User Reviews

Right from the start, I have to say you do not need to be an American to be caught up in the excitement of the blatant flag waving tribute to a great artist. "Yankee Doodle Dandy" made to boost morale after the U.S. entered the war surely would have achieved its goal. It would have been even better in Technicolor (not the coloured version later shown). The songs were great, the acting and the individual dancing style of James Cagney was superb and deserved the Oscar. The two scenes featuring "Over There" were very moving with Frances Langford a standout! The story, while bearing small resemblance to real life, was good and Walter Huston and Rosemary de Camp were excellent. When you see a film such as this some 60 years after its release, and still really enjoy it, it shows how the Golden Years of Hollywood were just that.

`Yankee Doodle Dandy' makes the viewer say, `They don't make them like that anymore.' The film is uplifting for its espousal of unabashed patriotism and its representation of America as a place in which a gifted performer like George M. Cohan could rise from vaudeville to Broadway. It is also moving for its reverence for the nineteenth late century theatre and early twentieth century Broadway: the sequence showing Cohan's successes of the 1920s commemorate the other musical and non musical hits of the decade as much as Cohan's. I was moved to tears by the ending showing the elderly Cohan joining in a World War II parade, a group of soldiers marching to `Over There' and being asked why he isn't singing, `Hey old-timer, don't you know this song?' `Yankee Doodle Dandy' is a celebration of Cohan's life and career -- a little sanitised perhaps, but still portraying his love for his family, his profession and his country. It isn't a museum piece but more of a picture from another era – and in a time when America is honoured by songs such as `Kick Ass USA' it's a valuable reminder of an age when people feeling their country under threat roused their nationalism by reminding themselves of what made them want to fight for it.

The amazing piece of timing here is when Warner Bros. began work on this biography of entertainer George M. Cohan, WWII had not yet broken out. The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred the day before shooting began. When the film opened people on the home front badly needed some morale boosting, and this film gave it to them. It's just a joyous musical costume piece from start to finish with nice comic touches balanced with some sentimental moments (supposedly Walter Huston's deathbed scene had even taskmaster director Michael Curtiz crying). There's nothing in the way of real conflict or even much heavy in the way of romance between Cohan and his fictitious film wife "Mary", who was modeled after Cohan's actual second wife in some ways. Cohan was actually married twice. Oddly enough, it was Cohan who said he wanted as little romance in the film as possible.

The more I learn about Cohan the more I realize that Cagney was perfect to play him - both Irish Americans, both about the same size and build, and George Cohan's style of dancing and singing were about the same as Cagney's. It's hard to believe that Fred Astaire was Cohan's first choice to play himself. Astaire was a great talent, but I don't think he could have conveyed the combination of mischief, optimism and energy that was Cohan the way that Cagney ultimately did. Several people criticize Cagney's dancing here, but that eccentric style was Cohan's, who always considered himself more of an overall entertainer than a dancer in the first place.

If you're "date conscious" as I am, there are some matters of plot that might bother you. Cohan was born on July 2 or 3, not July 4. Cohan's mother outlived his father by eleven years and Cohan's father was not "very old" when he died as is said in the film - at least by today's standards. When Cohan's father died in 1917, he was only 69. Cohan's sister did die young - she was only 39, dying in 1916, plus she was not his little sister. Instead Josie was a year older than George. The film has Josie marrying when she would have been close to forty, when she actually married at the beginning of the 20th century and thus was the one to break up the four Cohans, not George. Also, Cohan received his Congressional Medal in 1936, not as WWII began as shown in the film. However the plot device of having George M. recount his life story to FDR, receiving his Congressional medal in the Oval Office, and then dance joyously down the White House stairs and into the streets joining a group of marching soldiers in a chorus of "Over There" was probably a great way to bridge Cohan's patriotic past with what was then an uncertain time that certainly needed a dose of his optimism.

The one thing that I did find a little odd - and one thing isn't much in a two plus hour long movie - is that it is hard to spot the actual point in the film where Mary becomes George's wife. There is quite a bit of domesticity shown before the two were married. Mary is cooking for George, staying in his apartment alone waiting for him to come home from the show, and acting very much like they are already married. The only way you know they are not is that George very subtly pops the question to the point that I'm surprised even Mary knew what he was asking! I know this doesn't seem like much in today's world, but considering that they were trying to paint Cohan in the most positive light possible and that the living arrangements might be misunderstood, I am surprised that the censors of that time never raised the issue.

At any rate, I highly recommend this one. You'll have a great time, at least in part because you can see that Cagney is having a great time. He always said this film was his favorite, and it shows in his performance.

