This movie is about George M. Cohan who is portrayed by the superlative actor James Cagney. This movie opens when George M. Cohan went back to Broadway many years after her retired. He was starring in a play about President Roosevelt. You see some critics coming out of the theater talking about the play. They are calling it a hit. One of the critics says his publisher didn’t like Cohan imitating the President.
We see a telegram arrive at the theater. It is handed to George. He is invited to the White House to meet the President. When he arrives at the White House he is stopped by the guards. They know that the President is waiting for him and let him in. The White House Butler (Clinton Rosemond) is excited to meet George because he is a huge fan. He escorts George upstairs to the President’s office. The President (Captain Jack Young) asks George how is my double doing. George replies, “Your double isn't any too sure. You gotta give me time to work on that one.” The President apologies for missing opening night. George says, “Maybe it was just as well.” The President says, “Don't worry about it. We understand each other perfectly...The Herald Tribune says that you make a better president in I'd Rather Be Right than I am.” George tells him it is because it is a Republican paper. The President tells George he remembers when George performed with his family, The Four Cohans. George says, “I was a pretty cocky kid in those days - a pretty cocky kid. A regular Yankee Doodle Dandy, always carrying a flag in a parade or following one.” The President tells him he hope he hasn’t outgrown that. George says no and tells him about the day he was born.
The day George was born his father, Jerry Cohan (Walter Huston) was performing on stage while his mother was giving birth. After his father was done with his show he was informed that the baby was on his way. His father tried to get home in time but the Independence Day Parade was going on. He told the Police who was in the parade that his wife was giving birth and they go out of the line up to take. Jerry made is home just after George was born. He sees his baby and his wife, Nellie Cohan (Rosemary DeCamp). The doctor suggests to them that they name the baby George Washington Cohan since he was born on Independence day. They think about it and say no because it wouldn’t fit on a billboard so they give him a nice Irish name George Michael Cohan.
George continues to tell his family story. A few years after him his sister Josie is born. They begin to perform on stage as a family and are called “The Four Cohans” You see the kids grow up through the years. He tells of the time the family was in a show in Brooklyn call “Peck’s Bad Boy” and George at age 13 (Douglas Croft) was the lead in the show. He got very egotistical playing the lead in the show. He thought he was in charge and bossed everyone around. On of the lines in the play that Peck says that, “I can still lick any kid in town” One night the stage manager informed that several gentleman were waiting for him outside. He went outside to find some kids were waiting to beat him up and they do. Back in the dressing room, his mom is upset and wants all the kids arrested but his dad says that it’s just a testament to his acting ability. George asks if he will have to go through this every night. His dad says yes. Then there is a knock on the door. The stage manager comes in to tell them that B.F. Keith's partner Ed Albee will visit them. Mr. Albee comes in and offers them an amazing job but before Jerry can say yes, George in his egotistical way butts in. He is bothered that it is his birthday that they would have to start and that they would get third or fourth billing. Mr. Albee doesn’t like George’s attitude and takes back the offer and leaves. This is when Jerry has had enough and punishes his son by slapping him on his butt, saying that this is the only part that doesn’t have any talent.
We see George as he grows up and the family continues going all over the country performing their act. George is now 23 and in play called “Four of a Kind” where he plays an old man opposite his mother who is playing his daughter. In the audience is Mary “a stagestruck kid” who just watching with amazement of what is going on, on stage. She goes backstage to George no realizing he is a young man because he is still in his old man makeup. She asks him for advice about going into show business. There is a knock on the door from one of the young dancer in the show. The dancer asks him if they are still out that night on their date to roller skate. He tells the dancer that he will be ready in 5 minutes. This surprises Mary. He says to Mary, “Pipperino, isn't she?” Mary asks if that is his daughter. He says, “No he isn’t married.” Mary then asks, “Your niece, perhaps?” George says, “She's just a kid with the show. We've been dating.” Mary asks, “Isn't she a little too young for you?” George says, “No. She's getting along in years. She's 17.” This confuses Mary even more. Mary asks if she should sing for George. He says there isn’t a piano there. She suggests she should dance and does. He tells her that it is old and she doesn’t want to imitate anyone. She tells him she made up that step on her own. He tells her that she doesn’t want to be too original and shows her a dance. It surprises her how much energy he has because she think he is 70. Then he sits down and she begins to wipe off his sweat no realizing she is wiping off his makeup. She asks what happened to his wrinkles. He says he has to make himself up to look older than he is. She notices his voice is changing to. He says he gets younger when he is around young people. Then he begins to take off the rest of his make up and reveal that he is only 23. This scares Mary. Then when takes off his wig she screams. He stomps on the wig like it is a rat. Mary now says she doesn’t want to go into show business. George tells her she should that she has the talent. He offers to take her out to dinner.
A few months later The Four Cohans are performing at another theater. This night George’s dad lets him say thank you to the audience. George says, “Ladies and gentlemen, my mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you.” This act was so good that they impress the owner of the theater who wants to put them under contract. While the owner is talking to Jerry, George tells Mary to sing his song instead of the one she is supposed to sing. At first she is hesitant because it said no one is allowed to change songs without the owner’s permission. She goes on stage singing George’s song. The owner hears and brings down the curtain. George is mad and tells the owner that it is a good song and the audience likes it. This make the owner even madder. He kicks them out and prevents them from doing any other show.
