Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

'Yankee Doodle Dandy' is a musical film made in 1942, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston and Richard Whorf. The movie received eight Academy Award nominations and, in a vintage year, won three Awards - for Best Actor (James Cagney), Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Sound, Recording. In 1993, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is ranked at number 18 on AFI's 100 Years of Musicals.

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The movie gives a musical portrait of the amazing, upwardly mobile life story of George M. Cohan, the early 20th century entertainment legend who produced, directed, wrote and starred in his own musical shows. It follows several generations of Cohan's family and features several brilliant song and dance numbers with a magnificent performance from James Cagney, full of energetic vigour, who demonstrates beyond any doubt that he was not just an actor who could play gangsters, but also a very fine dancer and singer.

As well as being loved by the critic, the film was a major box-office success for Warner Bros. becoming their most successful film up to that time. It is patriotic, understandably so as it was released just after the Pearl Harbour attack on the US Fleet.

The movie begins in 1937 with George M. Cohan visiting President Roosevelt and, with the encouragement of the President, recalling his life story. It is these flashbacks which form the core of the film.

His rising fortunes are traced during WW1 when his patriotic songs like 'Over There' became nationally famous and his fame reaches its climax when Roosevelt presents him with the Congressional Medal of Honor, and Cagney, as Cohan, does an impromptu and utterly brilliant tap dance of jubilation down the White House steps.