34. JAMES CAGNEY
White Heat (1949)

In his farewell to gangster films, Cagney, who'd made his name in the genre decades earlier, goes out with a bang. Literally. As borderline psychotic Cody Jarrett, whose volcanic temper is eclipsed only by his fierce devotion to his ma, Cagney's a frighteningly loose cannon that can, and often does, go off without warning. ''Made it, Ma! Top of the world!'' he famously brays, before going up in flames. A fitting end to a blistering performance.