudeville and Broadway.

Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) 05

Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

IMDb ★ 7.7

A hardened criminal's childhood friend, now a priest, tries to keep a group of delinquent boys from following his path.

The Public Enemy (1931) 06

The Public Enemy (1931)

IMDb ★ 7.6

A small-time hoodlum's ruthless rise through Prohibition-era Chicago's criminal underworld ends in tragedy.

Vlad Zakh

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix, built to fix a specific annoyance: most recommendation sites are just algorithm-driven noise. Our lists are researched and organized by who's in a film, where it's from, and the mood you're actually in tonight.