Steve Collins: That dame. Undoubtedly the outstanding screwball of her generation.


--James Cagney (as Steve Collins) in The Bride Came C.O.D.

Terrence 'Terry'; Rooney: I'll stand up here and let you stick pins in me, but one more tickle, and I'm going to tear off one of your legs and wrap it around your neck for a scarf.


--James Cagney (as ) in Something to Sing About

Terrence 'Terry'; Rooney: I'm just looking for a set of pear shaped vowels.


--James Cagney (as ) in Something to Sing About

Tom as a boy: [Tom grabs his pants just as his father is about to spank him] How do you want 'em this time, up or down?


--James Cagney (as Tom Powers) in The Public Enemy

Tom Powers: [Tom stumbles from a gun fight gone wrong with the rival gang. He's barely walking and soaked from the rain] ... I ain't so tough.
[Tom collapses in the gutter]


--James Cagney (as Tom Powers) in The Public Enemy

Tom Powers: So beer ain't good enough for you, huh?
Mike Powers: Do you think I care if there was just beer in that keg? I know what's in it. I know what you've been doing all this time, how you got those clothes and those new cars. You've been telling Ma that you've gone into politics, that you're on the city payroll. Pat Burke told me everything. You murderers! There's not only beer in that jug. There's beer and blood - blood of men!
[Mike throws the keg into the corner, smashing Mrs Powers' table and causing a racket]
Tom Powers: [Stands] You ain't changed a bit.
[Tom walks away, but turns for the last word]
Tom Powers: Besides, your hands ain't so clean. You killed and liked it. You didn't get them medals for holding hands with them Germans.


--James Cagney (as Tom Powers) in The Public Enemy

Pawnbroker: [inspecting the stolen bracelet Bert has brought in] It's nice. Maybe it's too nice. What'll I do with it? That stuff is hard to sell.
Bert Harris: Who cares? Give to your wife for a Christmas present.
[grabbing the pawnbroker by the ear]
Bert Harris: Listen three-balls, I want five thousand dollars and I want it in a hurry. It's worth twenty thousand. And don't give me any backtalk.


--James Cagney (as Bert Harris) in Blonde Crazy

[Danny is giving a tour of his newspaper's printing room]
Journalism Student: Yes, here it is - white wood pulp, plain white... Why, today it's raw, but tonight it's cooked with printer's ink, photographic art, the sweat of creative effort. Tomorrow it goes out and hundreds of thousands of men and women feed their starving, mediocre souls on the indiscretions and adventures of others. And then, a little while later, what is it?
Danny Kean: Don't you know? They use it to wrap herring.


--James Cagney (as ) in Picture Snatcher

[First line, voiceover]
C.R. MacNamara: On Sunday, August 13th, 1961, the eyes of America were on the nation's capital, where Roger Maris was hitting home runs #44 and 45 against the Senators. On that same day, without any warning, the East German Communists sealed off the border between East and West Berlin. I only mention this to show the kind of people we're dealing with - REAL SHIFTY!


--James Cagney (as C.R. MacNamara) in One, Two, Three

[George M. Cohan comes into apartment and smells something cooking]
George M. Cohan: Mmmmm... ham or bacon?
Mary: Bacon.
George M. Cohan: Good. Ham makes me self-conscious.


--James Cagney (as George M. Cohan) in Yankee Doodle Dandy