James Cagney Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

James Cagney Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Good things comes in small packages.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 11, 2025

That above tagline applies to both actor James Cagney and Warner Archive's new James Cagney Collection, one of three new actor-themed collections from the beloved boutique label. WAC's continued campaign of multi-disc sets at even more comparatively rock-bottom prices is an outstanding way to build your classic movie collection for pennies on the dollar, as each one features rock-solid A/V specs and a handful of interesting bonus feature to boot. But the movies are the main draw, and this is one of Warner Archive's best sets to date as it includes four classics in 1931's The Public Enemy, 1938's Angels with Dirty Faces, 1942's Yankee Doodle Dandy, and 1948's White Heat.

For full synopses and appreciations of these four films, please see the review links below.

The Public Enemy (Reviewed by Michael Reuben) - William A. Wellman's pre-Code classic follows the rise and fall of bootlegger Tom Powers (Cagney) as he grows up in Chicago and falls into organized crime during the Prohibition era, which strains his family relationships and leads to tragic consequences. It's a near-flawless film led by James Cagney’s breakthrough performance and pulls very few punches in its portrayal of the criminal underworld.

Angels with Dirty Faces (Reviewed by Randy Miller III) - Lifelong friends James Cagney and Pat O'Brien starred in nine films together, most between 1934 and 1940. Their seventh and arguably best venture is Michael Curtiz's Angels with Dirty Faces, the memorable story of two childhood friends on very separate paths as their lives unfold in the same neighborhood. Released during the early years of the Hays Code era in filmmaking, its biggest weak point is a cloying religious ending that hobbles the film's most likeable element: an absolutely dynamite performance by Cagney, who's in top form and steals almost every scene he's a part of.

Yankee Doodle Dandy (Reviewed by Michael Reuben) - Another re-teaming of Cagney with director Michael Curtiz. "Yankee Doodle Dandy broke box office records for Warner Bros., received eight Oscar nominations and won three, including Best Actor for Cagney. It may seem strange that an actor whose most famous roles are violent gangsters should have won his only Academy Award for playing a song-and-dance man, but watch the film and you'll understand. Except for when Cohan is a child, Cagney is in almost every scene, and everything he does is electric. His dance moves are so demanding that today we'd assume they were performed by body doubles or enhanced by camera tricks, but director Michael Curtiz never has to cut away. His star dazzles without any assistance."

White Heat (Reviewed by Michael Reuben) - "After James Cagney's contract with Warner Bros. expired in the early Forties, he formed his own production company and swore he'd never make another gangster film. "Movies should be entertaining, not blood baths," the actor famously grumbled. "I'm sick of carrying a gun and beating up women." Unfortunately for Cagney, he did not prove adept at choosing his own projects. None of the films released by his company through United Artists proved successful. Bowing to the inevitable, Cagney returned to Warner Bros. in 1949 to great fanfare (and on extremely favorable terms to the star) for what is generally considered his greatest performance in the genre that both he and the studio had done so much to define."

James Cagney Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For details about each film's 1080p transfer, please see the review links below.

The Public Enemy

Angels with Dirty Faces

Yankee Doodle Dandy

White Heat

James Cagney Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For details about each film's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix, again please clink the links below.

The Public Enemy

Angels with Dirty Faces

Yankee Doodle Dandy

White Heat

James Cagney Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This four-disc set ships in a hinged keepcase with separate hubs for each disc. Like other WAC collections, this one simply repurposes existing poster-themed covers as a paneled collage. A robust collection of bonus features can be found on each disc, including separate multi-part installments of WB's outstanding "Warner Night at the Movies" pre-show parade of era-specific entertainment. Follow the individual review links below for full details.

The Public Enemy

Angels with Dirty Faces

Yankee Doodle Dandy

White Heat

James Cagney Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

James Cagney was an indelible star for several decades beginning in the 1930s; he's inarguably best remembered for playing tough-guy gangsters but showed a remarkable amount of range later in his career. And while that range is only seen during one of the four films featured in Warner Archive's new James Cagney Collection, this is a top-tier collection of movies whose only slight weakness is that two are already included in Warner Bros.' Ultimate Gangsters Collection - Classics. But any way you slice it, this is a near-flawless set in every department and provides plenty of bang for your buck, whether you treat yourself or give it as a gift this holiday season. Highly Recommended.