Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942 Film
Yankee Doodle Dandy is high on the list of America's most patriotic films. Uploaded by blogs.suntimes.com.
On anyone’s list of the most patriotic films has to be Yankee Doodle Dandy, a gem of a film and one of James Cagney’s best. It’s the story of George M. Cohan, one of the leading Broadway auteurs of the twentieth century. It’s filled with the kind of stage-stretching song and dance numbers that we just don’t see now (except on Turner Classic Movies). Among its great songs:
- “Yankee Doodle Boy”
- “Give My Regards to Broadway”
- “Harrigan”
- “You’re a Grand Old Flag”
- “Over There”
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While the movie was planned before the onset of World War II, its filming began just a week before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As you can imagine, the entire production company was energized to produce a patriotic film that would boost American morale and support the war effort. It arrived in theaters on the weekend of Memorial Day, 1942.
The movie won four Academy Awards, including Cagney as Best Actor. Today, Yankee Doodle Dandy is recognized as a wonderful time capsule of its time. The American Film Institute named it number 18 on its list of 100 Years of Musicals.