Description

A nostalgic view of the golden era of show business and the man who made it glitter--George M. Cohan. His early days, triumphs, songs, musicals and romances. ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Lots of Singing and Dancing
YANKEE DOODLE DANDY was released just before the legendary George M. Cohan died from cancer. It was a patriotic movie made during the first year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. The movie was also a musical with lots of singing and dancing - especially by James Cagney. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY should be respected mostly for its music and dancing and not for its story which was about the life of Cohan. Nobody ever credited the film with much accuracy - including Cohan himself.

Cagney considered his role as Cohan to be one of his favorites. It should have been since Cagney began his own show business career as a young hoofer in New York City.

The supporting cast of Walter Huston, Joan Leslie, Irene Manning and Rosemary DeCamp was very strong. Cagney's sister Jeanne played the part of Josie Cohan and Frances Langford appeared as a singer. Eddie Foy Jr. made a brief showing as his own real life father, Eddie Foy.

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY won Academy Awards for Best Actor (James Cagney), Scoring of a Musical Picture and Sound Recording. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Director (Michael Curtiz), Supporting Actor (Walter Huston), Original Story and Editing. The main competition for Oscars in 1942 came from MRS. MINIVER. Director Michael Curtiz won an Academy Award for CASABLANCA in 1943.

Give My Regards To Cagney
Only 1942 Hollywood could show an aging songwriter stepping in with a parade and being challenged to sing a patriotic song which he wrote. And George M. Cohan wrote quite a few.

James Cagney's Best Actor performance takes place in flashback in the White House as he is summoned to receive a Medal of Honor for his body of work. He tells his bio to President Franklin Roosevelt, whom he is portraying in his show, "I'd Rather Be Right."

Cohan describes his early life in Vaudeville, travelling America with his parents and sister, and how he matures and partners with producer Sam Harris. His ups, downs and true loves weave the well-explained circumstances of many of his 80 plays and 500 hit songs. In particular, "I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Give My Regards To Broadway," "Mary," "You're A Grand Old Flag," and of course, the rousing WWI anthem, "Over There."

Although Cagney's character is a bit glib and constantly wisecracking, his relationships with family, business associates and competitors are well-defined. And of course, his superb dancing and physical movement may come as a surprise to gangster-movie purists. This is particularly evident in a scene he admittedly ad-libbed near the film's end.

Perhaps with America again at war, a classic film like "Yankee Doodle Dandy" is just what we need to enjoy.

Where has our patriotism gone?
I saw this movie for the first time last night w/ my father. He wanted me to see this movie to see the contrast of what people were like in the 40's-50's and how society is today. I'm 23 years old and to be honest with you, I thought that I wouldn't like this movie. As it turns out, I greatly enjoyed it. It was a wonderful story, full of patriotism - it just makes you proud to be in this country. What movies are out that are like this today? None. And that makes me incredibly sad to see such anti-Americanism. For what? If you want to see a movie that puts a fire in your belly and gets your spirit going, go see this movie - you will not be disappointed!

This is a MUST Own
There aren't too many movies that I'd say are pretty near perfect...but this is one of them!

I've seen it a dozen times, and I'm always amazed at how the movie doesn't fail to hold your interest the entire time. It's rousing, it's stirring, it's high energy, all the time!

I've not seen the colorized version, but the black and white is so appropriate to its time, I'm satisfied with the movie as it.

As many reviewers have mentioned, James Cagney is so perfect in this role, you can't imagine anyone else in it! He always considered himself a song-and-dance man, though you wouldn't know it if you were a fan of his many gangster flicks. Fred Astaire turned down the role, if you believe the many stories. And, as much as I love Astaire, the film would have suffered for it. The manic energy Cagney displays in the highlight musical numbers just brings his role to perfection.

If you are looking for a classic, never-to-be-topped movie about a songwriter, Broadway, great, rousing music, 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' is your film.

VERY HIGHLY Recommended! One of the top films of all time. (The American Film Institute lists it at 100th place, but it should be moved up much higher!)

