Has anybody forgotten the performances given by Burt Lancaster and James Cagney in those two movies?

How short memory can be…

I still remember the simplicity of “Birdman of Alcatraz”, with his co-stars Karl Malden and Telly Savalas (still with some hair on top), and how tragic this biographical movie was. Tragic, but as yet with a message of hope.
And what about Cagney’s performance as Lon Chaney, Sr.? An excruciating performance to say the least, but he was a true professional.
Quite different with the movies we are served nowadays…