There are many, many James Cagney films that show his enormous talent as an actor. He was equally at home in musicals, dramas and comedies. While I have always been a fan and appreciate his unusual scope, this movie in particular caught my eye and totally blew me away when the scene I'm about to describe unfolded.

Near the very end of the film Cagney's character (George M. Cohan) bids farewell to the President and leaves the room. There is a long, open staircase he starts walking down. As he walks you sense a bit of a bounce beginning to take over his step.....one that quickly gives way to an awesome dance as he navigates the stairway. Many will not note, but this dance was a fantastic achievement on two fronts. One, it was done in one "take"...that is, the camera never stopped; the scene never "cut." The camera stays with him in one shot all the way through. Second, Mr. Cagney never ONCE looks at his feet or down at the steps. It's almost impossible to WALK down a staircase without looking down or hanging on to a banister....this man DANCED down a staircase without benefit of seeing or touching anything.

Couple this feat with the brilliant display of "hoofing" he gives earlier in the film when he literally dances up the walls and you have a movie that deserves its "classic" rating. If you haven't seen it please make it a point to do so. Any movie that is awe inspiring 62 years later must be worth a peek, don't you agree?

James Cagney recalls in his autobiography that this movie was his favorite, largely due to his love of dancing. He was one of the great "tough guys" of all time on film, but dancing was his passion, he noted. It shows here. This was "a labor of love," to use a cliché, and it's obvious how much fun he was having in this film. His hoofing talent also was obvious. He was good, very good.

In fact, for the audience, most of this movie is pure "feel good." Almost all the characters are nice people, the story is inspirational and nicely patriotic and the songs are fantastic. If you pick up the two-disc special-edition DVD that came out several years ago, then you'll see this film in all it's glory. The transfer is magnificent and really brings out the great cinematography. I never realized how beautifully filmed this was until I saw this on DVD.

The story is simply the biography of George M. Cohan, the writer and Broadway star of many, many hit plays and hit songs. Unlike today's biographies, this is a very positive story about a man who brought patriotism alive during World War I with such inspirational songs as "It's A Grand Old Flag" and "Over There." For some of us, listening to these songs can bring a tear or two.

Cagney is his normal riveting self and Joan Leslie certainly makes an appealing female lead as Cohan's wife. The great Walter Huston plays Cohan's father. I've always found Huston to be an actor of great presence. In this movie is a very, very touching deathbed scene with he and Cagney.

So you have a little bit of everything here from drama to romance to comedy to music and Cagney is the glue to fits it all together beautifully. One of the great classic films of all time.

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (Warner Brothers, 1942), directed by Michael Curtiz, is an autobiographical musical of a legendary Broadway showman, composer, actor and dancer, George M. Cohan (1878-1942), as played by James Cagney in what's been reported as his personal favorite of all movie roles, and it's easy to see why. In spite the fact that Cagney won his only Academy Award as best actor, he was letter perfect in the role as Cohan. Interesting to see a noted movie tough guy singing and dancing, but it's even more-so in watching Walter Huston as Cohan's father doing a song and dance himself.

The story opens with the middle-aged Cohan (James Cagney), following a comical musical performance in "I'd Rather Be Right" in which he plays and spoofs the president (Franklin D. Roosevelt). He gets a telegram from the president himself to meet with him at the White House. Believing the worst, he arrives to meet "with the head man." Alone with him in the Oval Office, the two men converse which leads to Cohan to soon be relating his life story via flashback starting with his birth (born on the 4th of July), as the son of stage entertainers, Jerry and Nellie Cohan (Walter Huston and Rosemary DeCamp), followed by his boyhood days as the star of "Peck's Bad Boy" (Douglas Croft playing George at age 12), the teaming up with his younger sister, Josie (first played by JoAnn Marlowe, then by Patsy Lee Parsons, and by Jeanne Cagney as an adult) and his parents, forming the act called "The Four Cohans," George leaving the family to form an act on his own, his association with a young hopeful named Mary (Joan Leslie), whom he eventually marries, the publication of his songs that make him world famous, the death of his parents, his retirement from the stage and his return to Broadway to appear in a play that has summoned him with an invitation from the president, and after nearly two hours of recollection, the story moves forward to present day with Cohan to find out why he was really asked to come to visit with the president.