Excellent Musical
With gloriously entertaining numbers and top notch direction. Among the best biopics of all time. A great, amazing, brilliant performance from Cagney; and excellent jobs from Walter Huston (Tresure of the Sierra Madre) and Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) who got help in the musical numbers by George M. Cohan himself. Watch for the marvellous performance from Cagney; but the musical numbers are great too. This is a good edition; Warner has been earning great merit in the DVD world lately. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Surprise! CLASSIC Film Noir!
100% fun film-noir rollercoaster in which Mickey Rooney plays an amoral mechanic who makes one horrible decision after another, getting himself stuck deeper and deeper in the quicksand of his predicament. The plot is hokey, but so satisfying...it includes a great femme-fatale and a swell part played by Peter Lorre. The photography is top-notch, and the San Francisco boardwalk (nighttime, natch)scenery is wonderful. Rooney is actually very good in this...he makes you root for him even though he acts like a jerk all the way through the picture. If you've ever dug yourself into a well of trouble, you'll really relate to this one! Enjoy!

Mickey Rooneys acting very good as usual but plot weak.
The story line was not up to the standards of a Mickey Rooney film of that era. The story starts off with Rooney oweing $100,00 for a watch and snowballs into a series of crimes that lead to 'murder'. If your not a Mickey Rooney fan save your money and time. ... Read more

Description

Enter a realm of mystery, suspense, and femme fatales in these 3 classic black & white films. QUICKSAND - Danny Brady is a garage mechanic who falls for a waitress who destroys his life in less than a week. SCARLET STREET - Christopher Cross is a cashier whose only outlet for his frustrations is painting. Realizing that he has been duped for his work, Cross resorts to murder. SUDDENLY - John Baron (Frank Sinatra) and his band of paid killers take over a house while posing as FBI agents in the small town of Suddenly. ... Read more

Amazon.com

When James Cagney starred in the 1948 movie adaptation of The Time of Your Life, it was hotly debated whether William Saroyan's stage play was really filmable at all. Because of its small cast, because all the action takes place on a single claustrophobic set, because the "plot" consists entirely of sub-plots, and because Saroyan's "dirty sentimentality" isn't to everyone's taste, such doubts are still understandable today.

However, accept the movie for what it is--a play in a box--and you'll be captivated. The story revolves around a down-at-heel bar-restaurant, where a group of disparate characters come and go as their stories gradually unfold.They include an ex-prostitute desperately seeking a new life, a dancer looking for a break into show business, a down-and-out who discovers a vocation as a pianist, and a beer-sodden cowboy. This gaggle of misfits is presided over by an enigmatic, champagne-drinking philanthropist (brilliantly played by Cagney) who gently nudges them towards their goals while indulging his own fascination with the minutiae of daily life.--Roger Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A bar where everybody knows you name, circa 1948
"The Time of Your Life," based on the play by William Saroyan, shows us a group of eccentrics who hang out in a San Francisco waterfront bar and philosophize about life. James Cagney plays Joe, a barfly who believes in encouraging everybody to fulfill their dreams. Whether this means encouraging an old man named "Kit Carson" (James Barton) to spin his fanciful tales about the old west or conning Nick (William Bendix), the bartender, into giving Harry (Paul Draper), the vagabond dancer, a part-time job. The film is filled with fine character actors, such as Ward Bond and Broderick Crawford, and including Cagney's sister Jeanne as Kitty Duval and Natalie Schafer, the future Mrs. Howell on "Gilligan's Island," as the Society Lady. Admittedly, this film is not everybody's cup of tea, although Saroyan was particularly pleased with how his play translated to the film, even though the original ending was reshot. This story takes place in a bar that is obviously more reminiscent of "Cheers" than it is a Eugene O'Neill play like "The Iceman Cometh." I would even argue that Cagney's character is one of the least interesting people in the story, although he is certainly an amiable enough fellow. The important thing is that this bar is a nice place to visit for a while. This 1948 film directed by H. C. Potter features photography by James Wong Howe. Oh, and the piano player is really good too.

Come in and Be Yourself.
THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE was based upon William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning play and was brought about, in part, by a collaboration of the Cagney siblings (James, Jeanne, and William). Except for one brief shot of the Salvation Army singing outside the establishment, the entire movie takes place inside Nick's, a saloon, restaurant, and entertainment palace on the waterfront in San Francisco. James Cagney plays Joe, a man who has a lot of cash and spends his time observing, listening, and helping people and fulfilling his every whim. Wayne Morris plays Tom, Joe's gopher man; Jeanne Cagney plays Kitty, a former "burlesque queen" who falls for Tom; and William Bendix plays Nick. The floating characters at Nick's also include, among others, a lovesick young man, an out of work fellow, a drunk, a cowboy who calls himself "Kit Carson", a pinball wizard, a dancer who is a comedian that has no funny jokes, a police officer, and a couple of socialites.

