amre: #78 BeenHereAwhile

FWIW, the 3rd guy screen left from Cagney is Jim Thorpe.

Yep, great cameo. This scene was mostly ad libbed by Cagney. He did not tell any of the people around him what he was going to do. And he did not tell the director. He just wanted the two largest guys next to him so he could leverage upo on them to the table.

When he showed the gradual rage hitting “White Heat” is made the scene and the movie. Cagney made the decision to make the character a psychopath and his portrayal of mental illness is still disturbing. He really was an underrated actor.