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James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf, Irene Manning ... see more see more... , Jeanne Cagney , George Tobias , Rosemary De Camp , Frances Langford , George Barbier , S.Z. Sakall , Walter Catlett , Douglas Croft , Eddie Foy Jr. , Minor Watson , Chester Clute , Odette Myrtil , Patsy Lee Parsons , Eddie Acuff , Murray Alper , Vivian Austin , Leon Belasco , Henry Blair , Walter Brooke , Leslie Brooks , Georgia Carroll , Dick Chandlee , Spencer Charters , Wallis Clark , William B. Davidson , Ann Doran , Frank Faylen , Pat Flaherty , James Flavin , William Forrest , Creighton Hale , John Hamilton , Harry Hayden , William Hopper , Joyce Horne , Mari Jo James , Edward Keane , Fred Kelsey , Phyllis Kennedy , Audrey Long , Jo Ann Marlowe , Frank Mayo , Lon McCallister , George Meeker , Dolores Moran , Garry Owen , Francis Pierlot , Joyce Reynolds , Ruth Robinson , Clinton Rosemond , Sid Saylor , Charles Smith , Dick Wessel , Poppy Wilde , Joan Winfield , Jack Young , Michael Curtiz , Tom Dugan , Thomas E. Jackson , Sailor Vincent , Bill Edwards , Lee Murray , Dorothy Kelly , Pat O'Brien , Donald O'Connor , Treat Williams , Milos Forman , Wa

The life story of dancing vaudevillian George M. Cohan.

Flixster Users

83% liked it

7,071 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

23 critics

G, 2 hr. 6 min.

Directed by: Michael Curtiz

Release Date: June 6, 1942

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DVD Release Date: September 30, 2003

Stats: 449 reviews

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James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy Yankee Doodle Dandy James Cagney & Joan Leslie in Yankee Doodle Dandy Caricature by Al Hirschfeld Yankee Doodle Dandy James Cagney & Joan Leslie in Yankee Doodle Dandy James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy Walter Huston & James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy Walter Huston in Yankee Doodle Dandy James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy Yankee Doodle Dandy Walter Huston in Yankee Doodle Dandy Walter Huston in Yankee Doodle Dandy
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Flixster Reviews (449)

  • rubystevens
    July 3, 2008
    rubystevens
    i know it's corny but i love this film and if you haven't seen cagney dance you're in for a treat.
  • sanjurosamurai
    February 17, 2008
    sanjurosamurai
    this is a genuine musical masterpiece. one of the best films i have ever seen and certainly near the top of the great musicals, this film is a deep tale of patriotism and achievement. the film follows cohans life with perfect pace and a high level of engagement. we see the cha... read moreracter grow as a person and develop powerfully. there are striking similarities with citizen kane released a year earlier, but i actually enjoyed this film more than that one. cagney recieved a best actor oscar for his role and he deserved it in one of his many great performances. the music was perfect and well placed, striking out against the idea that a musical has to be mostly music. a great classic. "my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and i thank you."
  • FangsFirst
    October 26, 2007
    FangsFirst
    I was, well, not TERRIBLY recently, but somewhat recently, admonished by my father for the gaping holes in my collection when it comes to musicals, as he is quite a fan of them himself. I'll admit that in most of my life I have not been a fan. I am particularly loathe to associat... read moree with the sort where characters burst out randomly into song without context during the plot to convey the story forward. I have difficulty accepting this outside of animation, except in instances where it's fitting for an odd tone for a film--the obvious example (one which perhaps proves that conditional exception) is my long-time love for the 1986 musical Little Shop of Horrors--but that could also be tied to my affection for 60s "girl groups."

    Going backward through film as I have been in the past year or two, though, I've discovered a fairly large number of films that don't approach musicals in that fashion which is much more suited to my taste. When it's a musical number even inside the movie, what issue is there to take, unless the song itself is unpleasant? Now, I've also found that that approach bothers me a lot less than it used to, and I think I was bothered far more by the songs and overall plots (as musicals can have that tendency toward the syrupy sweet) than by that process.

    But that's moot because this is a movie about an author of musicals--George M. Cohan, author of songs like "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Over There," and "Give My Regards to Broadway." As such, the songs occur as songs that George is writing or has written, or in snippets of in-play performances. I suppose this is a sort of indirect violation if you indeed do not like characters bursting into song, but here it's an actor playing an actor playing a character bursting into song, which is different in its way. Cohan is played by James Cagney, and he earned an Oscar for the role. I first saw Cagney as a part of an introduction to film class in Angels with Dirty Faces, and instantly liked him a lot. Much like Bogart, he just has a magnetic charisma that just instantly makes what he's doing and saying interesting. It's such an instinctual reaction that I'm not sure I can explain it any better than that. That role, however, is the kind Cagney is most known for (as encompassed by the infamous--and non-existent--line, "You dirty rat!") but I've heard since that he thought of himself far more as a song-and-dance man than a gangster, even if he found himself almost constantly relegated to such a role. Here you can just barely see why--he's a fantastic dancer. This wonderfully loose-legged sort of style he pulls out throughout is an absolute joy to watch, and his last few steps--involving a staircase--brought a smile to my face just in their joyful energy.

