Yankee Doodle Dandy [Blu-ray]

Director: Hugh MacMullan

Overview

Yankee Doodle Dandy is no more the true-life story of George M. Cohan than The Jolson Story was the unvarnished truth about Al Jolson -- but who the heck cares? Dandy has song, dance, pathos, pageantry, uproarious comedy, and, best of all, James Cagney at his Oscar-winning best. After several failed attempts to bring the life of legendary, flag-waving song-and-dance man Cohan to the screen, Warners scenarist Robert Buckner opted for the anecdotal approach, unifying the film's largely unrelated episodes with a flashback framework. Summoned to the White House by President Roosevelt, the aging Cohan is encouraged to relate the events leading up to this momentous occasion. He recalls his birth on the Fourth of July, 1878; his early years as a cocky child performer in his family's vaudeville act; his decision to go out as a "single"; his sealed-with-a-handshake partnership with writer/producer Sam Harris (Richard Whorf); his first Broadway success, 1903's Little Johnny Jones; his blissful marriage to winsome wife Mary (a fictional amalgam of Cohan's two wives, played by Joan Leslie -- who, incredibly, was only 17 at the time); his patriotic civilian activities during World War I, culminating with his writing of that conflict's unofficial anthem "Over There" (performed by Nora Bayes, as played by Frances Langford); the deaths of his sister, Josie (played by Cagney's real-life sister Jeanne), his mother, Nellie (Rosemary DeCamp), and his father, Jerry (Walter Huston); his abortive attempt to retire; and his triumphant return to Broadway in Rodgers & Hart's I'd Rather Be Right. His story told, Cohan is surprised -- and profoundly moved -- when FDR presents him with the Congressional Medal of Honor, the first such honor bestowed upon an entertainer. His eyes welling up with tears, Cohan expresses his gratitude by invoking his old vaudeville curtain speech: "My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you." Glossing over such unsavory moments in Cohan's life as his bitter opposition of the formation of Actor's Equity -- not to mention George M.'s intense hatred of FDR! -- Yankee Doodle Dandy offers the George M. Cohan that people in 1942 wanted to see (proof of the pudding was the film's five-million-dollar gross). And besides, the plot and its fabrications were secondary to those marvelous Cohan melodies -- "Give My Regards to Broadway," "Harrigan," "Mary," "You're a Grand Old Flag," "45 Minutes from Broadway," and the title tune -- performed with brio by Cagney (who modifies his own loose-limbed dancing style in order to imitate Cohan's inimitable stiff-legged technique) and the rest of the spirited cast. Beyond its leading players, movie buffs will have a ball spotting the myriad of familiar character actors parading before the screen: S.Z. Sakall, George Tobias, Walter Catlett, George Barbier, Eddie Foy Jr. (playing his own father), Frank Faylen, Minor Watson, Tom Dugan, John Hamilton, and on and on and on. In addition to Cagney, music directors Ray Heindorf and Heinz Roemheld also won Oscars for their efforts.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/14/2014
UPC:	0888574042714
Original Release:	1942
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	2:06:00
Sales rank:	4,852

