I’m starting the movie watch by using the American Film Institute’s 100 Years. . .100 Movies list, which was published in 1998.  I’m going to start at the bottom of the list and work my way up. It’ll be interesting, because I haven’t seen the majority of these films.

I am not a film critic. I’ve never taken a class in film studies. What you’re getting here is just my thoughts about the movies, as I approached them as just an ordinary person.

The first film (number 100 on the list) is Yankee Doodle Dandy, from 1942. It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney. It’s in black and white.

The story is a somewhat fictionalized account of the life of George M. Cohan, actor and writer. It’s bookended at the start and finish with a visit to the White House and the President and the award of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Cohen is, at the time, playing the President in a Broadway show. There are song and dance numbers showcasing Cohen’s talents.

I listened to the comments on the DVD. I’m not sure I’ll be doing this with all the movies, but I found these comments useful, explaining things like the fact that Cohen was actually married twice, but his two wives were combined into one character for the film and his divorce was not discussed in the film at all.The bio-pic is not my favorite movie genre, because I think that too much of the actual life story of the subject needs to be changed to fit into the limited time allowed for a movie. Too many details need to be altered to make the story understandable in a medium which does not allow for showing an individual's thoughts, only his or her actions. But if you step back from a desire for historical accuracy, this is an enjoyable film about a stubborn, opinionated, talented man and his struggle to be a success.

Prior to watching this, I had no idea Cohen wrote “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” or “Over There,” or  “Give My Regards to Broadway.”

It’s a fun watch. You can really see the difference between filming styles of the 40s and today—very static shots, not a lot of camera movement. And I know a lot of people don’t like watching black and white movies. But it’s worth a look, maybe around the 4^th of July for a bit of patriotism.