Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

 Michael Curtiz's "Yankee Doodle Dandy"

Going in to Michael Curtiz's 1942 musical biopic "Yankee Doodle Dandy," I felt a little uncertain. On paper, this film is not something I would typically enjoy. However, I was utterly charmed by this film; its unabashed earnestness, its lighthearted tempo, and most specifically for James Cagney's performance. 

The film is a biographical picture detailing the entire life of George M. Cohan, as known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." Starting out in his early days of vaudeville, Cohan travelled with his father, mother, and sister in a troupe called "The Four Cohans." As he begins to thrive as a playwright and songwriter, Cohan starts to make his mark on patriotic anthems like "Yankee Doodle Boy," "Over There," and "You're a Grand Ole' Flag." The film is a celebration of the life of Cohan and a celebration of his impact on Broadway and American culture.

Cagney had been cast in the role of George M. Cohan due to his physical performing styles that, early in his career, were called uncannily similar to Cohan's, even to the point of many newspaper publications saying Cagney stole his mannerisms. However, Cagney did not initially want to play Cohan, as Cohan had been on the opposing side of the Actors' Equity Strike in 1919. Cagney was somewhat forced into playing Cohan due to Cohan's patriotic image as an entertainer. In 1940, Cagney was one of the 16 Hollywood figures who were named in the grand jury testimony of John R. Leech, "chief functionary" of the Los Angeles Communist Party. "The New York Times" even printed on their front page an allegation that Cagney was a communist, which were eventually refuted. Even so, Cagney and his representation felt Cagney had to do a film that was patriotic to push back against this new image. One producer even said, "We're going to have to make the goddamndest patriotic picture that's ever been made. I think it's the Cohan story."

Because of the strong patriotic themes in the story, it was very integrated into the string of propaganda that Hollywood was producing during the second World War. In this way, the film somewhat mirrors Cohan in his attribution to "Over There" into the American patriotic propaganda. "Over There" was a song conceived by Cohan in an attempt to galvanize American men to enlist in the American forces during the first World War. With this 1942 film based on Cohan's life, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" also acts as a force for patriotism.

Despite the overt patriotism and propagandic nature of the film, I was still very won over by it. The patriotism only connects Cohan to the very fabric of American culture and further integrates that theme into the nature of his life and story. I don't personally feel like this propaganda is as egregious as a film like "Sergeant York," for example. I feel like "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is, on its own, a celebration of a man who contributed so much to American entertainment. The fact that it also denotes the American Dream as well is just an attribute of its subject.