    His singing style is a bit odd; he half-sings, half-recites (as someone put it, and I only couldn't think of the second word...) the lyrics to "his" songs--but apparently that's how Cohan himself did it. And perhaps it's what comes naturally to Cagney as well, considering he has a similar background as a poor Irishman who got his start in vaudeville, just like the real Cohan. We tend not to hear whole songs throughou the film though, as it's more about his life than about his musicals themselves, but we do see him go from being born all the way up through--well, let's not spoil it for those who don't know his history, but the reason FDR sends a message for him after he finishes performing a play as none other than FDR himself.

    The film bears what I consider a very 40s style to it, but considering the volume of 40s movies I've seen that are directed by Michael Curtiz, it may well be the Curtiz style that I'm speaking of instead (as this, too, was directed by Curtiz). Things feel as if they're still holding onto their theatrical roots, with more specific blocking and somewhat stiff acting that seems more focused on conveying lines and story than creating "characters." It also seems as if it still feels the freshness of the motion picture medium, with heavy, constant camera moves--though not distracting ones--and the feeling that they're almost still reeling from being able to make dialogue audible instead of typing it up on cards to insert between scenes. This gives movies like this a great feel, like they're still staring wide-eyed at the distant horizons and boundaries now re-set for motion pictures, as if they can now see so much more that they're able to do, but have yet to make use of much of that space and instead feel some comfort in drawing from what they're most familiar with. They feel so very honest and strong, the way even background characters speak in that rapid but clearly understandable way, as if they've all been doing this for years--which they probably have. It seems a lot more training was likely present in these actors than in those that would come in decades to follow, and while it contributes to that sort of awkwardness they seem to exhibit by being in a film set instead of on a stage, they feel more real in some ways despite that. I rather like it a lot, but it's not enough to save a bad movie. That's not the case here though, as it's quite snappy in dialogue, moves at a nicely brisk pace, has wonderful--and apparently historically accurate--set design for Cohan's plays, and is excellently performed by Cagney and the rest of the cast, including George Tobias as a grumpy and judgmental theatrical producer and Walter Huston (alas, the only two names I had even rough knowledge of) as Cohan's father Jerry (apparently actually "Jere" in reality).

    I guess I should go ahead and branch out into more Warner musicals, even if no one else's, huh?
  • hypathio7
    October 18, 2007
    hypathio7
    That gangster James Cagney can sing and dance!! I enjoyed this biopic very much especially for Cagney's against type performance. He is very talented.
  • garyX
    June 19, 2007
    garyX
    Not really my kind of thing, but Cagney really throws his all into the part of all-singing all-dancing George M. Cohan. But I'll stick to his gangster films, thank you very much.
  • adfill7
    July 5, 2007
    adfill7
    Not doubt a classic, but it's not spectacular. The ending was very good.
  • lizzardb72688
    May 1, 2009
    lizzardb72688
    I'll admit it wasn't as cheesey as I thought it would be. James Cagney did a really great job and is an excellent dancer. Made me want to try tap dancing again...
  • moviegirl50
    July 5, 2010
    moviegirl50
    Great movie, really enjoyed the life story of George M. Cohan, the man who wrote the patriotic songs "Over There" & "Grand Old Flag" among many other songs of the early 1900's. James Cagney was Perfect in the role that George Cohan himself wouldn't let anyone else play!! On "My... read more 5 Star Music Movies" list.
  • HuskersNC949597
    March 2, 2010
    HuskersNC949597
    Hey, the first Cagney movies I watched/remembered were things like "The Public Enemy" and "Angels with Dirty Faces", so I didn't know the guy could sing and/or dance. I guess I'll have to dig up Footlight Parade and get around to watching that.
  • jam233
    November 28, 2009
    jam233
    A wonderful classic, with James Cagney giving a very heartfelt and outstanding performance. Some outstanding song and dance numbers. Highly entertaining. Good direction. Jeanne Cagney gives her best performance.

View All Yankee Doodle Dandy Reviews

Critic Reviews

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

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 -... Full Review

February 13, 2001
Variety

Yankee Doodle Dandy is rah-rah, no matter how you slice it. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The greatness of the film resides entirely in the Cagney performance. Full Review

Steve Crum
March 8, 2008
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Flag waving, toe tapping, GREAT James Cagney performance as Broadway's George M. Cohan.

Emanuel Levy
March 5, 2008
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

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. Full Review

Geoff Andrew
June 24, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Raucous, vulgar, over long. Full Review

Mark Bourne
April 5, 2006
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com

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. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
July 4, 2005
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

James Cagney played George M. Cohan with great vigor and won his only Oscar for that brilliant
performance. Full Review

Michael E. Grost
May 28, 2005
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

awfully dull and stodgy

Michael A. Smith
January 1, 2005
Michael A. Smith, Nolan's Pop Culture Review

Love that Cagney!

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Yankee Doodle Dandy Trivia

  • For which musical did James Cagney win the best actor Oscar?  Answer »
  • Which actor in Yankee Doodle Dandy is heard to say quite often "My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you"?  Answer »
  • Name the movie from which this memorable quote comes... "My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you."  Answer »
  • Identify the film from this quote: "Oh, don't worry about the critics! You got a smash hit! It's in the air, kid! It's in the air! You can't stop anything that's in the air!"  Answer »
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