Just watched number 98: “Yankee Doodle Dandy” starring the great James Cagney: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035575/
IMDB: 7.7/10 (#137 on the IMDB top 250)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Won 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations
First off, let me say that this is not my usual kind of movie. It’s an old black and white movie with singing and dancing. I’m used to Cagney in roles like “Public Enemy” or “G-Men”. However, once I sat down and started to watch, I realized that I can actually watch anything that Cagney is in. He’s one of the greatest actors of all time in my opinion because he can play any kind of role and you will literally not be able to think about anything else but how good he is in the movie you are watching. They might as well have a spotlight shining on him the entire time.
The movie was made in 1942, so it is a war-time film that some might argue is an American propaganda film. I would disagree. Yes, the movie was meant to inspire the American people and it is a very patriotic film (I must have seen the flag waving over 200 times), it approaches patriotism through a different angle. It’s not about the war, but rather it follows the life of a theatrical star George M. Cohan (Cagney). Cohan was born on the 4th of July and the first thing he ever held in his hand was the American flag. The movie follows George and his family (a theatrical quartet) through their rise to stardom, and their hardships and struggles. Cohan gets a bad name in the business because of his arrogance and his temper and the family suffers because no promoter will hire the George as part of the act. George, being by far the most talented of the group, continues to write plays and music and pitching his ideas to various promoters who all turn him down. It isn’t until he meets Sam Harris, (a man in the same position, being turned down by all of broadway) that he finally gets his second chance.
The story is told by way of a flashback. In his later years, Cohan takes a role as President Roosevelt and is summoned by the president for an unknown reason. It is in his office, where a very nervous Cohan tells the president the story of his life. At the end, we come back to the meeting and find out why Roosevelt has called the meeting.
While I don’t usually care for a lot of musical numbers in movies, most of the acts are pretty short and I found myself pretty amazed that Cagney could sing, play piano, and tap dance... REALLY WELL. I can’t tell you enough how much he made this movie, in fact, he was awarded the Academy Award for best actor for it (well deserved).
I really enjoyed the production quality, most of the movie takes place backstage and on-stage. While I’ve never been back stage at a musical, I felt like this is what it really looked like. There were so many extras always around and the amount of costumed actors makes me think that this was probably a very expensive movie to make.
The main thing that really kept me watching was the acting. It really was one of those “old-time” movies that people always joke about, lots of fast talking, quick insults and cocky, patriotic characters. I really have never sat down and watched something like it. I guess that in the 40’s when you’re making black and white movies like this one, you have to heavily rely on the talent of the actors to make the film good. I can’t say enough how amazing the acting was in this one. Even aside from Cagney, his family and especially his father, were excellent performances.
If you haven’t seen this movie, or if you haven’t seen many black and whites, I would strongly recommend anyone to see this. The story is entertaining and fast paced, and it is a very easy movie to get into. Usually I find older movies are slower and there are gaps in the plot, but not here, it is very well told. Not sure where it goes on the top 100, but in my opinion, it definitely has a spot here. I think for other reasons than the actual film qualities as well. I imagine the music and the triumphant plot would have been just what the Americans needed at the time it came out.
How good is this guy? Mobster turned tap-dancer.
At the end he's pointing to the butler to bring his coat.