With a handful of song and dance tunes, many composed by Cohan himself, the soundtrack is as follows: "The Dancing Master," "The Dancing Master" (reprise); "Strolling Through the Park One Day" (by Joe Goodwin and Gus Edwards); "Minstrel Number," "I Was Born in Virginia," "The Warmest Baby in the Bunch," "Harrigan," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "All Aboard for Old Broadway" (by Jack Scholl and M.K. Jerome), "Give My Regards to Broadway," "Oh, You Wonderful Girl," "Blue Skies, Grey Skies," "The Barber's Ball," "Mary," "Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway," "Mary" (reprise); "Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway," "So Long, Mary," "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (by William Steffe and Julia Ward Howe); "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," "Of Thee I Sing," "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Come Along With Me," "Over There," "I'm Happy As Can Be," "Love Nest" (by Louis A. Hirsch and Otto Harbach); "Little Nellie Kelly," "The Man Who Owns Broadway," "Molly Malone," "Billie," "Jeepers Creepers" (by Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren); "Off the Record" and "Over There." Of the songs listed above, several could have been chosen as alternate titles in regards to Cohan, including: "Give My Regards to Broadway," "Grand Old Flag," "The Man Who Owns Broadway," or "Off the Record," but the final selection became "Yankee Doodle Dandy." While many of these songs are Broadway show tunes, the most memorable ones happen to be the patriotic songs, especially "Grand Old Flag," "Over There," and of course, the title tune.

In the supporting cast are Irene Manning (Fay Templeton); Richard Wholf (Samuel H. Harris); George Tobias (Mr. Dietz); George Barbier (Claude Erlanger); S.Z. Sakall (Mr. Schwab); Eddie Foy Jr. (Eddie Foy); Minor Watson (Edward Albee); and Frances Langford credited as a singer, but actually Nora Bayes. Listed bottom in the cast is Captain Jack Young as The President, who, during the opening and closing segments, is only visible by a back-view depiction.

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY started a new trend of bio-musicals that would become fashionable throughout the 1940s. As a movie, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY is a grand old musical that blends nostalgia of the past (early twentieth century, World War I) with patriotism of the 1940s. While very little is known of the real George M. Cohan today, the inaccuracies wouldn't really matter nor noticed. Cohan was actually married twice, but never to a girl named Mary. The screenplay, overall, fails to mention Cohan actually appeared in some motion pictures, one being THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT (Paramount, 1932) opposite Claudette Colbert. To watch that Cohan film is to see how close Cagney worked to impersonate him on screen. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY is true indication of Cagney not just as a movie tough guy, but his diversatility as an actor. Although the patriotism plays towards the World War II audience, much of Cohan's spirit of being an American continues to reflect upon the present generation.

Full of memorable lines, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY's most noted happens to be Cohan's closing speech following a performance, "My father thanks you, my mother thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I THANK YOU." Filmed with crisp black and white photography, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY did go through the process of colorization in the mid 1980s. While original Technicolor photography might have been its major asset, YANKEE DOODLE DANDY still ranks first rate entertainment for all ages, and one responsible in keeping the George M. Cohan name more alive today than ever before. Available on video cassette, DVD and through presentations on Turner Classic Movies. (**** flags)

In case you've seen Yankee Doodle Dandy and couldn't figure out why James Cagney won his Oscar for it, when he lost the gold in Angels with Dirty Faces and Love Me or Leave Me, you need to remind yourself when it was made. In 1942, there was no greater movie for the American Academy to reward than a biopic of George M. Cohan, chalk-full of rah-rah America songs. In addition to being basically a two-hour salute to our boys fighting overseas, it shocked audiences to see James Cagney singing and tap dancing, when he was normally known for playing a bad boy or a gangster. I guess no one remembered that that's exactly how he got his start in show business, so in the grand tradition of Oscar against-type awards, Jimmy took home a statuette.

Now, I love James Cagney. He's a total doll, and there are some scenes in this film where he does a good job. He's mostly remembered for his tap dancing, though, and when you watch those scenes, it doesn't seem like a very deserving award. Walter Huston costars as Jimmy's dad, the larger-than-life yet sympathetic head of the family. He was also nominated for his role, probably because it was fun to see him sing and dance, and he's in the big tearjerker scene of the film.

If you're a sucker for patriotic songs and want to see big production numbers of "Over There," "Give My Regards to Broadway," "You're a Grand Old Flag," and of course, the title song, you're going to want to rent a copy of this famous forties flick. There are some cute parts, some sad parts, and most of all, lots of patriotic parts.

James Cagney won his only Oscar for his recreation of George M. Cohgan in Yankee Doodle Dandy. Already terminally ill, Cohan lived long enough to see the film and no doubt he would have approved of it because it sure is how he would like to have been remembered.

In 1942 when Yankee Doodle Dandy premiered there was a whole generations of people left alive who saw George M. Cohan perform. Watching the film today Cohan is like a figure from antiquity. But Warner Brothers was lucky to have James Cagney with the studio who's dancing style closely paralleled Cohan's. If it is ever run on Turner Classic Movies, make sure you see George M. Cohan's sound film The Phantom President. You will be astonished to see how closely Cagney captured his style. In the same way that Philip Seymour Hoffman captured Truman Capote and Joaquin Phoenix became Johnny Cash.

Cohan's contemporaries are also like names from antiquity. But a century ago when Cohan was just hitting the big time performers like Fay Templeton, Nora Bayes, and Eddie Foy were very big stars and in 1942 plenty of people saw them also. I wish we had some film of them to see how Irene Manning, Frances Langford, and Eddie Foy, Jr. did in their recreations. I'm sure Foy, Jr. did a smashing job with his Dad.

The background stuff is true enough. Cohan was born to a pair of vaudeville performers Jerry and Nellie Cohan played here by Walter Huston and Rosemary DeCamp. Later on a sister was added to the Cohan family and here Josie Cohan is played by Jeanne Cagney. They did do all the towns, big and small, in America. Cagney meets wife Joan Leslie at Shea's Theater in Buffalo, New York and Shea's survives to this day. And his first real success was Little Johnny Jones which score included American classics, Yankee Doodle Dandy and Give My Regards to Broadway.

What's left out is the fact Cohan had two wives. His second wife survived him and died in the early Seventies. As his songs became popular in patriotic/rightwing circles, Cohan's personal politics reflected that. He fought hard and lost in the battle for Actors Equity. Cohan thought a union of players was tantamount to Communism. But such was his standing among performers that Cohan was granted the unique privilege of being allowed to appear on stage without having to join Equity once the union was recognized as the bargaining agent for players.

Cohan is shown in Yankee Doodle Dandy as gracefully having retired when other trends in popular music took over. Far from it, he was a very bitter man and when he did that final comeback in I'd Rather Be Right he fought with Kaufman and Hart over the book and Rodgers and Hart over the songs.

But Yankee Doodle Dandy presents the public musical face of George M. Cohan and does it very well. To this day, some forty years after first seeing Yankee Doodle Dandy on television, I love the recreations of Yankee Doodle Dandy, Give My Regards to Broadway, and You're a Grand Old Flag as they were first seen on stage. Plus some of the snatches of the lesser known Cohan songs as performed by the players portraying the Cohan family and others.

When all is said and done, George M. Cohan was a great force of nature in the American musical theater. And we thank his father, mother, and sister, and George M. himself for what he left us.

Times have certainly changed since the jingoism of YANKEE DOODLE DANDY with its up front flag waving and fireworks celebration of the American way of life. Of course, this is just the tonic war weary audiences needed back in 1942 and Warner Bros., never a studio to miss filming a bio of famous personalities (however inaccurately), couldn't resist.

JAMES CAGNEY shines as George M. Cohan, doing his buck and wing dance steps with consummate ease, his jaunty manner extending to all of his dialog too. Naturally, the story of Cohan's rise to show biz fame with his mother, father and sister making a vaudeville act, has been fictionalized to the point that we don't really know whether he was quite as peachy a fellow as he's made out to be. Rumors have it that he was a stubborn, mean-spirited cuss on occasion--but, hey, this is a musical and Warner Bros. knew they had a solid gold triumph on their hands, with Michael Curtiz directing and the George M. Cohan songs for extra insurance.

There are plenty of delightful moments, along with some pretty corny and sentimental nonsense dreamed up by the scriptwriters, but there's an infectious air about all the song and dance numbers that make the musical moments count the most.

WALTER HUSTON as dad, ROSEMARY DeCAMP as mom and Cagney's real-life sister JEANNE CAGNEY, all of them turn in inspired performances. JOAN LESLIE makes quite an impression as Cagney's lovely wife. It's a Fourth of July kind of musical, but audiences loved it then and still do now, thanks to the marvelous Oscar-winning performance by Cagney.

Nostalgic and well worth viewing for its old-fashioned charm.

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, the classic WB wartime musical, has delighted three generations of audiences with its unabashed patriotism, rousing songs, and, most of all, with the unmatched energy and talent of its Academy Award-winning star, James Cagney. The film was blessed with an impressive supporting cast, fabulous production values, and the perfect timing that graced several of the WB's biggest WWII hits.

The subject of the film, George M. Cohan, was certainly a Broadway legend by the 1930s, having produced, directed, written and starred in a considerable array of successes for over 30 years. Son of vaudevillian parents, born on July 3, 1878 (always a genius of self-promotion, he gave the birthdate as July 4th, to enhance his 'Yankee Doodle' persona), he, and younger sister Josie, joined the parents to become the 'Four Cohans', and were a popular comedy/music act traveling the theater circuits of the late nineteenth century. Managing the family act by age 15 (his father concentrated on material, his mother had no head for business), Cohan throughout his life was prone to childish fits of temper, and was described by contemporaries as brash, headstrong...and undeniably gifted. From his first Broadway success (1904's 'Little Johnny Jones'), he had been determined to leave a legacy that would not be forgotten, and by 60, with his health beginning to decline, he concluded a film biography was the surest way to achieve immortality.

