Review of Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) by Jeremy R — 25 Feb 2008

[font=Arial][i]Yankee Doodle Dandy [/i]is the 1947 movie based on the life of George Cohan, the prolific writer and producer of Vaudville and Broadway theater plays throughout the early 1900s. In the movie we see the progression of Cohan's character, played by James Cagney, from the cocky but talented child star of touring acts starring his family to the famous writer and producer for such plays as Mary and Going Up. Cohan was a successful song lyricist too with successful hits such as Give my regards to Broadway and Over There. [/font].

[color=black][font=Tahoma][size=2][font=Arial]Cagney was the definite star and appeal to this musical. His acting was right on and full of excitement. While there were other key actors throughout the movie, the spotlight never wandered too far from Cagney, fitting for the way in which Cohan seemed to steal the thunder from all those around him. For their roles, the other actors didn?t bring much to the table. Joan Leslie, playing Mary, the wife of Cohan was the next largest role; however her performance didn?t progress further than the young actress with glints of admiration in her eye for Cohan. There were two nice scenes starring Cagney and Leslie but much of the magic of the scene was in the time of Cagney. [/font][/size][/font][/color].

[font=Arial][i]Yankee Doodle Dandy [/i]epitomizes the great dialogue of the 40s that I love so much. Characters are quick and witty which allow scenes to move swiftly and leave you gape-mouthed and wishing you were able to talk like the characters on the screen. There?s a great scene in the middle of the movie with dialogue between Cagney and Eddie Foy Jr. (playing his father?s part). In the scene the two ?actors/producers? exchange quips while in disguise as average bystanders. Each acts as a reveler of their respected persons and it works very nicely and created quite a chuckle from me. [/font].

[color=black][font=Tahoma][size=2][font=Arial]Another one of the marvelous things about [i]Dandy [/i]was its cinematography. Throughout the film I was enamored by the way in which the camera zipped and out of the characters, the way close-ups and fades were handled. Much of the movie was shot on a theater stage but with the use of the camera you really felt the magic of the theater in creating space where it is limited. [/font][/size][/font][/color].

[color=black][font=Tahoma][size=2][font=Arial]The only faults of [i]Dandy [/i]lie in the faults of cinema at that time. As many musicals do, they rely heavily on the song and dance that accompany the show. This movie is no different. While I can have a base level of appreciation for the score, I just can?t get past the fact that it really doesn?t progress the plot much. It?s much more ear and eye candy, and to me, it wasn?t all that remarkable. The songs, in some cases, were able to show the way in which Cohan matured in writing but these could have been shorter and still accomplish the same feat. At the times of the production, musicals were very popular, however they disinterest me and was a glowing of example of how successful productions, much like Cohan, tend to write to a base audience. In this point, I find the film and Cohan?s life very similar. [/font][/size][/font][/color].

[color=black][font=Tahoma][size=2][font=Arial]The other fault of this movie only gives me more appreciation for today?s cinema diversity. The movie was very centralized around white males. Females were cast only as glamour eyed vixens and blacks were cast even lower. The movie only casts African-Americans in three scenes. Two in which a black butler, with an uneducated speech, helps Cohan into the White House and another in which a host of African-Americans give praise and adoration to a statue of Abraham Lincoln. [/font][/size][/font][/color].

[font=Arial][i]Yankee Doodle Dandy[/i] is a very good movie, and well deserving of a placement in the top 100 of American films, but it lacked a base appeal to me. It was fun to watch but not much more and never really engaged me in the movie. Perhaps another viewing will bring about more, except this time I will fast-forward through the music. [/font].