Posters Artwork Documents

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Warner Brothers.

James Cagney as George M. Cohan, with Joan Leslie, Walter Huston and Rosemary Dechamp in in the 1942 Hollywood musical, "Yankee Doodle Dandy". This production, a biopic of early 20th century Irish-American song-and-dance man, producer and composer George M. Cohan, arrived at an opportune moment to provide a perhaps unintended propaganda success, and a major box office hit for Cagney and producers Warner Brothers. For me, the best moment comes when the aged Cohan joins a crowd supporting the US entry into the war and being encouraged to join them in singing his own 1917 song, "Over There", thus linking the US participation in WW1 with that in WW2. When the real George M. Cohan, who was dying of cancer at the time (he died in November, 1942) was given an advance showing of the movie on which he had been a consultant, looking at Cagney's performance, he is said to have commented, "My God, what an act to follow ! Happy Independence Day to all our American friends. JR.