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Team or No Team: The Partnership of Joan Blondell and James Cagney by Kim Luperi

Thumbing throughย Hollywoodโs Great Love Teams, I came across a chapter about James Cagney and Ann Sheridan. Figuring I missed out on a classic Hollywood partnership, I googled how many movies they co-starred in. The answer: Just three.
I expected to see Joan Blondellโs name next to Cagneyโs, as they appeared in more than twice as many pictures together (an impressive seven), starting with SINNERSโ HOLIDAY (โ30) and ending with HE WAS HER MAN (โ34). Whether flinging wise cracks, landing slaps or locked in intense drama, Blondell and Cagney always drew me in. Her breezy broads and his tough yet charming chaps exuded a sense of vitality that makes them a joy to watch, even when they arenโt onscreen together. So, why donโt they earn more recognition as a duo? Iโd never given that question much thought, so I decided to investigate.
Interestingly, Blondell and Cagney were regularly referred to as a team in 1930s publications. An ad for their fourth film, 1931โs BLONDE CRAZY, proclaimed: โLeading a cheer for the fastest and funniest team on the screen, Blondell and Cagney.โ That same year, theย Los Angeles Timesย revealed that Blondell replaced Dorothy Mackaill in THE CROWD ROARS (โ32) because โfans are demanding to see more pictures in which these two artists play opposite each other.โ A few months later, anotherย Los Angeles Timesย article confirmed โthe Cagney-Blondell combination had been recognized by the production heads as a strong one.โ By 1934, their rapport had become so recognizable that they both penned a two-page spread of articles forย Screenland, โWhat I Think of Joan, As Told By James Cagneyโ and โWhat I Think of Jimmy, As Told By Joan Blondell.โ (Intriguingly, they both call each other โmoody as the devilโ!)

In a prophetic move, the two were actually brought to Hollywoodย together. Blondell and Cagney co-starred on Broadway inย Maggie the Magnificent, which had the luck of opening the week the stock market crashed. They made enough of an impression to get cast inย Penny Arcade, which Al Jolson bought and sold to Warner Bros. with one big stipulation: Blondell and Cagney went with the sale. Both arrived in Hollywood for the film adaptation, released as SINNERSโ HOLIDAY, but not everyone was happy. โWell, weโre stuck with you for one picture,โ WB production head Darryl F. Zanuck bemoaned. In no time, though, that displeasure turned to delight when Zanuck realized what talent he had on his hands. According to an interview with Blondell, โHe cornered us along the back lot while we were workingโno agents, no time to thinkโand signed us each to a five-year contract.โ The rest is history.
And that history includesย a lotย of films. Given that Blondell and Cagneyโs partnerships came early in their Hollywood days and they both enjoyed long careers, they had a lot more to account for than their movies together (not to mention, many of their early pairings were in supporting roles). Blondellโs reliability and versatility meant that Warners could put her in anything, and in one eight-year period, she churned out over 50 pictures for the studio, making it easy for those Cagney pictures to blend in. Meanwhile, the equally multifaceted Cagney skyrocketed to fame in THE PUBLIC ENEMY (โ31) and took home a Best Actor Oscar for 1942โs musical biopic YANKEE DOODLE DANDY. His later A-level stardom has a habit of sometimes overshadowing his earlier workmanlike roles.

I donโt think Blondell and Cagney are as well-remembered as a team because unlike Hepburn and Tracy, Astaire and Rogers and other famous classic duos, they werenโt pigeonholed in the publicโs mind; though some traits remained constant, they portrayed different characters in their films together. Furthermore, we tend to think of male-female screen teams in a romantic sense, but Blondell and Cagney more often simply appeared as castmates. Cases in point: SINNERSโ HOLIDAY saw themย attemptย to go on a date; they briefly shared one scene in OTHER MENโS WOMEN (1931), both out on the town with others; Cagney smashed that grapefruit into Mae Clarkeโs face in THE PUBLIC ENEMY and Blondell gets hitched to Cagneyโs brother in THE CROWD ROARS. They fall in love, with hitmen hot on Cagneyโs tail, in HE WAS HER MANโฆ but Blondell marries someone else.
That said, my favorite Blondell-Cagney entries are the two in which they end up together, BLONDE CRAZY and FOOTLIGHT PARADE (both โ33), after working platonically alongside each other the whole time. The duoโs relationship is playful, acerbic and low-key sweet, showcasing a vivacious romantic chemistry that felt ahead of its time. One wishes they had been romantically paired more often, if only to savor exchanges like this from FOOTLIGHT PARADE:
Chester Kent (Cagney): Sometimes I get the feeling you donโt like anybody.
Nan Prescott (Blondell): If you only knew.

« Vous qui pénétrez dans mon coeur, ne faites pas attention au désordre. »
- Nous irons tous au paradis (1977), Yves Robert et scénario de Jean-Loup Dabadie, réplique d’Etienne (Jean Rochefort).
Vieuxtemps concertos 4 and 5 by the most precise violinist on record ! I’m neck deep into violin concertos and just violin in general… I want to learn to play so badly.
Joan Blondell & James Cagney in Blonde Crazy (1931)