George goes to every music publisher in NY looking for someone to buy his musicals but no one. He is at the office of Dietz and Goff with Mary and sing his song “Harrigan”. They don’t like it and throw him out of their office. In the waiting room is Sam Harris. Mary is getting frustrated and wants to move back to her hometown of Buffalo. George tells her no because she is to talented not to keep trying.
Back at the boarding house where the Cohan’s have been living for months since they can’t get a job, the owner doesn’t like that Cohans’ haven’t paid their bill in months. She is setting the table for dinner for her boarders. She tells her helper that anyone who doesn’t pay sits far away from the food. They all sit down for dinner and everyone asks if the Cohans have gotten a job lately. They said they have had offers but none are that good. Someone says it’s because of George that the theaters won’t work with George. Just then George walks into the house but not the dinning room and over hears what everyone is saying. When he does walk into the dinning room he makes up some story that one of his musicals were sold. That he will be in rehearsals for months and his family should take one of offers while he is working. They don’t like it but they agree.
George goes into a restaurant and sees Sam Harris talking to Mr. Schwab a big time producer. Schwab doesn’t seem interested in Sam’s play and says he wants showgirls and a musical. George overhears the conversation and butts in. He makes up a lie and tells Sam they have to go and sign papers with Dietz and Goff. It puzzles Sam who George is and what he is saying. George continues says that they are going to take the new musical idea they have. Sam begins to play along when he realizes that Schwab is interested in what George is saying. Schwab says he will. George finds a piano and plays his new song Yankee Doodle Dandy. Mr. Schwab says he will write a check for them and asks Sam what his partner’s name is. Sam asks George who tells him they are Cohan and Harris. This is how their partnership begins with a handshake.
George opens on Broadway in musical “Little Johnny Jones.” He sings “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “Give My Regards to Broadway.” It is a smash. In the back of the theater is Dietz and Goff wishing that they were the ones who bought the musical.
Now that George is a smash on Broadway he brings his family off the road from touring to join him on Broadway in his next show. The whole family becomes a hit.
One day George writes a song for Mary. She loves it. Sam comes to their home because they have a meeting with Fay Templeton that they have to go to. At the theater they run into a drunk Dietz and steal his flowers that he was going to give Fay. Fay doesn’t not like George and really doesn’t want to star in his next hit. Her agent tries to convince her. She says she is only interested in going home to New Rochelle that it is 45 minutes to Broadway. She then goes on stage and this gives George an idea for a new show and song. When Fay comes back to the dressing room after her show George is done writing the song “45 Minutes to Broadway.” Fay loves it. Sam shows her another song that George wrote called, “Mary.” George says it is not for her. Fay sees it and wants to sing it too. George comes home with flowers and chocolate to break the news to Mary that he gave her song away. She said she knew when she saw the presents. She said it was okay. She would rather take care of him. This is when George ask Mary to marry him. Fay opens in George’s show and is hit.
George’s next hit is “George Washington Jr.” One day outside the theater he runs into Eddie Foy (it is played by his son Eddie Foy Jr.) Eddie has no clue he is talking to George when he is talking about how bad he thinks Cohan is. Cohan gives some jabs back knowing it is Eddie Foy say how Foy has no talent. He does eventually introduces himself.
Later that night we see this show is responsible for such songs as “You're a Grand Old Flag,” “Dixie,” “Auld Lang Syne,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” and “My Country 'Tis of Thee.”
By 1912 everything was going great for George, the family even bought a farm. One day while feeding the chickens on the farm his sister tells him she will be leaving the group to get married. Later at dinner his parents tell him they will be retiring too. At his Jerry’s birthday party, he finds a letter from George and reads it out loud. George tells his dad he is giving him part of the rights to all his songs and part ownership in any theater that George owns.
Everyone thinks that George can only write upbeat song and dance musicals, so he writes a play called Popularity. He can’t go to the opening night because he is starring in another show up the street. After he is done for the night he waits for his family to come back to tell him how it was but they are late. His agent brings him the newspaper so he can read the reviews that are already out. It is not good. He tells his agent that he will close the show in 2 weeks. When his family arrives to the dressing room they are tying to come up with something positive to say about the play but can’t. George understands. He tells them to go to dinner without him.
That night, George takes a walk with Sam to the Western Union office thinking of what their next move should be. He said even if the play was good the critics would have panned the play. George thinks of putting an ad in every newspaper telling people not to listen to the critics but at the last minute he tells Sam to write that they apologize for such a bad play and no one should go see it. Just as George is about to hand in the form to the Western Union clerk someone comes in and says that a bomb hit the Lusitania and it sank. This is the start of World War I.
George tries to join the army but isn’t allowed because he is 39 years old and the age limit is 31. When he is walking out of the recruiting office he hears the band play some notes. He gets an idea to write a song which is now know as “Over There.” George helps the war effort with this song by rousing the troops by singing “Over There” One night while doing a show for the troops the lights go out but he tells all the men in the jeeps to turn on the headlights on the jeeps so they can finish the show.
When the war is over George is more successful as ever but this movies isn't over yet. This is where we leave you so you can watch the end of it.
Imdb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035575/combined
Turner Classic Movies
http://www.tcm.com/
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005JKS8/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
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