12/22/2023 0 Comments Yankee doodle war movieGeorge and Jimmy were equals where work ethic was concerned as well. Cagney gets to the heart of the entertainer, the business man, the tough guy and the man with a special, soft spot for his family. In fact, if you ever get a chance to watch clips of George M. you’ll note that Jimmy was actually a better dancer. Cagney resembles Cohan, sounds like him and moves like him. Cohan is an understatement and he committed himself one hundred percent to ensure every step, every ounce of energy said Cohan. To say that Cagney was the perfect choice to play George M. It’s a tour de force among tour de forces. His performance (or the movie) just doesn’t ever get passé. James Cagney hits a home run each and every time YANKEE DOODLE DANDY is viewed. And more than seven decades later it’s still quite the treat. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY became the biggest box office hit in Warner Bros. The movie and the efforts paid off big time. spent months building up the momentum before the movie was released in May 1942. Jack Warner had James Cagney, another Irish-American and another huge star in mind to play George M. And that’s really all that needs to be said about the actor’s portrayal of the song and dance man. So a screening was scheduled and Agnes, along with George and several others watched YANKEE DOODLE DANDY and when it was over Agnes looked at her husband and beamed, “Oh, you were so good, Georgie.” High praise indeed except that she had just watched James Cagney, not Georgie. He told Warner that the only way the movie would pass muster is if his wife Agnes liked it. Cohan didn’t give YANKEE DOODLE DANDY his approval. If Cohan didn’t like the movie it couldn’t be released. When the film was completed everyone involved was happy with the results, but ever the control freak George M. In addition the actors got everything they needed to ensure Cohan’s story was well served. Buckner’s story and the music and Lyrics were of course Cohan’s. Michael Curtiz was chosen to direct, Robert Buckner and Edmund Joseph wrote the screenplay (with uncredited input by the Epstein Brothers) from Mr. assembled top-notch talent to tell the screen version of George M. Cohan the man, his story and his music was exactly the kind of material Warner was interested in and the stage was set for YANKEE DOODLE DANDY. really took the war in Europe to heart and their movies and shorts reflected that. had jumped head first into making patriotic material for the big screen – well before Pearl Harbor. Cohan returned to New York and in short time was approached by Jack Warner who as head of Warner Bros. He approached his friend Samuel Goldwyn with the idea requesting it be offered as a starring vehicle for Fred Astaire but Astaire turned the part down, which led Goldwyn to decline the offer altogether. Cohan had written a play about his life called “The Yankee Doodle Boy,” that was produced for the stage in 1939 and he would use the play to try to sell his story as the basis for a movie. ![]() Cohan did for and on the stage helped define the Great White Way with a style that still reverberates in American musicals to this day.Ĭohan’s talent was respected across the country, not only in New York and the story of his life was perfect for the big screen, particularly in 1941 when patriotism was ripe. Some called him a scoundrel but no one could deny that he would – in essence – change show business, which was his religion. Not necessarily a nice man, Cohan was known to be brash and pushy. Cohan forged on to have one of the most memorable careers ever conceived, a talent with an impressive energy that “jumped off the stage” as many would describe. Vaudeville was second-rate as far as he was concerned, he wanted to be on Broadway and the dream came true in 1904 when he starred in a show he wrote, “Little Johnny Jones.” George M. In front of the audience Cohan was aces, but being a main draw on Vaudeville wasn’t enough. The Four Cohans – George M., Josie, Jerry and Nellie This was the school of hard knocks and George was a star pupil. While still in his teens George was running the act, making the deals, writing the material and was the star of the act. Cohan never attended school, instead learning the ropes while touring with the family act, T he Four Cohans made up of Jerry, Nellie, George and his younger sister Josie. Born to an Irish Vaudeville couple, Jerry and Nellie Cohan, George was born in 1878 although not on the Fourth of July as he’d always claim. Cohan took his first bow at about age two and never wanted to do anything else for the rest of his life. “I can’t remember a time when I did not want to be on the stage.” The only statue that stands, permanently giving a regard to Broadway is of a wise-cracking, patriotic son of Irish immigrants who personified the American stage.
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