Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Sinners' Holiday | Harry Delano | Film debut |
| The Doorway to Hell | Steve Mileaway | ||
| 1931 | How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 11: 'Practice Shots' | Himself | uncredited |
| Blonde Crazy | Bert Harris | ||
| Smart Money | Jack | ||
| The Millionaire | Schofield, Insurance Salesman | ||
| The Public Enemy | Tom Powers | ||
| Other Men's Women | Ed "Eddie" Bailey | ||
| 1932 | Winner Take All | Jim "Jimmy" Kane | |
| The Crowd Roars | Joe Greer | ||
| Taxi! | Matt Nolan | ||
| 1933 | Lady Killer | Dan Quigley | |
| Footlight Parade | Chester Kent | ||
| The Mayor of Hell | Richard "Patsy" Gargan | ||
| Picture Snatcher | Danny Kean | ||
| Hard to Handle | Myron C. "Lefty" Merrill | ||
| 1934 | The St. Louis Kid | Eddie Kennedy | |
| The Hollywood Gad-About | Himself | short subject | |
| Here Comes the Navy | Chester "Chesty" J. O'Conner | ||
| He Was Her Man | Flicker Hayes, aka Jerry Allen | ||
| Jimmy the Gent | "Jimmy" Corrigan | ||
| 1935 | Mutiny on the Bounty | Extra | uncredited |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Bottom, the weaver | ||
| The Irish in Us | Danny O'Hara | ||
| G Men | "Brick" Davis | ||
| Devil Dogs of the Air | Thomas Jefferson "Tommy" O'Toole | ||
| Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio | Himself | short subject | |
| A Dream Comes True | Himself | short subject | |
| Frisco Kid | Bat Morgan | ||
| 1936 | Great Guy | Johnny "Red" Cave | |
| Ceiling Zero | Dizzy Davis | ||
| 1937 | Something to Sing About | Terrence "Terry" Rooney | stage name of Thadeus McGillicuddy |
| 1938 | Angels with Dirty Faces | Rocky Sullivan | Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor |
| Boy Meets Girl | Robert Law | ||
| For Auld Lang Syne | Himself – Introducing arriving celebrities | short subject | |
| 1939 | The Roaring Twenties | Eddie Bartlett | |
| Each Dawn I Die | Frank Ross | ||
| Hollywood Hobbies | Himself | short subject | |
| The Oklahoma Kid | Jim Kincaid | ||
| 1940 | City for Conquest | Danny Kenny (Young Samson) | |
| Torrid Zone | Nick "Nicky" Butler | ||
| The Fighting 69th | Jerry Plunkett | ||
| 1941 | The Bride Came C.O.D. | Steve Collins | |
| The Strawberry Blonde | T. L. "Biff" Grimes | ||
| 1942 | Yankee Doodle Dandy | George M. Cohan | Academy Award for Best Actor |
| Captains of the Clouds | Brian MacLean (bush pilot) | ||
| 1943 | Johnny Come Lately | Tom Richards | |
| You, John Jones! | John Jones | short subject | |
| 1944 | Battle Stations | Narrator | short subject |
| 1945 | Blood on the Sun | Nick Condon | |
| 1947 | 13 Rue Madeleine | Robert Emmett "Bob" Sharkey aka Gabriel Chavat | |
| 1948 | The Time of Your Life | Joseph T. (who observes people) | |
| 1949 | White Heat | Arthur "Cody" Jarrett | |
| 1950 | The West Point Story | Elwin "Bix" Bixby | |
| Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye | Ralph Cotter | ||
| 1951 | Starlift | Himself | Cameo |
| Come Fill the Cup | Lew Marsh | ||
| 1952 | What Price Glory? | Capt. Flagg | |
| 1953 | A Lion Is in the Streets | Hank Martin | |
| 1955 | Mister Roberts | Capt. Morton | |
| The Seven Little Foys | George M. Cohan | ||
| Love Me or Leave Me | Martin Snyder | Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor | |
| Run for Cover | Matt Dow | ||
| 1956 | These Wilder Years | Steve Bradford | |
| Tribute to a Bad Man | Jeremy Rodock | ||
| 1957 | Short-Cut to Hell | Himself | in pre-credits sequence, also director |
| Man of a Thousand Faces | Lon Chaney | ||
| 1959 | Shake Hands with the Devil | Sean Lenihan | |
| Never Steal Anything Small | Jake MacIllaney | ||
| 1960 | The Gallant Hours | Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. | also producer |
| 1961 | One, Two, Three | C.R. MacNamara | |
| 1968 | Arizona Bushwhackers | Narrator | |
| 1981 | Ragtime | Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo |
Read more about this topic: James Cagney