There really isn't much plot in THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE. However, neither the movie nor the play it was based upon are about "plot". There may not seem to be a lot going on, but actually there is. The plot of the story is it's characters. Each person that comes into Nick's has a story and some of them we learn, some of them we don't. However, while listening to each person (just as Joe does) we learn something about them and in the process we discover things about ourselves. THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE is art in it's highest form because it entertains, yet also enlightens.

The quality of this DVD isn't all that bad, especially considering how inexpensive it is to purchase a copy (the Laserlight edition can be purchased for less than $5). The sound is good through most of the film except for the occasional scratch and the picture is great (the one scene where you can't read what is on the piece of paper was filmed that way intentionally because you are not supposed to see what's written on the paper because it's too small).

Overall a good movie well worth the time to watch it.

James Cagney knows your name
(Please note that the DVD version I am reviewing is the Laserlight edition of THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE. This budget release pretty much defines the concept of "no-frills".)

Other reviewers have pointed out the fact that this movie skimps on plot and I cannot help but completely agree with that sentiment. But for what the movie lacks in action, it more than makes up for in the presentation of fascinating characters. Each person's story is interesting and unique. And the movie manages to give us enough detail so that we can find these people intriguing, but leaves enough unsaid so that no one overstays their welcome. We're left liking these people and wanting to hear more about them.

Since the characters are at the forefront of this movie, it's certainly a relief to have such splendid actors playing them. The Cagney siblings are wonderful. Jeanne Cagney does a wonderful job at becoming the streetwise blonde who stands up to gangsters and James Cagney is a compelling, gentle enigma. While so many of the roles could have easily fallen into stereotypes, the actors are strong enough to keep them as individuals.

Although I haven't experienced the original play that this film is based upon, I can only imagine that there weren't too many script changes between the stage and the screen. The movie is heavily performance-based, with the interesting material coming from the conversations and the soliloquies. The action is completely centered on a single barroom, as during the entire length of the movie only one short sequence takes place outside the bar's swing doors. Even a fight scene inside the same building occurs off-camera so that all we view are people in one room hollering at the unseen people in another. As some characters leave the action, they are immediately replaced by other people beginning conversations of their own. In fact, if you pay close attention, you'll probably notice that the amount of real time that people spend off-camera isn't nearly long enough to do all the things that they claim to have done in that span.

Fortunately, none of this affects one's enjoyment of the film at all. In fact, it gives the entire production a great sense of the theatrical nature of the performances. Unlike some other translations from play to movie, this one never feels as though it's being limited by the theatre. It retains the trappings and atmosphere of a stage production, while never feeling claustrophobic. What makes for good theatre doesn't always make for a good film (and vice versa), yet it's a testament to the skills of the director and the cast that they manage to make the transition here without a hitch.

The image quality on this Laserlight DVD is perfectly watchable. It's scratchy in a few places, but never so much that it becomes distracting. The picture is a bit bright and slightly washed out, but this is really only a problem in one scene where the audience is expected to read something that's a character has written on a piece of paper. The sound quality is variable, but mostly falls on the good side of variable. As the DVD itself is absolutely dirt cheap, it's well worth putting up with these slight imperfections.

Thin plot, not very interesting, always expecting more!
The other review subject lines hit it on the head: Thin plot, a bar where everyone knows your name.

This movie does not have a very good subject. Is just about a rich man in post WWII era hanging out in a bar and throwing around small amounts of money. Not much of a climax either.

