Yankee Doodle Dandy

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Curtiz directs. James Wong Howe behind the camera. Ray Heindorf scores. George Amy cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 184 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 2Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by James Wong Howe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by Ray Heindorf. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5James Cagney and Joan Leslie and Walter Huston carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "Get ready to Laugh, to Sing, to Shout! ...For here comes Uncle Sam's Star Spangled Yankee Doodle Dandy!".
• 7IMDB entry: tt0035575 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

James Wong Howe

Original score

Ray Heindorf

Editing

George Amy

Costume design

Milo Anderson

Makeup / hair

Bill Cooley

Runtime

126 min · 2h 6m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

NR

IMDB

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) ↗

Also by

Michael Curtiz

• 
  The Desired Woman

  1927 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Tenderloin

  1928 · ★ 10.0
• 
  The Golden Butterfly

  1926 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Demon of the Sea

  1931 · ★ 10.0
• 
  The Gamblers

  1929 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Glad Rag Doll

  1929 · ★ 9.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Paul Scheer & Amy Nicholson announce YANKEE DOODLE DANDY for AFI Movie Club

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  Original Theatrical Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2020-02-22
  ★ 8/10

  Being versatile, I played my mother's father. Yankee Doodle Dandy is directed by Michael Curtiz and collectively written by Robert Buckner, Edmund Joseph, Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf, Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney. This is a biographical interpretation of the life of renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer, and singer George M. Cohan (Cagney). As usual it is advised to seek out facts about the person the biography is about - if one so wishes of course to see how true the bio is. A wonderful spirited picture that begs and demands to be viewed in today's context. Unwavering in its flag waving patriotism, this was unashamedly a moral booster that acted as a recruiting poster for the war effort - of which George Cohan was rightly lauded. Though his singing voice was never what you would call high quality, his dancing however certainly was, and it's an utter joy to see the multi faceted Cagney light up the screen in every scene he is in. Great blood pumping songs help off set the slightly over long run time, to which even a British guy like myself found myself saluting such a jingoistic joy come pic's finale. 8/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Warner Bros. Pictures

  US

Key crew

• Executive ProducerJack L. Warner
• Executive ProducerHal B. Wallis
• EditorGeorge Amy
• ProducerWilliam Cagney
• Makeup ArtistBill Cooley
• ChoreographerLeRoy Prinz
• Sound RecordistEverett Alton Brown
• Costume DesignMilo Anderson
• Makeup ArtistPerc Westmore
• HairstylistMartha Acker
• HairstylistRuby Felker
• Makeup ArtistBill Phillips
• SongsGeorge M. Cohan
• Art DirectionCarl Jules Weyl
• Wardrobe MasterRydo Loshak

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• dancer
• musical
• comeback
• biography
• singer
• vaudeville
• 1900s

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical (limited)1942-05-29NR· New York City, New York
• Theatrical1942-06-06