Editing Yankee Doodle Dandy (section)

==Background and production==
Cagney, like Cohan, was an [[Irish-American]] who had been a song-and-dance man early in his career. His unique and seemingly odd presentation style, of half-singing and half-reciting the songs, reflected the style that Cohan himself used.  His natural dance style and physique were also a good match for Cohan. Newspapers at the time reported that Cagney intended to consciously imitate Cohan's song-and-dance style, but to play the normal part of the acting in his own style. Although director Curtiz was known as a taskmaster, he also gave his actors some latitude. Cagney and other players came up with a number of "bits of business", as Cagney called them, meaning improvised lines or action in theater parlance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cengage.com/resource_uploads/static_resources/0495898074/24712/learning_lingo.html|title=Learning the Lingo|website=Cengage.com|access-date=23 September 2017}}</ref>

A number of the biographical particulars of the movie are [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]]-ized fiction, such as omitting the fact that Cohan divorced and remarried. Cohan's two wives, Ethel and Agnes, were combined into a single character named Mary (in the film, Cohan wrote ''Mary's A Grand Old Name'' about her). It also took some liberties with the chronology of Cohan's life and the order of his parents' deaths.

In one scene, after Cohan suffers a flop with an atypical non-musical drama, ''Popularity'', he writes a telegram apologizing to the public. He then leaves the [[Western Union]] office to find newspaper sellers announcing the [[Sinking of the RMS Lusitania|torpedoing of the ''Lusitania'']]. In reality, the failed play was staged in 1906 and the ''Lusitania''{{'}}s sinking occurred in 1915.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/george-m-cohan-5829|title=George M. Cohan – Broadway Cast & Staff |publisher=IBDB}}</ref>

Nevertheless, care was taken to make the sets, costumes, and dance steps match the original stage presentations. Cagney sprained an ankle twice while mastering Cohan's stiff-legged dance style. This effort was aided significantly by Jack Boyle, a former associate of Cohan's who knew the original productions well. Boyle was also in some of the dancing groups featured in the movie.

Cagney, as Cohan, is shown performing as a singing and dancing version of [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. Although it was well known, Roosevelt's use of a wheelchair after a paralytic illness was not emphasized at the time. In the film, Roosevelt never leaves his chair when meeting Cohan.

Cohan himself served as a consultant during the production of the film, as well as being credited with the incidental score. Due to his failing health, his actual involvement in the film was limited. But when completed, the film was privately screened for Cohan and he commented on Cagney's performance: "My God, what an act to follow!"<ref>Ebert, Roger. [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-yankee-doodle-dandy-1942 "''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942)"], RogerEbert.com, July 5, 1998, accessed July 4, 2011</ref>

Because of Cohan's health, Warner Brothers moved the scheduled gala premiere from July 4 to May 29. The original date was chosen because of the film's patriotic theme and because in the movie, Cohan is said to have been born on the Fourth of July (as he wrote in the lyrics of "Yankee Doodle Dandy"). However, Cohan was actually born July 3. Cohan lived for several months after the film's release.

The [[movie poster]] for this film was the first ever produced by noted poster designer [[Bill Gold]].