He first approached Sam Goldwyn, a personal friend, to do the picture, but demanded creative control, and when his choice to play himself, Fred Astaire, turned down the role, Cohan backed out of the project. Jack Warner, however, had once 'done a turn' in vaudeville, and one of the lot's biggest stars, James Cagney, was looking for a patriotic role to offset the recent bad publicity he'd received (the liberal star had been accused of being a Communist, which he was cleared of). Warner was more than happy to take on the biography, and after viewing earlier Cagney musicals, Cohan agreed with the selection of leading man (Cagney had actually auditioned, once, for a Cohan play...and was rejected!)

Cohan's colorful life had to be toned down, somewhat, for the screen (he had been married twice, and 'wholesome family films' did NOT portray divorce), so an amalgamation of both wives was created by screenwriter Robert Buckner, and named Mary (to capitalize on one of Cohan's most popular tunes). While the showman fretted that current wife Agnes might be offended, the second Mrs. Cohan was actually pleased (her middle name was Mary, she had started in the chorus line, and so she assumed the character Joan Leslie played WAS her!)

Finally (after the Epstein brothers were called in to add their legendary comic touches to the screenplay), filming began...on December 8, 1941. Cast and crew listened to President Roosevelt's radio address about Pearl Harbor, Cagney led everyone in a prayer, and an unspoken goal was set, to make YANKEE DOODLE DANDY the most patriotic, inspiring film possible. Director Michael Curtiz, one of the WB's finest directors, channeled the fervor, and Cagney jumped into the role of Cohan, heart and soul.

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY exceeded everyone's expectations. For a nation still reeling from Pearl Harbor and the Japanese advances in the Pacific, as well as Hitler's stranglehold of Europe, flag-waving was just the right medicine! The film was a huge hit, and was gratifying to Cohan (it is said that the day he died, November 5, 1942, he took a last stroll on Broadway, then joined the long line waiting to see his film biography, and watched James Cagney's unforgettable performance).

While it is true that the film is a bit dated, it is still a grand entertainment, and is on the AFI's list of the '100 Greatest Films of the Twentieth Century'.

George M. Cohan HAS achieved his immortality!

There is one problem with watching "Yankee Doodle Dandy" despite the fact that James Cagney is superb in his underdog sort of role, the title songs and subsequent Americana ditties are toe-tapping from the start, as well as the cinematography and set design are Oscar-worthy – "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is just too long. Being a newbie to both the world of Cagney as well as American propaganda, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" seemed the best place to start, and from the opening scene of the birth of George M. Cohan (felt like Fincher borrowed this scene for his "Benjamin Button" film) on the 4th of July, there was this immediate attachment. This film was loud, flashy, and when Cohan began telling his life story to the President of the United States, I eagerly anticipated the results. Then, we leisurely waked through his life. When using the word "leisurely", it is straightforwardly inescapable. Be prepared for everything from his family's rise and fall to the eventual birth of every song, no stone is left unturned, and while that can be entertaining – it can also dwindle a great movie into mediocrity. That is what happened to "Yankee Doodle Dandy", this viewer went from singing the songs during the day to broodingly waiting for it to finally end. It was like a roller-coaster, it was at the utmost high, but then went shooting straight down once it was unable to find its ending.

"Yankee Doodle Dandy" is not just this never ending story that repetitively builds too much. It boasts an Oscar-winning performance for Cagney (who later gets type-cast as this "Public Enemy"), and it delivers. It boasts these huge, glorious musical numbers, and it arrives with bells on. It boasts pure, uncut, raw Americana and it nearly makes you want to stand up and sing. Thus, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" delivers exactly what one may want from a film like this. There should be no complains, right? Again, the length of this film began, as the third act blended into the fourth and so on, felt tedious, boring, melodramatic, and lacking focus. When Cohan finishes his speech with the President, the ending should have been in plain view. The long walk down the flight of iconic Presidents, it felt winded. The final shots were just focus-less. There should have been a fade to black long before that. On another note, from the beginning, I knew that Cohan was pure America, it was necessary to consistently repeat that idea. For example, the scene in which he attempts to join the army was ridiculous. The merit was there, but the essence of the scene was missing. Sure, Cohan can tap, but does that mean he should brandish a gun? Another great example of why "Yankee Doodle Dandy" began so well, but then felt as if we were stuffing the turkey too full – it was beginning to feel … dare I say, more American…

