Flag waving, toe tapping, GREAT James Cagney performance as Broadway's George M. Cohan.
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:23
Fresh:21
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.9/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
US Box Office: $0
Synopsis: This much-loved and much-acclaimed musical biography salutes the life and career of American composer and performer George M. Cohan. James Cagney brilliantly essays the role of Cohan, a... This much-loved and much-acclaimed musical biography salutes the life and career of American composer and performer George M. Cohan. James Cagney brilliantly essays the role of Cohan, a song-and-dance man who made his mark on the vaudeville stage at the young age of 13. Thereafter, he continued to rack up triumph after triumph -- until he became the first performer of the popular theater to win a Congressional Medal of Honor. Along the way, he penned countless memorable tunes, including "Over There," "It's a Grand Old Flag," "Give My Regards to Broadway" and the film's rousing title number. [More]
Starring: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf
Starring: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf, George Tobias, Irene Manning, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeanne Cagney
Director: Michael Curtiz
Director: Michael Curtiz
Producer: William Cagney
Reviews for Yankee Doodle Dandy
A big, old-fashioned rousing biopic of patriotic showman George M. Cohan, played with energy and gusto by Jimmy Cagney in his only Oscar-winning performance.
It delivers its red-white-and-blue patriotism to you by the exuberant bushel, but this grand old film reminds us that there was a time when patriotism was more heartfelt than bullying and jingoistic.
James Cagney played George M. Cohan with great vigor and won his only Oscar for that brilliant performance.
...Cagney's picture through and through. He imbues every scene with the kind of electricity only a handful of screen stars have ever managed.
A timeless treasure that will never fade. Cagney is great; Huston unforgetable. A wonderful slice of Americana.
Thanks to fluent direction, fine photography and Cagney's brillance as actor and song and dance man, the whole piece is surprisingly palatable.
You will find as warm and delightful a musical picture as has hit the screen in years, a corking good entertainment and as affectionate, if not as accurate, a film biography as has ever -- yes, ever -- been made.
Cagney rocks, if indeed one can use that verb to describe a movie about George M. Cohan
Latest News for Yankee Doodle Dandy
June 22, 2007:
AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...
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