A bar where everybody knows you name, circa 1948
"The Time of Your Life," based on the play by William Saroyan, shows us a group of eccentrics who hang out in a San Francisco waterfront bar and philosophize about life. James Cagney plays Joe, a barfly who believes in encouraging everybody to fulfill their dreams. Whether this means encouraging an old man named "Kit Carson" (James Barton) to spin his fanciful tales about the old west or conning Nick (William Bendix), the bartender, into giving Harry (Paul Draper), the vagabond dancer, a part-time job. The film is filled with fine character actors, such as Ward Bond and Broderick Crawford, and including Cagney's sister Jeanne as Kitty Duval and Natalie Schafer, the future Mrs. Howell on "Gilligan's Island," as the Society Lady. Admittedly, this film is not everybody's cup of tea, although Saroyan was particularly pleased with how his play translated to the film, even though the original ending was reshot. This story takes place in a bar that is obviously more reminiscent of "Cheers" than it is a Eugene O'Neill play like "The Iceman Cometh." I would even argue that Cagney's character is one of the least interesting people in the story, although he is certainly an amiable enough fellow. The important thing is that this bar is a nice place to visit for a while. This 1948 film directed by H. C. Potter features photography by James Wong Howe. Oh, and the piano player is really good too. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Surprise! CLASSIC Film Noir!
100% fun film-noir rollercoaster in which Mickey Rooney plays an amoral mechanic who makes one horrible decision after another, getting himself stuck deeper and deeper in the quicksand of his predicament. The plot is hokey, but so satisfying...it includes a great femme-fatale and a swell part played by Peter Lorre. The photography is top-notch, and the San Francisco boardwalk (nighttime, natch)scenery is wonderful. Rooney is actually very good in this...he makes you root for him even though he acts like a jerk all the way through the picture. If you've ever dug yourself into a well of trouble, you'll really relate to this one! Enjoy!

Mickey Rooneys acting very good as usual but plot weak.
The story line was not up to the standards of a Mickey Rooney film of that era. The story starts off with Rooney oweing $100,00 for a watch and snowballs into a series of crimes that lead to 'murder'. If your not a Mickey Rooney fan save your money and time. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A bar where everybody knows you name, circa 1948
"The Time of Your Life," based on the play by William Saroyan, shows us a group of eccentrics who hang out in a San Francisco waterfront bar and philosophize about life. James Cagney plays Joe, a barfly who believes in encouraging everybody to fulfill their dreams. Whether this means encouraging an old man named "Kit Carson" (James Barton) to spin his fanciful tales about the old west or conning Nick (William Bendix), the bartender, into giving Harry (Paul Draper), the vagabond dancer, a part-time job. The film is filled with fine character actors, such as Ward Bond and Broderick Crawford, and including Cagney's sister Jeanne as Kitty Duval and Natalie Schafer, the future Mrs. Howell on "Gilligan's Island," as the Society Lady. Admittedly, this film is not everybody's cup of tea, although Saroyan was particularly pleased with how his play translated to the film, even though the original ending was reshot. This story takes place in a bar that is obviously more reminiscent of "Cheers" than it is a Eugene O'Neill play like "The Iceman Cometh." I would even argue that Cagney's character is one of the least interesting people in the story, although he is certainly an amiable enough fellow. The important thing is that this bar is a nice place to visit for a while. This 1948 film directed by H. C. Potter features photography by James Wong Howe. Oh, and the piano player is really good too.

Come in and Be Yourself.
THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE was based upon William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning play and was brought about, in part, by a collaboration of the Cagney siblings (James, Jeanne, and William). Except for one brief shot of the Salvation Army singing outside the establishment, the entire movie takes place inside Nick's, a saloon, restaurant, and entertainment palace on the waterfront in San Francisco. James Cagney plays Joe, a man who has a lot of cash and spends his time observing, listening, and helping people and fulfilling his every whim. Wayne Morris plays Tom, Joe's gopher man; Jeanne Cagney plays Kitty, a former "burlesque queen" who falls for Tom; and William Bendix plays Nick. The floating characters at Nick's also include, among others, a lovesick young man, an out of work fellow, a drunk, a cowboy who calls himself "Kit Carson", a pinball wizard, a dancer who is a comedian that has no funny jokes, a police officer, and a couple of socialites.

There really isn't much plot in THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE. However, neither the movie nor the play it was based upon are about "plot". There may not seem to be a lot going on, but actually there is. The plot of the story is it's characters. Each person that comes into Nick's has a story and some of them we learn, some of them we don't. However, while listening to each person (just as Joe does) we learn something about them and in the process we discover things about ourselves. THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE is art in it's highest form because it entertains, yet also enlightens.

