Rating: 
Summary: James Cagney's best!
Review: "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is my favorite movie musical. It has the best patriotic songs, all done by George M. Cohan. Cagney vibrates and electrifies the screen (or TV set) with his tour-de-force song-and-dance performance of song-and-dance man George M. Cohan. Director Michael Curtiz ("The Adventures of Robin Hood", "Casablanca") keeps the film moving at a brisk pace, yet also finds time for George Cohan backstage and with his family. This is arguably James Cagney's triumph, and he deservedly won the Oscar for Best Actor. His dancing is mind-blowing, to say the least. Along with "The Wizard of Oz", this is one movie musical that will bring me joy for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: ROUSING TRANSFER FOR A PATRIOTIC MUSICAL!
Review: "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is the five star musical biography, based on the life of George M. Cohen. Starring James Cagney and Joan Leslie, and with a score by Cohen jam packed with standards that will leave your foot tapping, this the the grand patriot send up that Hollywood musicals used to be so darn good at and so nice to have this penultimate flag waver on DVD at long last.
THE TRANSFER: In a word - "pristine". Warner Brothers DVD is immaculate with NO DIGITIAL ARTIFACTS of any kind. Better still, the glorious silver sheen of the original camera negative, long absent from previously issued VHS and laserdisc versions, is brilliantly restored herein. The audio is MONO and very nicely balanced.
EXTRA FEATURES: A beautiful compendium of shorts, documentaries, cartoons, isolated audio recordings, audio commentaries, outtakes and featurettes await you on this very special two disc edition. Everything has been designed to give you the look and feel of a "roadshow" engagement at the local movie house.
BOTTOM LINE: NOTHING BUT KUDOS to the good people at Warner Brothers for a sterling, rousing and much appreciated DVD that is really one of the best looking transfers you are likely to encounter on DVD - regardless of the film's age. A MUST HAVE and then some!
Rating:
Summary: Cagney's Oscar-winner
Review: "Yankee Doodle Dandy" tells the story of Broadway composer George M. Cohan, expertly put over by erstwhile gangster, James Cagney. Cagney had started his show biz career as a hoofer, but later got pegged as a "public-enemy" type, so it probably shocked some of his 1940s audience to see him take to his feet and skip effortlessly across the stage in this remarkable biopic. The story opens with the elderly but still dancing Cohan's getting summoned to the White House on a mysterious visit. President Franklin Roosevelt greets the entertainer and asks him about his life, and then we're off to the land of flashback, as we see George and his parents (dad is Walter Houston) and sis play vaudeville, and then see George strike out on his own as a multitalented composer/performer. And in case you're clueless as to just what Cohan penned, here's just a few: "Give Me Regards to Broadway", "You're a Grand Old Flag", "Over There", "Mary is a Grand Old Name", "Harrigan", "Forty-five Minutes from Broadway", "So Long Mary", and the eponymous "Yankee Doodle Dandy". Cagney is aces as Cohan, giving us a spunky likeable main character who just happens to dance up a storm at the drop of a hat. I once heard a dancer on TV call Cagney's style "eccentric dancing", a style where the upper body remains straight while the performer hops about on his toes. Whatever it is, it is wonderful to watch. The supporting actors and actresses are all good, but the movie is Cagney's by a mile. If you thought all he could do was plug another bootlegger, you've got another thing coming in this deservedly Academy-Award winning performance.
Rating:
Summary: Add this and the Seven Little Foys...
Review: Add this and the movie "Seven Little Foys" starring Bob Hope with a special appearance by James Cagney in his continuing role as George M. Cohan and you have the best movie set ever made! My father bought me Yankee Doodle Dandy many years ago when it first came out colorized and I have watched it over and over and never tire of it or the music.
Rating:
Summary: It will make you stand up and cheer for the grand old flag!