To complete this discussion, I would like to reiterate again that "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (for the most part) had me tapping my toes and singing right along with the now infamous George M. Cohan. James Cagney was superb. His blend of humor, great dance, and exciting dialogue proved that he was more than just his later films. While this was a semi-ensemble film, each scene that Cagney was in (which was nearly all of them) he stole the scene. As audience, our eyes were fixated on what this "average joe" looking man was about to do next. Even his dancing seemed original. Yet, I regretfully admit it was just too long. The final act just felt flat, and when his conversation with the President ended, it should have faded then – instead the rest of the "filler" just felt stale. I loved this movie, I can suggest it to friends and family, but alas, be prepared for that final moment. "Yankee Doodle Dandy" felt like riding a roller coaster too many times, by the end, you just want to get off and savor the fun parts. By extending it too long, the sloppy ending ruined my savor for this film. Loved it. Liked it. Don't need to watch it again.

Grade: *** ½ out of *****

Unless you happen to catch a rare showing of THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT, you are not going to see any film that will bring you closer to that long gone Broadway phenomenon named George M. Cohan than this. Producer, Director, Dramatist, Actor, Composer, and super-patriot, he rewrote the American musical theater. If his successful productions are out of date today, the music survives to reawaken us every July 4th (his big holiday). His success as a songwriter led the way to Gershwin, Porter, Rodgers (and Hart and Hammerstein), Kern, and Youmans.

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY is not a perfect biography of Cohan - he was still alive while it was being made, and would have vetoed the project mentioning his first failed marriage to Ethel Levey or his opposition to Actor's Equity. But as a valentine to his greatness as an entertainment phenomenon it remains great. Whole numbers from his LITTLE JOHNNY JONES ("Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Give My Regards To Broadway") and FORTY-FIVE MINUTES FROM Broadway ("So Long Mary") are shown as they were produced. James Cagney (who was a first rate song and dance man on Broadway) studied THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT to know what were Cohan's singing and dancing style. His research and work paid off in this, his best musical performance and his only Oscar performance.

Walter Huston and Rosemary DeCamp are splendid as his loving, but long suffering parents (best scene for both is when Huston has to spank the young Cohan for blowing an important booking chance). Huston also has a moving moment when he gets as a birthday gift 50% of George's business enterprises. Richard Whorf (who was so sinister that same year in KEEPER OF THE FLAME) was excellent as partner/friend Sam Harris. Jeanne Cagney is good as Cohan's sister Josie, and Joan Leslie wonderful as Mary Cohan (the only wife of Cohan in the film, but historically his second wife). Also of note are George Tobias and Chester Clute as Dietz and Goff (poor Goff) and S.Z.Sakall as a backer who loves chorus girls. Walter Catlett as a conniving theater owner has a funny scene. Irene Manning as Fay Templeton is a perfectly snobbish star who actually finds Cohan has merit. Finally, catch Eddie Foy Jr. as his father, Cohan's rival and closest friend. That scene together was so good that it could have been continued as a short subject comedy.

One minor point to bring out - it is mentioned that LITTLE JOHNNY JONES is based on a jockey named Tod Sloane. If you recall Johnny Jones was accused of throwing the English Derby, and he is cleared afterward when papers are found showing one Anskey was responsible. In actuality Sloane, the leading American jockey of the day, was disgraced in a similar situation when riding in the English Derby. In Sloane's case there was no sequel with an "Anskey" and it sent his career into a tailspin. Only in the last year was a biography written about Sloane's tragic fall from sports fame.

A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan (played by James Cagney).

While I am not big on musicals (with some exceptions) and not particularly fond of patriotic pictures... and I had never heard of George Cohan before seeing this film... I was quite impressed.

Not necessarily impressed by the singing, dancing, acting and more, but impressed by who was doing it: James Cagney. Having seen Cagney as no fewer than three gangsters, I was thinking those were the roles he was meant to play. And while I still think that, I am impressed that he could sing and tap dance and more...

Was Cagney typecast? It appears that way. But, at least for the audience, we were given some of the finest gangster films ever made because of it. And thanks to this film, Cagney received his much-deserved Oscar.

So it takes liberties with facts. So it's jingoistic. Big deal! I adore it for its depiction of turn-of-the-(20th}century New York, especially its theater, which has fascinated me for years. And it has the breath-taking performance of Jimmy Cagney in the title role; he's absolutely elecrifying in the musical numbers. If some scenes are mawkish, well, I think that can be forgiven.

This movie, above all others, make me so proud to be an American.

