Yankee Doodle Dandy

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 *****

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.

source: Yankee Doodle Dandy

Trailer—Yankee Doodle Dandy

Yankee Doodle Dandy

This biographical musical drama, that displays life and work of versatile Broadway author and performer George M. Cohan, deservedly won 3 Oscars out of 8 nominations and it is considered to be one of the best movies of all time. It is not kind of musical where a story is told through song and dance, but a regular movie with some theatrical musical scenes that are needed to represent his career. So this movie could be acceptable and enjoyable even for those who hate musicals. Personally, I am not a fan of musicals and I am strongly irritated by any type of pro-American or any patriotic propaganda, which this movie certainly is, but it has so many other qualities that it left really strong positive impression on me and I really enjoyed it. 8/10

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.

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.