Review: Although he will always be well known for his gangster roles, James Cagney's only Academy Award for Best Actor came for his role as George M. Cohan, the hoofer, singer, dancer, actor and playwright portrayed in "Yankee Doodle Dandy". One might suspect that Cagney only won the Oscar because the Academy would never have given it to one of his gangster roles. Or maybe, it was because this film was just what the country needed in the early days of World War II. Or maybe, the academy actually was recognizing Cagney's abilities as an actor. Whatever the reason, Jimmy deserved the award. Who ever knew he could do that kind of footwork and even sing! Now, let's get to George Cohan, who's "A good friend of my Uncle Sam" and was "Born on the Fourth of July". Because of this, Cohan was immensely patriotic and wrote many flag waving tunes. Many of you are still stumped about his name, but you would probably know his songs if you heard them: "Mary", "Give My Regards to Broadway", "Harrigan", "45 Minutes from Broadway", "Over There" and, of course, "Yankee Doodle Dandy". The music numbers, since they are stage productions, lack the Hollywoodized touch that's in "Singin' in the Rain". Nevertheless, they are still exciting enough. A great supporting cast assists Cagney, including Walter Huston, Joan Leslie, Richard Whorf, Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary De Camp, Eddie Foy Jr. and Jeanne Cagney (His own sister!). The film's direction was helmed by Michael Curtiz, responsible for such classics as "Casablanca", "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and Cagney in "Angels With Dirty Faces". Curtiz puts into the movie his traditional blend of thrills and fast pace. The screenplay is full of memorable scenes and dialogue, particularly "My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you and I thank you". About the only problems with it are moments of melodrama and how it might trivialize some of the events in Cohan's life. I also did not like how the script skips in telling us how Cohan's mother and sister died. But, with all the virtues of the movie, these problems are minor. It also shows to never learn your history from movies. The version I watched "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on was the controversial colorized edition created in the late 1980's, one of several movies that received such treatment. The movie doesn't look too bad in color. It's one of a very few movies that can be switched between either version. Nevertheless, if Ted Turner really wanted to see a black and white movie in color, he should have made a remake. Either that or he should have had the cooperation of someone who was involved in the making of the movie. Don't tamper with someone else's work unless you have their discrete! So, if you happen to see this available for rent or sale at your local video store, don't hesitate (Unless it's in color, that is). Unlike many movies today, this is one you can watch problem free with the whole family. On a sadder note, Cagney passed away on this day in 1986. Although there have probably been many tributes in the years since, watching "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and his other films is the only real way to honor him.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: America is doomed...look around you..and then watch this movie...no, it won't save America, but it may help you on the road to your own salvation....corny? hell yes! patriotic and sentimentel, yes....a tour de force for a great actor and american.....watch it and love your country and flag for the right reasons all over again..
Rating:
Summary: PURE, UNABASHED, FLAG-WAVING PATRIOTISM....
Review: And you will love it! This movie has everything; a great story (perhaps not entirely historically accurate, but hey, this is Hollywood)great dancing/singing and a great cast...It is hard, when given such a plethora of fabulous talent, to isolate one particular scene; nevertheless, here are a few of my favorites: When George meets Mary backstage (this is a riot) for the first time; when George does the dance number that includes literally walking up a wall(!)(Cagney was very limber, to say the least; this move would give Nijinski pause) and the Busby Berkley style Flag number; almost makes you want to enlist! There is a great scene toward the end when Cohan is relaxing on his country farm and some teenagers happen by; they are given a brief lesson in Hollywood newswriting; Cohan has a copy of Variety with the headline "Stix Nix Hix Pix" whic he translates for their edification (and fascination) and they are enthralled. And my favorite of all, at the end, the scene in the White House, where "an ordinary guy" gets an audience with the President of the United States and dances happily down the White House stairs, to the quiet delight of the staff...to the makers of the film, the actors and the "real" players, I say: "My father thanks you, my mother thanks you, and I thank you..." for such a great piece of Americana.
**NOTE: It is a tragedy that James Cagney and his wife wound up with such a treacherous woman at the end of their lives; she virtually isolated them from their family, doctors, lawyers and friends and took complete, total control of their house and their finances...too bad Cagney couldn't have mustered up one last grapefruit in the face scene. There was a huge spread in Life magazine and it told a harrowing story of the notorious one-time waitress who befriended the Cagneys, insinuated herself into their lives and took terrible advantage of them...a story that defies even Hollywood to tell.
Rating:
Summary: Timeless Patriotism
Review: As a young teenager I saw this film on "million dollar movie" and fell in love the with music, sentiment, and the amazing ability of James Cagney. Forget that the "story" is not factual. No, he never married a "Mary" and had two wives. Remember the music was all Cohan and it has never been performed as well as Cagney and company. I have a B&W VHS and a colorized VHS (sorry, it really is neat to see it that way) and am anxious to get higher quality with a DVD...when it comes out.
Rating: 
Summary: High energy action without the explosions.
Review: Before the high tech action movies, before the nudity and foul language, they had to do it with good acting, directing and writing. When you also have a story wrapped around a musical, the music has to be good also. This movie has it all. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll sing. And what a supporting cast. Remember when then had to load up a bad movie with starts in hopes it would help sell the movie. This one is loaded, but the movie and music are wonderful. Family friendly also.
Rating:
Summary: YOU'RE A GRAND OLD FLAG!!!!!!
Review: Every time this scene with "You're A Grand Old Flag" comes up, I have a lump in my throat and buttons on my shirt comes popping off. Oh my God. You talk about some of these classic movies that seem so square that it's embarrasing, not so with "YANKEE DOODLE DANDY." It's a GREAT movie. A movie for all time, for the ages.
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