If you can overlook six minutes of jingoistic junk (a patriotic medley meant to rouse wartime audiences into buying war bonds), you will witness one of the very finest musicals ever to come out of Hollywood. It is, first of all, uncommonly handsome, vivid in period detail and expertly shot by James Wong Howe. Its screenplay has unusual snap and is directed by Curtiz as if he were trying to preserve film (which he probably was) -- the pace is as furious as early Capra or Hawks. All right, it makes Cohan out to be a much nicer man than he was, and it skates over less pleasant aspects of his life -- a terrible first marriage, tightfistedness, his low regard for fellow actors. But what do you want, documentary or entertainment?

But the film's raison d'etre is, of course, Cagney, and his Oscar for it is one of the most deserved ever given. He's so magnetic, so expressive, a dynamic actor, an irresistible hoofer. Even though the movie is off the Warners assembly line, he gives it individuality and even more vitality than this very energetic studio usually supplied. It was a big, big hit, and except for the occasional wartime excess, it holds up beautifully.

James Cagney put down his tommy gun and grapefruit long enough to register his lone Oscar-winning performance in one of Hollywood's most enduring biopics, playing song-and-dance man George M. Cohan with so much gusto it's hard to believe the filmmakers wanted Fred Astaire, or that Cagney ever did anything else but musicals. Cohan himself probably didn't make as good a Cohan as Cagney does here.

The film is best-known for its musical moments, not only because of Cagney's clever hoofing but for the way the numbers are staged. When Cohan debuts his new song "You're A Grand Old Flag," the picture goes from being a relatively straight stage shoot to a series of logistically-improbable montages (a group of Boy Scouts give way to Revolutionary War troops, which melt into a knot of freed slaves gathered around a statue of Lincoln) that sell the history of the United States in all its glory. Finally, as the song winds to its big finish, hundreds and hundreds of uniformed flag bearers spill out on a stage suddenly too big to hold any conventional theater.

The overall effect of this is overwhelming enough to make you want to run out and buy War Bonds 60 years after the conflict "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was inspired by has ended. Patriotism may go out of style from time to time, but events happy and otherwise have a way of bringing it back.

The smaller touches make "Yankee Doodle Dandy" as entertaining as it is inspiring. Little Georgie gets too big for his britches when he tells a Brooklyn audience he can lick any kid in town, and gets put to the test. Older George and a partner beguile a producer (played by S.Z. Sakall, Carl from "Casablanca") into taking on a play no one else wants by pretending it's a hot property. George meets his future wife Mary in old-man costume, and can't resist having a little fun with her. "I know I have talent," Mary blurts, "even if I am from Buffalo."

Cagney does talk rather fast, and he needs to if only to keep pace with a frenetic storyline. Situations change rather quickly in "Yankee Doodle Dandy," and sometimes, as with George's sudden success and the later dissolution of the Four Cohans, it happens a bit too fast to follow. Cagney hardly pauses for breath. He's no singer, either, talking his way through his numbers like Rex Harrison in "My Fair Lady," only not as well.

But few films deliver the goods like "Yankee Doodle Dandy." You get a strong feeling for vaudeville entertainment, how mass entertainment worked in the gaslight age. The musical numbers (all done within the context of public performance, or else rehearsal, i.e. naturalistically) have real charm. The dialogue is great, too, a trifle canned and buffed-up maybe, but very Runyon-ish in its Stage Door Johnny way.

The best scene, for Cagney's acting and for comedy, is when he shows Mary a new song he wrote for her. The way his eyes move from her face to the score, prompting her unnecessarily, reveals both affection and the showman's inner ham. He almost looks menacing, but of course it's because he's smitten by the singer and trying to tell her through his song. It also sets up a great bit of comedy later on when George has to give Mary's song away to stage star Fay Templeton, then go back and explain it to Mary.

"He's the whole country squeezed into one pair of pants," exclaims one producer trying to get Templeton to hitch her wagon to Cohan's star. With Cagney wearing the pants, the end result is a perfect fit.

An undeniable standout in the show-biz-centric musicals of the era. Where most are disposable song-and-dance-and-not-much-else tales, this takes a deeper look at the changing of trends and the difficulty of relevance. Clearly influenced by the experimentation of Citizen Kane, it boasts cool cinematography and solid editing. Cagney (when not being asked to sing) is great, playing the flawed but lovable song-and-dance man. Even if it isn't as transcendent as its reputation holds, it's still a noble good time.

I have seen this film several times--including just recently. However, somehow I forgot to review the movie--and I noticed this today.

