Rating of
3.5/4
Great song and dance show
Ichabod Crane - wrote on 04/27/09
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a fun and thoroughly enjoyable musical biography film. All of the songs are old fashioned but at the same time are very enjoyable in their own way. The story is nothing overly special but interesting enough to get to the various numbers. Cagney is extremely good as George Cohan and does everything the part requires. I only had a few problems with namely it skips some deaths of characters that is a bit fast and a few scenes are perhaps too old fashioned namely the travel scene. Overall though it is a fun overall.
Oscar winner Best Actor James Cagney 5/5- Cagney does everything that is required in this role which has a lot of requirements actually. He sings and he dances very effectively and it is easy to see him as a vaudevillian. He acts just as well both on and off stage. Yes he acts in a more old fashion way but it all works.
Oscar nomination Best Supporting Actor Walter Houston 3/5- It basically is a lesser version of the Cagney role Houston does. HE is good throughout but he fails to have a lot to do. He does to well overall though but Houston after this will give a far superior supporting performance in the Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
