Yankee Doodle Dandy 1942

A biographical musical about the life of the celebrated Broadway actor, singer, and dancer George M. Cohen, the composer of patriotic American songs. The film is structured as a series of flashbacks in which an elderly Cohen recalls his own life, beginning with his birth (July 4, 1878) and ending with the presentation of an award from the U.S. president for his contribution to the arts. This is the life story of a man who produced, wrote, and starred in his own musical shows. It features scenes of George’s childhood performances, the story of his collaboration with writer and producer Sam Harris, and reenactments of excerpts from Cohen’s Broadway productions. As a theorist of the American musical, he is credited with the famous definition of the genre: “Rhythm, rhythm, and more rhythm!”