This is a difficult film to rate, as it's so unique. After all, seeing Jimmy Cagney in the lead is a bit surreal. You don't expect to see this tough-guy performing as a hoofer. You also don't expect to see his style of tap dancing. It is NOTHING like Fred Astaire--full of grace and style. Instead, it's pure energy and is, at times, a bit gangly. Now this isn't to say it's bad--it just isn't subtle as Cagney throws EVERYTHING into the dances. His tapping is a bit more like stomping---but, it is still a marvel to watch.

The film is a VERY Hollywoodized version of the life of the writer/performer George M. Cohan. Much of the guy's life is in the film but also much of the film is pure fiction meant to entertain. This is VERY typical of a film of this era. However, despite the style of dance and liberties the film takes, it is also incredibly entertaining and fun--filled with unabashed patriotism and spirit. Well worth seeing.

The title said it all. James stole the whole movie. He was amazing. Almost forgot of what the movie is about, just mesmerized watching the genious performance of James .

Like everyone else, at least some who are my age, I saw this movie when I was a kid in the movies on the big screen. There was a time when colorization of a black and white film was in style. I have a colorized version on Video and this is the only movie that I would agree should have been filmed in color, but maybe, because of the Second World War, this is the reason why it was never to be, but black and white, or colorized, it's still a Grand Old Show! I've stated before that Michael Curtiz was one of Hollywood most under rated directors, and here is another prime example of what I mean. Curtiz could direct any kind of movie; that's how talented he was.

We all know the story and how great the movie is, but did you know that at first Jack Warner was approached about filming the life of George M. Cohan and Warners quip; was, "Who do you think I'd get? Fred Astaire?", but Astaire didn't think that the role was right for him, and even if he did, M.G.M. would not loan him out to another studio when he was bringing big bucks for M.G.M., so Cagney got his hands on the script and said, "Oh! Yes! We do this one!" I'm an ex-hoofer myself, and every time I see Cagney dance, especially the dance sequence to Give My Regards to Broadway", I'm right in there with him. People have asked me who my favorite dancer in films was, and they're surprised when I say James Cagney! But, he was not a trained dancer and learned mostly on the streets of New York City as a kid. Which goes to prove that you really don't have to go to school to learn to dance. Look at Bob Fosse! Not one dance school training, but look what he became! So, with all those great films he did, mostly Gangster, he won an Oscar one time for playing Cagney on the screen, and as Virginia Mayo said on an interview on Turner Classics, no actor at that time had ever won an Oscar for playing a Gangster on the screen, but in Cagney's autobiography, he states that when George Cukor was casting My Fair Lady, he wanted Cagney to play Eliza's father Alfred Doolittle, and Cagney said something like this, "My Fair Lady! What a hell uh vuh song and dance show! Everythings so fine! Maybe just this one; one more time!" But, he told Cukor to go on without him, but wouldn't it be something that with all those wonderful movies he made, he only won one Oscar one time for playing Cohan, and wouldn't be something if he HAD made My Fair Lady and won a second Oscar, again, as a song and dance man? What a talent James Cagney was!

The life and times of celebrated American songwriter George M. Cohan gets a lavish treatment. Cagney is pretty good, giving a controlled (for him) performance. His dancing is energetic if rather comical. His singing should have been dubbed. Leslie is fine as his wife. Curtiz, who would win an Oscar for his next film, "Casablanca," provides solid direction, but the script becomes repetitive and rambles on far too long. This is basically a propaganda film to rally Americans during WWII, and the flag-waving becomes tiresome after a while, as does the glorification of Cohan. The egotistical Cohan is portrayed here as possibly the greatest American to ever walk the earth.

I think I might have heard the warning signals about Jimmy Cagney's Yankee Doodle Dandy as a movie that was great when it came out (1942) as it was exactly the type of movie the USA needed, but after watching it, I must say that I agree with a lot of people that say that this movie hasn't dated very well, and it's over the top patriotism would probably make people wince.

Jimmy Cagney is here playing George M. Cohan, one of the more brilliant songwriters that ever lived. While Cagney is great here, swiftly playing against type tapping his shoes while everyone expects him to shoot his gun, one wonders if that's what the Academy gave him the award for, because when you think about it, it's quite a one-dimensional character he plays. Essentially playing out his whole life, the 2nd half of the movie just essentially is a visual resume of everything he wrote. Like we hardly get any insight into the man, what made him tick. A lot of his life is glossed over for that extra musical number.

Speaking of, get ready to be bombarded with every American flag ever made, as the musical numbers are so unabashedly patriotic and heart-bleedingly American that I actually started laughing at how over the top it was. While the songs are great (Yankee Doodle Boy and Mary are the two standouts) the whole story and set-ups just makes this one a curio at best.