America The Beautiful

On this 10th anniversary of September 11th, I'd like to highlight a movie that really helps capture the American spirit. The film is Yankee Doodle Dandy from 1942. An important role of the film was to boost the morale of Americans dealing with World War II.

The movie stars James Cagney. It was important for Cagney to take this role as it helped improve his reputation at a time when he was at risk of being blacklisted by the House of Un-American Activities Committee. However, Cagney was not a communist, but a liberal democrat. Later in life though, he would come to identify himself as an "arch-conservative." This wasn't his first turn around though. Often cast as the tough guy in movies, in this film Cagney does a 180 playing the American "song and dance man" George M. Cohan.

Cohan is the genius behind the patriotic songs "Over There," "The Yankee Doodle Boy," and "You're A Grand Old Flag." In the film, Cohan meets with FDR, who was president at the time. During their conversation Cohan shares with the president a reflection on his rise to success and the effect of his music on an audience dealing with World War I. At the end of the meeting (and end of the movie), Cohan is presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor for the positive impact of his music on the World War I society.

George M. Cohan was still alive when Yankee Doodle Dandy was filmed and seen by audiences everywhere, but he would die soon after on November 5th 1942. Today, a statue of Cohan can be seen in Times Square commemorating his contribution to theater. The recognition James Cagney would get for his portrayal of Cohan came in the form of an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. This would be Cagney's only Oscar win.

The scene I've included below is from the end of the movie. Cagney's joyful tapping down the stairs of the White House really sums up how it feels to be free and to be an American!

I'm planning to post a link to a longer clip at the end of the movie soon! It doesn't give any of the plot away, but does highlight the importance of Cohan's work for the country and conclude with a nice reflection on the ideals of the American people and our spirit.