'Give my Regards to Broadway' & 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' scenes from the 1942 film 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'. James Cagney shows his versatility in these two song and dance numbers from George M. Cohan's life-story.
James Cagney was the best. Many people dont know but the movies that he watched were the ones that he danced in. He didnt care to watch his gangster movies much. He was a true song and dance man....
I think that's how I would sum him up, too, Michael.........a 'song and dance man' at heart. It's a pity we don't have more of his dancing and singing talent on film.
Orson Welles said that Cagney was the greatest actor to ever appear in film. Imagine if Robert De Niro could sing and dance, and you'd be close. He could it it all. As famous for his musicals as he was for his heavy dramas.
I agree, David! I think this clip shows the versatility of the ‘old-timers, both performers, wardrobe, choreographers, directors, and all the behind the scenes crew. While there is still sterling work being done on the ‘musicals’ scene ...(The Greatest Showman) .... nothing comes near the fabulous Hollywood productions of yesteryear ..... this clip being a glorious example. As you say, David, real entertainment! Thanks for commenting! Appreciated!
I bought this movie and never get tired of watching it, especially this scene. Cagney is incomparable - the most electric, charismatic actor ever! The studio wanted to dub his songs with a singer. Thank goodness they didn't get their way.
Absolutely, Abi! Cagney was a 'natural' and an all round entertainer. Like you, this clip from the movie never fails to captivate me. It is the most watched clip on my channel......that says it all!
@@MinstrelSurfer Yes! This scene is so charming and delightful it makes me want to weep. No matter if in a comedy, a musical, or playing a vile gangster, Cagney was always believable and never less than riveting. I just love him so much. 🥰
The dancing gangster. 😁 Cagney was an energetic entertainer, putting everything into whatever he did. This film threw audiences for a loop, and is rightfully Cagney's most beloved role.
Nobody had talent and charisma like Cagney . A great actor and phenomenal dancer. He got into show business when he went with a friend who was auditioning for the chorus of a show. Cagney decided to try out He went on last and just imitated the dancers ahead of him as he had no dance background. He got the part
This clip and entire movie is the true spirit of the United States, it is from a simpler time where America was celebrated by most of its citizens and proudly acknowledged. Today we are a ghost of a country compared to what this movie portrayed. Cohan and the Americans of WWI and WWII would be embarrassed and ashamed with what we have become. I have tears in my eyes watching this and I truly hope America one day will return to this old time spirit. However I feel this won't ever be possible again the more time goes on.......... A movie like this would never be created today...
I couldn't agree more, Koopa. It is so sad to see America going through such a difficult time 2020. Thank goodness we have these wonderful films to remind us and inspire us to rise to better things.
I love that movie. Yankie Doodle Dandy. They use to show it every Fourth of July, not anymore. Cagney was a great dancer 🕺. Miss these beautiful shows.
Glad you enjoyed this clip, Myrtha Jean. We do miss such talent today but we have these brilliant old-timers on film to enjoy. Thank you for posting your comment.
When I was a lad growing up in England in the 1940s and 1950s, we loved to see James Cagney in ' gangster movies '. We were absolutely flabbergasted when this movie appeared - what we didn't know was that JC started his career as a song and dance man.
A reminder of the days when celebrities were famous because they actually had talent. Cagney was a great song and dance man and a fine dramatic actor. I loved his gangster movies too.
First Time I Seen It, My First Thought Was James Cagney Played George M. Cohan Absolutely Perfect Dance Scene's, Gosh It Was Such A Great Hollywood Classic Movie.
Words cannot express how much talent James Cagney has. Just sit back and watch him and feel your heart fill with emotion and wipe your eyes fill with tears of joy, happiness and pride! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Glad you enjoyed James Cagney clip, Ron. There was nobody quite like him! So talented and still so popular with folks today, as the number of likes here on my channel. Thank you for commenting,
And in the movie I just love how he loves his wife "Mary!" and how he wrote her the song (which I love) and the "opera" singer stole it, ha! She knew, she knew he wrote it for her and it would really always be hers! As she said, she got the writer, ha! I'm Donna Marie and my youger daughter is Isabella Maria - I'm 7/8 Irish and 1/8 Scottish and have always loved Jimmy Cagney!!
I was infatuated with James Cagney when younger. Still LOVE listening to him sing. Hope is is singing with the Angels in heaven. They will love him too!
You can tell by the amount of comments on this (bar one muppet) just how well liked James Cagney was.A true movie legend.Sadly today's so called stars wouldn't even make it to being an extra in films of his era.
Well said, Neil! James Cagney is as popular as ever. His films will outlast much of the rubbish churned out today. A true star with bags of personality! Thank you for commenting!
Drama, comedy, song and dance, a giant of entertainment even though only 5 feet five. Married to one woman for 64 years, an accomplishment of another sort.
@@patriciamckeown8318 Actors and Actresses were so talented in everyway. So much so that I can watch these and other entertainment of days gone by over and over. No imagination nowadays.
So true, Dave. To do what Cagney does takes some athleticism. His dancing is incredible. He certainly captured George M. Cohan's style and a certain bravado. Thank you for taking time to comment.
One of our favorite musicals that showcased Cagney's 'triple threat' to others of that era. He makes the dance numbers look so easy, relaxed and natural, I had forgotten the raw talent within Cagney. He always was likeable on screen and off. Thank you for the upload!
To have his talent on film is a priceless thing. He may be gone, as you. say, Keith, but he has left us a legacy of fine work to admire and enjoy. We are privileged.
Another great actor from the past. I remember watching James Cagney when I was a little girl and thought how wonderful he danced. A very talented man, I saw Yankee Doodle Dandy a long, long time ago.
I find this as exhilarating as the action in a John ford western or Bogart noir; Cagney never has a doubt about anything, just overflowing with self-confidence, and the stuff Cohan says and does and tries to do when WWI starts is amazing. The talk with FDR on the eve of WWII - is it “the Eve” in the film or has it started? - along with the WWI angle, gives me another slant on what happens to people in wartime than; say, Waterloo Bridge, which I just caught again (BOTH versions - 1931 & 1940 - are great, and Mae Clarke is excellent in the pre-code release, but Leigh & Taylor are DEVASTATING in the 1940 remake. I love golden age Hollywood, there’ll never be another thing like it. Thank god for TCM. WWI, the depression, then right into WWII, and Hollywood’s chronicling of life the way it was being lived then…and the way they told stories…another great example is On The Town, which of course involves three sailors in n leave in nyc, just after wwii…The Best Years Of Our Lives, there’s another - Dana Andrews, WOW…what a performance. Great cast, right down to Roman Bohnen and Gladys George as his parents, but Andrews just blows me away in TBYOOL… What was he saying…yeah, Cagney! Bogart gets all the modern accolades,’but there was a time when Cagney got to kill Bogart as the finale of the film they were costarring in…The Roaring Twemties and one or three others…
I'm 65 years old. Saw this film when I was four or five and was hooked on Cagney for life...Angels with Dirty Faces, Johnny Come Lately...every film he ever made became my favorite. I cried when he died. Never be another...
The one scene I'll never forget was in "The Public Enemy". It looked like real machine gun bullets hitting wall just in front of where Cagney had been. Whether the production was "cut" and Cagney moved out of the way, I'll probably never know. Filming was different back in those days. (I was a projectionist at a drive in). I read in one Errol Flynn movie, there were a bunch of charging men on horseback. To make the shooting look "realistic' they put tripwires across the "battlefield" so the horses would go down also. Many horses broke their legs and had to be destroyed. Hollywood put an end to that. Here is the scene from "The Public Enemy"--ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n59j_bO_Q2U.html
@@brianmcmillan7426 " In another incident, live ammunition was used in a scene where Tom Powers ducks around the corner of a building to take cover from machine gun fire; the use of live ammunition was common practice at the time." I found a web page that showed how that scene was filmed. (although I can't find it now). Apparently, an army machine gun veteran was on a "trolley" or "cart" just away from the building. The web page had a still photo of the guy standing on the cart with a Thompson. There is some "argument" as to whether the action was "cut" to allow Cagney to move out of the way before the gun was fired. The film does appear to "jump" or "skip" right after Cagney moves his head. Warner Brothers said there was no "cut". As I stated I was a projectionist, film from that period often "jumped" and "skipped" simply because the film was worn. Personally, I doubt if the action was cut. Apparently, the guy with the Thompson was a war veteran, he probably didn't care if he hit Cagney in the head or not. I don't know though.
@@clintonearlwalker Have done some research since your prior comment and stumbled across the same story (maybe not same source) and was about to post it. God how I loved the drive ins...we still have one in our small city. Never saw Cagney on the big screen but would love to have.. He has been an inspiration to me my whole life. Read a few books on the man and appreciate his lack of ego and appreciation for things that really matter.
@@brianmcmillan7426 I was never a big Cagney fan, he was way before my time, I never saw him on the big screen either. However, one of his films I really like is "Yankee Doodle Dandy". Based on the life of George M. Cohan. I think I read Cagney and his sister portrayed Cohan and his sister in the movie. That film was made during the war, in the film when they were singing "Over There", one person said in a comment, that when Cagney said "Everybody sing", everyone in the theater did. The drive in could get a bit tedious for me at times, I had to sit through the same 2 movies 7 nights a week, if they were "held over" it would be 14 straight nights. (sometimes we had a triple feature). After the movies were over I had to clean up the garbage off the field. Show business isn't all glamour. I did love the drive in though. Nothing like the BIG screen, 40 yards or so across in Technicolor and Cinemascope. When I was a kid they had a 220 volt popcorn popper, you could smell it half a mile away. 15 cents a box. My dad said when he worked there, actor Tim Holt came there to support his movie and they had pony rides. Whenever I see any part of any movie I ran at the drive in, I recognize it instantly. You are lucky if you still have a drive in, all of them closed around here in the 1980's.
Jimmy Cagney's rival at the time for gangster pictures and being able to dance was George Raft. Raft was also a "song and dance man" who also did many gangster pictures. But yeah.....good luck finding someone today who can match Cagney's talent.
As life gets easier (in some very important ways) people are less willing to work for certain hard-to-learn talents. Because of photography, the best artists born in, say, 1850, could draw---purely draw---better than ANYONE born in the twentieth century, never mind alive now. The way film and video is made now, you don't have to be a real triple threat like Cagney to make it in show business. This makes these performance all the more valuable.
I agree, wholeheartedly, with your comment here, Francine. These days the lack of talent is hidden behind special effects and technological tweaks. These days anyone can be manipulated in the editing room into someone completely different .....even vocals can be taken apart and just the best bits used....BUT ... that kills the true feeling and emotion of the song or actor's performance. ...... 'what comes from the heart touches the heart'.
@@MinstrelSurfer Just some further (I hope) fun stuff to add: I have a CD called "American Musical Theater: Shows, Songs, and Stars" from the Smithsonian Collection of Recordings. On Volume 1, it has a recording of George M. Cohan himself, performing "Life's A Funny Proposition, After All," from "Little Johnny Jones." James Cagney performed Cohan's songs *EXACTLY* the way Cohan did! As "Little Johnny Jones" was on Broadway in 1904, and "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was on the screen in 1942, LOTS of people alive could easily remember Cohan performing! Nobody here is complaining one bit that Cagney didn't sing like Bing Crosby, but it IS worth pointing out that Cagney's singing is completely in character with the man he was playing.
That song you mention of George's is one of my favourites. Such an insight in those words of his......and he recites it so well. Thanks for reminding me ...... those words are more appropriate than ever in this mixed-up world today! A funny proposition indeed.
according to orson wells Cagney was the greatest actor ever to appear in front of a camera...a real tough guy...not just in films...he used his childhood to become certainly the greatest gangster..ever to appear in film. though he considered himself only "a song and dance man" one of a kind the great James Cagney........
Jade Zee that is interesting, and Wells knew a bit about acting. Cagney certainly had a magnetism and presence that is rarely seen today. But there again he sure got some very dramatic rolls.
Thank you so very much for posting! I was born on the 4th of July. I just turned 64. My Mom who is gone now would make such a fuss over my b-day. Every year it was a tradition to watch Yankee Doodle Dandy an fireworks. I had a flag cake every year. How I love this movie an James Cagney! No one will ever be like him! I cant help but cry every year on this day.
When actors could actually play an instrument, sing & dance and did not have to pretend and lip sync. This is nothing but pure talent on James Cagney's part and he proved why he was one of the best. FLY NAVY!!!
Two great scenes from a great movie starring one of the greatest actors ever. In my opinion, the most amazing thing Cagney did in this movie is toward the end when he is leaving the White House and dances down the steps without breaking his neck. It's just a very small part of the movie, but it's unbelievable!
Yes, I thought that too - exactly without "breaking his neck" - similar, but not quite as dangerous is the lovely Shirley Temple dancing on the stairs!
That stairway dancing scene was not in the script. Cagney improvised/added it when they were filming him coming down the stairs. It was so good they left it in! Didn't have to do another take because it was perfect.
I am in full agreement with you, Robert. The old stars were all-rounders, taught all the rudiments of song and dance in the Studio System. Many had appeared on Broadway before transitioning to the Screen. Cagney was versatile and could play any role. I think he is amazing in this movie, as in all the ones he made. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
A man's height has nothing to do with integrity and skills. If Cagney was 6'6" he would have been just as talented. Thank God he was short (5'6"). And he was sexy.
