Yankee Doodle Dandy

Starring: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf, Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeanne Cagney, Frances Langford, S.Z. Sakall
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Rating: Approved
Genre: Musical, Drama
1942

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows the life of famous playwright and actor, George M. Cohan (James Cagney).

Review:

Tim: Yankee Doodle Dandy is consistently ranked as one of the all-time classic movies. I really enjoyed the movie and loved certain aspects of it. As a whole, I'd consider it a very good movie that features a remarkable lead performance. The music was good and the biographical aspect of telling George M. Cohan's story was very interesting. Unfortunately, I didn't care much for the Hollywoodization of the story (his divorce isn't mentioned, I don't recall seeing his kids, and a number of large liberties were taken). Still, this movie is well worth seeing.

My familiarity with James Cagney is similar to a lot of audiences at this time- mostly gangster pictures. It was interesting to see him in this completely different film, especially with all the song and dance numbers. I understand that Cagney was a song-and-dance guy early in his career, so this was right up his alley. I have to say I was quite impressed with everything he did here. His acting is so effortless, I just immediately bought into him as this character. I never once looked at him and thought about acting- it just came across as so natural. His dancing is very, very good, and his singing was spot on. It's a remarkable performance for how much it asks him to do and how tremendously he delivers. The deathbed scene was an excellent example of what a strong performance Cagney gave. I certainly believe the Academy Award he won for Best Actor was well deserved. The supporting cast is all good, but this movie is truly about Cagney.

The film is unabashedly patriotic, but that felt like it fit in well with the real Cohan. I had no idea he was responsible for some of the classic patriotic songs ("Over There", for example). I found this film to be very informative about Cohan's life. Yes, I had to do some more research to find all the inaccuracies and learn the truth, but it still did a very good job showing his life and career. For someone who embarrassingly didn't know about Cohan before seeing this film, I really appreciated that.

Now, this film is a musical, but all the musical numbers appear on stage. I was very impressed with how much musical numbers we saw, from a wide range of Cohan's plays. My favorites were the more patriotic numbers. While it might feel a little over-the-top by today's standards, it did a great job of reflecting the immense national pride many Americans felt in the early part of the 20th century. I had fun watching those. There are a few musical scenes that just didn't hold up well in the seven decades since this film came out. Those were a little difficult to sit through. Luckily, there were only a few.

I also have to comment on perhaps my favorite line of the film. It's also one of the most famous lines in cinema history- "My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you." This line becomes much more meaningful the way it is repeatedly used throughout the film. There were a few times when this simple line really connected emotionally, especially towards the end of the movie. It was one of my favorite parts of the film.

In the end, I did enjoy Yankee Doodle Dandy. I'd consider it a very well made movie and as a winner of 3 Academy Awards, certainly worth seeing. I wouldn't quite call this a truly great movie- it does have a few too many lulls and ineffective moments. Still, Cagney gives one of the best performances of his career. That's worth the time investment right there.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Singin' in the Rain, The Glenn Miller Story