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

James Cagney	George M. Cohan,Josie Cohan
Joan Leslie	Mary
Walter Huston	Jerry Cohan
Rosemary De Camp	Nellie Cohan
Richard Whorf	Sam Harris
George Tobias	Dietz
Irene Manning	Fay Templeton
S.Z. Sakall	Schwab
George Barbier	Erlanger
Walter Catlett	Manager
Frances Langford	Nora Bayes
Minor Watson	Ed Albee
Eddie Foy Jr.	Eddie Foy
Chester Clute	Harold Goff
Douglas Croft	George (age 13)
Patsy Lee Parsons	Josie (age 12)
Jack Young	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audrey Long	Receptionist
Odette Myrtil	Mme. Bartholdi
Clinton Rosemond	White House Butler
Michael Curtiz	Actor
Spencer Charters	Stage Manager in Providence
Dorothy Kelly	Sister Act
Marijo James	Sister Act
Henry Blair	George (age 7)
Jo Ann Marlowe	Josie (age 6)
Thomas Jackson	Stage Manager,Stage manager
Phyllis Kennedy	Fanny
Pat Flaherty	White House Guard
Leon Belasco	Magician
Syd Saylor	Star Boarder
William B. Davidson	New York Stage Manager
Harry Hayden	Dr. Lewellyn
Ann Doran	Receptionist
Francis Pierlot	Dr. Anderson
Charles Smith	Teenager,Teenager
Joyce Reynolds	Teenager
Dick Chandlee	Teenager
Joyce Horne	Teenager
Frank Faylen	Sergeant
John Hamilton	Recruiting officer
Wallis Clark	Theodore Roosevelt
Georgia Carroll	Betsy Ross
Joan Winfield	Sally
Dick Wessel	Union Army Veteran
James Flavin	Union Army Veteran
Sailor Vincent	Schultz in 'Peck's Bad Boy'
Fred Kelsey	Irish Cop in 'Peck's Bad Boy'
Tom Dugan	Actor at Railway Station
Garry Owen	Army Clerk
Murray Alper	Wise Guy
Creighton Hale	Telegraph Operator
Frank Mayo	Hotel clerk
Ruth Robinson	Nurse
Eddie Acuff	Reporter
George Meeker	Hotel Clerk
Walter Brooke	Reporter
Bill Edwards	Reporter
Lee Murray	Jockey
William Hopper	Reporter
William Forrest	Critic
Edward Keane	Critic
Dolores Moran	Girl
Poppy Wilde	Chorus Girl in 'Little Johnny Jones' Number
Leslie Brooks	Chorus Girl in 'Little Johnny Jones' Number
Jerrie Lynne	Singer
Vivian Austin	Pianist
Lon McCallister	Actor

Technical Credits

Robert Buckner

Edmund Joseph

Michael Curtiz	Director
Robert Buckner	Screenwriter
Edmund Joseph	Screenwriter
William Cagney	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The most patriotic, red-white-and-blue musical ever made, Yankee Doodle Dandy celebrates a true American original, composer and entertainer George M. Cohan, and features one of James Cagney's best-ever performances. Made just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as nationalism was running high, this flag-waving biography of Cohan’s life has a warmly nostalgic feel. Told in flashbacks as Cohan prepares for an upcoming visit to the White House to receive the Medal of Honor, the story hearkens back to simpler, happier times. We see Cohan’s childhood beginnings in a family vaudeville act, his glory days of fame on Broadway, his comeback, and his romances. In the lead role, former song-and-dance man Cagney brings a uniquely dynamic presence to the screen. Never was there a more perfect match between actor and part -- Cagney even imitated Cohan’s stiff-bodied, Irish style of hoofing to a tee -- and he took home an Oscar for his performance. Especially memorable are the soundtrack’s many songs: Cohan wrote more than 1,000, and the favorites here include "Give My Regards to Broadway," "Over There," "You’re a Grand Old Flag," and "Harrigan," in addition to the title tune, of course. Joyful, fast-moving, and entertaining, Yankee Doodle Dandy is the perfect movie to brighten even the darkest day.

Barnes & Noble - Karen Backstein

Yankee Doodle Dandy was one of the best World War II-era patriotic propaganda films, and it has proven itself enduringly popular in the decades following its release. The film succeeds almost entirely on the performance of James Cagney as legendary song-and-dance performer George M. Cohan, although significant credit should also be given to director Michael Curtiz, who expertly stages each scene to display the talents of his star. The film features an over-the-top framing device in which Cohan tells his life's story in flashback to President Franklin Roosevelt. The story is effectively fiction, using only the outline of Cohan's life and some of his songs as reference points. The musical sequences are among the best in any film of the era. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three, including Best Actor for Cagney. The real-life Cohan died shortly after the film's release, living long enough to see it and like it despite, or perhaps because of, its lack of accuracy about his life.

All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam