Calling this a musical is like calling a biopic of Richard Rogers or Irving Berlin a musical. Strictly speaking, it's not a musical. Cagney not only captures the dancing style of Cohan, he also captures the human dynamo the real Cohan must have been; a guy who wrote his own plays and musicals, composed songs for them, acted in them and owned some of the theaters in which they played! Cohan also mentored several young actors, most notably Spencer Tracy. Furthermore, Cohan also streamlined plays written by others to make them more current and marketable, a process he called 'Cohanize'. There are several questionable 'facts' in the trivia section and outright untruths. "James Cagney had previously only shown off his song-and-dance abilities once before in Footlight Parade (1933). He was better known for playing gangsters." Not true. Cagney had also danced in "Taxi!" 1932 where he lost a ballroom competition to George Raft! He also did a lot of dancing in "Something To Sing About" 1937. Having read a bio of Cohan, it states that Cohan himself suggested Cagney to play him, not Fred Astaire. Cohan did not consider himself a great dancer, and having Astaire play him would be like taking a Stradivarius violin and plucking it like a banjo in "Deliverance". I seriously doubt that Cagney's patriotism was questioned and that was a driving reason for his taking this role. Being left of center was not a bad thing in the early 1940s when we were allied with the Russians; that came later in the early 1950s. Cagney took the role because it was a great part, maybe the greatest part he'd get that played to his talents; Cagney was a song and dance man on vaudeville before he went to Hollywood and did gangster movies; he and his wife even opened a dance studio briefly to make ends meet and took every opportunity to break free of his gangster typecasting to do musicals. I doubt that Cagney's tap dance down the White House stairs was completely ad libbed. Notice that the background music which begins at the top of the stairs, is in complete synch with his dancing. According to Cagney's biography, he didn't hate SZ Sakall; he did complain about Sakall's scene stealing, but it seemed to me that Cagney stole the scene right back from him. The movie is a delight not only for Cagney's performance, but for all the character actors who shined in their individual roles; George Barbier, who played the guy representing Fay Templeton, was also featured in "The Phantom President" 1932 which starred the real Cohan! I liked the scene in the barroom where Cohan meets Sam Harris; that's quite a free lunch spread! I liked how Eddie Foy mentions Moxie as his favorite drink; Moxie is a forgotten drink now, only available in New England, but at that time, it was bigger than Coca Cola. Reviewers also mention that the movie fictionalizes Cohan's life, but that was the wish of Cohan himself, who didn't want any mention of the unpleasant parts of his life.

This biographical musical drama, that displays life and work of versatile Broadway author and performer George M. Cohan, deservedly won 3 Oscars out of 8 nominations and it is considered to be one of the best movies of all time. It is not kind of musical where a story is told through song and dance, but a regular movie with some theatrical musical scenes that are needed to represent his career. So this movie could be acceptable and enjoyable even for those who hate musicals. Personally, I am not a fan of musicals and I am strongly irritated by any type of pro-American or any patriotic propaganda, which this movie certainly is, but it has so many other qualities that it left really strong positive impression on me and I really enjoyed it.8/10

Theatrical luminary George M. Cohan is upset that his sister has announced her intention to quit The 4 Cohans and get married. He voices the opinion that The 3 Cohans wouldn't go over with audiences. Hence, this means the end of their long established family act. Of course, GMC would go on to establish a long entertainment career as a solo, including playwriting, and directing, as well as song writing and performing. Typical of biop films of this era, many historical details are mangled, sometimes seemingly without benefit, sometimes for dramatic enhancement or simplicity. One example occurs near the end, when FDR bestows The Congressional Medal of Honor on GMC for his several patriotic songs composed during WWI. In reality, GMC received the Congressional Gold Medal, which is appropriate for civilians. The Medal of Honor is appropriate for military deeds, only. FDR says war moral boosters can be included as military-related accomplishments. James Cagney was the perfect choice to portray GMC's various theatrical talents, most notably his dancing. Cagney is so dynamic and magnetic, and the pace of the action is sizzling. Appropriately, he won the Oscar for his performance. Fred Astaire, GMC's first choice, declined on the excuse that his dancing style was quite different from that of GMC. Although Cagney was 42, he exhibited the energy of a 16 year old in his dancing. In fact, his costar as his girlfriend or wife, Joan Leslie, was 16 or 17 during production. It's called robbing the cradle. I wonder why Joan was chosen for this role? Recently, she had costared with Gary Cooper in another popular biop: "Sergeant York": an equally extreme case of robbing the cradle. Cagney does an excellent job of mimicking GMC's eccentric dance style, emphasizing foot and leg work, with diminished participation of the upper body. I wonder if Cohan derived this from Irish step dancing, which it somewhat resembles.GMC's supposed birth on July 4, alluded to several times, technically isn't quite correct. It was July 3. However, accepting July 4 heightened the flag-waving tone of the film.Together, Douglas Craft, who played GMC as a boy and young teen, and Cagney provide the majority of periodic physical and verbal humor that added much to the enjoyment of the film. Both portrayed GMC as supremely ambitious and cocky in his talents, despite frequent putdowns.Cagney had costarred in the '30s musical "Footlight Parade", as a dance instructor. No doubt, this reminded the brass of his vaudeville background, giving them more confidence that he could pull off mimicking GMC.Jeanne Cagney, James's baby sister, 20 years his junior, played GMC's sister, Never becoming a major actress, she was included in 3 subsequent films with James. Walter Huston won a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as GMC's father, still handsome at around 60. This was the first film that included dialogue by an actor portraying a siting president. It is also a rare musical among the many dramas, action films and comedies in Director Michael Curtiz's film resume.Curtiz was a prominent Hollywood director for 50 years, beginning in 1912 and ending with a John Wayne western. He had directed most of Errol Flynn's most remembered films(to Flynn's displeasure) and had worked with Cagney in "Angels with Dirty Faces". His next project: "Casablanca" would win the academy award for best picture. To my mind, the present film is far more entertaining and significant, and deserving of this award. At least, Cagney won the Best Actor award. Curtiz had a reputation as being hard on his actors, but reportedly mellowed a bit for this film. Apparently, Cagney's very difficult dance part way down the White House stairs was ad libed, and left in.The dialogue between GMC and Eddie Foy is amusing, each making disparaging remarks about the other without knowing whom they were talking to. Cagney would reprise his role as GMC in the 1955 film "The Seven Little Foys" Walter Catlett, playing within his typecast strength, is the close-minded blustery stage manager whom GMC and Mary are trying to impress in his office. Irene Manning, as a highbrow singer and actress serves as the female equivalent of Catlett, with an initial very critical attitude toward GMC, eventually reversing herself.This film kicked off a series of musical biopsy or nostalgia films in the '40s and '50s. Subjects included Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, George & Ira Gershwin, Steven Foster, Sigmund Romberg, Eddie Foy and the Harry Ruby & Bert Kalmar team.Although GMC and FDR are portrayed as chummy, the real GMC was a far right Republican and hated FDR. Nonetheless, GMC had to wait nearly 20 years, through Republican-dominated times, to receive his Congressional medal for his patriotic WWI songs.This film could be looked upon as one in a progression of films produced by Warner in the late '30s and early '40s with either a subliminal anti-Nazi message(in the case of several early Flynn-starring films)or flag-waving films during WWII. "Sergeant York", released the previous year, shares with the present film the distinction of reviving some dramatic aspects of WWI, seemingly hoping to prepare the American public for entry into another European war.. Several subsequent Warner musicals were blatant war propaganda films. This includes "This is the Army ", "Thank Your Lucky Stars" and "Hollywood Canteen". Joan Leslie was the female lead in the first of these, as well as "Sergeant York"Of course, this film would hold up even better over time, if it had been shot in Technicolor. The same is true of a number of other top musicals during this era, including "Holiday Inn" and "Sun Valley Serenade". Yes, shooting in color was expensive and troublesome with the technology of the times, but it had been done with some far less deserving films.

A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan (played by James Cagney).While I am not big on musicals (with some exceptions) and not particularly fond of patriotic pictures... and I had never heard of George Cohan before seeing this film... I was quite impressed.Not necessarily impressed by the singing, dancing, acting and more, but impressed by who was doing it: James Cagney. Having seen Cagney as no fewer than three gangsters, I was thinking those were the roles he was meant to play. And while I still think that, I am impressed that he could sing and tap dance and more...Was Cagney typecast? It appears that way. But, at least for the audience, we were given some of the finest gangster films ever made because of it. And thanks to this film, Cagney received his much-deserved Oscar.