ay in advance in honor of the July 4th celebration. Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 Warner Brothers' star-spangled, musical tribute to legendary composer, playwright, actor, dancer, singer, producer, theatre owner, 
director, and choreographer George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". From his early days as a child-star in his family's vaudeville show up to the time of his comeback at which he received a medal from the president for his special contributions to the US, this is the life-story 
of George M. Cohan, who produced, directed, wrote and starred in his own musical shows for which he composed his famous songs. The song "The Yankee Doodle Boy" (a.k.a. "Yankee Doodle Dandy") was Cohan's trademark piece, a patriotic pastiche drawing from the lyrics and melody of the old Revolutionary War number, "Yankee Doodle". Other Cohan tunes in the 
movie include "Give My Regards to Broadway", "Harrigan", "Mary's a Grand Old Name", "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "Over There". At the end of the movie, the US President presents him with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his songs "Over There" and "It's a Grand Old Flag." George is the first actor to receive this honor, and he responds as he 
used to when he was with The Four Cohans, "My mother thanks you; my father thanks you; my sister thanks you; and I thank you."James Cagney (Cohan's own choice) received his only Academy Award for his mesmerizing portrayal of the talented Mr. Cohan, who died shortly after the film's
release. Cagney was a fitting choice for the role, as a fellow Irish-American who had been a song-and-dance man himself early in his career. His unique and seemingl
y odd presentation style, of half-singing and half-reciting the songs, reflected the style that Cohan himself used. His natural dance style and physique were also a good match for Cohan. Newspapers at the time reported that Cagney intended to consciously imitate Cohan's song-and-dance style, but to play the normal part of the acting in his own style. Other members of the Yankee Doodle Dandy cast: Jeanne Cagney, who played the part of 
Cohan's sister, was James Cagney's real-life sister; Rosemary DeCamp, who played the mother of George M. Cohan; Walter Huston, who played the father of George M. Cohan; Joan Leslie, who played Cohan's wife; and Eddie Foy Jr., who played the role of his own father, Eddie Foy.This unabashed, patriotic biopic - generously peppered with Cohan tunes an
d flag-waving production numbers - garnered a total of eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director (Michael Curtiz). The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (James Cagney), Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Sound, Recording. It was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Walter Huston), Best Director, Best Film Editing for George Amy, Best Picture and Best Writing, Original Story. In 1993, Yankee Doodle Dandy was s
elected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2006, the American Film Institute named Yankee Doodle Dandy number 18 out of the top 100 musicals.We definitely recommend watching Yankee Doodle Dandy, as this is
absolutely one of our favorite musicals. Don’t forget to check out our blog Wednesday and Friday this week when we return for more of the Fabulous Films of 1939.**Trivia Question for Today: What actor was first offered the role of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy but turned it down?
**Bonus Trivia: In what 1955 movie did James Cagney reprise his role as George M. Cohan?
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Trivia Answer for Previous Post: The Party is the 1968 comedy in which Peter Sellers hilariously spoofs “Gunga Din” bugling the warning of an ambush.
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