Editing Yankee Doodle Dandy (section)

==Plot==
In the early days of [[World War II]], George M. Cohan comes out of retirement to star as [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]] in the [[Rodgers and Hart]] musical ''[[I'd Rather Be Right]].'' On the show's first night, he is summoned to the [[White House]] to meet the President, who presents him with a [[Congressional Gold Medal]] (although the Cohan character on screen incorrectly identifies the award as the [[Congressional Medal of Honor]]). Cohan is overcome and chats with Roosevelt, recalling his early days on the stage.

The film flashes back to Cohan's supposed July 4 birth while his father is performing on the [[vaudeville]] stage.

Cohan and his sister join the family act as soon as they learn to dance, and soon The Four Cohans are performing successfully. But George gets cocky as he grows up and is blacklisted by theatrical producers for being troublesome. He leaves the act and hawks his songs unsuccessfully to producers.

In partnership with [[Sam H. Harris|Sam Harris]], another struggling writer, Cohan finally interests a producer and they are on the road to success. He marries Mary, a young singer/dancer. As his star ascends, he persuades his now-struggling parents to join his act, eventually vesting some of his valuable theatrical properties in their name. Cohan retires but returns to the stage several times, culminating in the role of the U.S. President.

The film returns to the White House, where George has just received the Congressional Gold Medal. As Cohan leaves, he tap-dances down a set of stairs (which Cagney thought up before the scene was filmed and undertook without rehearsal). Outside, Cohan joins a military parade where the soldiers are singing "[[Over There]]"; at first, he isn't singing. Not knowing Cohan is the song's composer, one of the soldiers asks if he knows the words. Cohan responds "I believe I do" with a smile before joining in.