The quality of this DVD isn't all that bad, especially considering how inexpensive it is to purchase a copy (the Laserlight edition can be purchased for less than $5). The sound is good through most of the film except for the occasional scratch and the picture is great (the one scene where you can't read what is on the piece of paper was filmed that way intentionally because you are not supposed to see what's written on the paper because it's too small).

Overall a good movie well worth the time to watch it.

James Cagney knows your name
(Please note that the DVD version I am reviewing is the Laserlight edition of THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE. This budget release pretty much defines the concept of "no-frills".)

Other reviewers have pointed out the fact that this movie skimps on plot and I cannot help but completely agree with that sentiment. But for what the movie lacks in action, it more than makes up for in the presentation of fascinating characters. Each person's story is interesting and unique. And the movie manages to give us enough detail so that we can find these people intriguing, but leaves enough unsaid so that no one overstays their welcome. We're left liking these people and wanting to hear more about them.

Since the characters are at the forefront of this movie, it's certainly a relief to have such splendid actors playing them. The Cagney siblings are wonderful. Jeanne Cagney does a wonderful job at becoming the streetwise blonde who stands up to gangsters and James Cagney is a compelling, gentle enigma. While so many of the roles could have easily fallen into stereotypes, the actors are strong enough to keep them as individuals.

Although I haven't experienced the original play that this film is based upon, I can only imagine that there weren't too many script changes between the stage and the screen. The movie is heavily performance-based, with the interesting material coming from the conversations and the soliloquies. The action is completely centered on a single barroom, as during the entire length of the movie only one short sequence takes place outside the bar's swing doors. Even a fight scene inside the same building occurs off-camera so that all we view are people in one room hollering at the unseen people in another. As some characters leave the action, they are immediately replaced by other people beginning conversations of their own. In fact, if you pay close attention, you'll probably notice that the amount of real time that people spend off-camera isn't nearly long enough to do all the things that they claim to have done in that span.

Fortunately, none of this affects one's enjoyment of the film at all. In fact, it gives the entire production a great sense of the theatrical nature of the performances. Unlike some other translations from play to movie, this one never feels as though it's being limited by the theatre. It retains the trappings and atmosphere of a stage production, while never feeling claustrophobic. What makes for good theatre doesn't always make for a good film (and vice versa), yet it's a testament to the skills of the director and the cast that they manage to make the transition here without a hitch.

The image quality on this Laserlight DVD is perfectly watchable. It's scratchy in a few places, but never so much that it becomes distracting. The picture is a bit bright and slightly washed out, but this is really only a problem in one scene where the audience is expected to read something that's a character has written on a piece of paper. The sound quality is variable, but mostly falls on the good side of variable. As the DVD itself is absolutely dirt cheap, it's well worth putting up with these slight imperfections.

Thin plot, not very interesting, always expecting more!
The other review subject lines hit it on the head: Thin plot, a bar where everyone knows your name.

This movie does not have a very good subject. Is just about a rich man in post WWII era hanging out in a bar and throwing around small amounts of money. Not much of a climax either.

A bar where everybody knows you name, circa 1948
"The Time of Your Life," based on the play by William Saroyan, shows us a group of eccentrics who hang out in a San Francisco waterfront bar and philosophize about life. James Cagney plays Joe, a barfly who believes in encouraging everybody to fulfill their dreams. Whether this means encouraging an old man named "Kit Carson" (James Barton) to spin his fanciful tales about the old west or conning Nick (William Bendix), the bartender, into giving Harry (Paul Draper), the vagabond dancer, a part-time job. The film is filled with fine character actors, such as Ward Bond and Broderick Crawford, and including Cagney's sister Jeanne as Kitty Duval and Natalie Schafer, the future Mrs. Howell on "Gilligan's Island," as the Society Lady. Admittedly, this film is not everybody's cup of tea, although Saroyan was particularly pleased with how his play translated to the film, even though the original ending was reshot. This story takes place in a bar that is obviously more reminiscent of "Cheers" than it is a Eugene O'Neill play like "The Iceman Cometh." I would even argue that Cagney's character is one of the least interesting people in the story, although he is certainly an amiable enough fellow. The important thing is that this bar is a nice place to visit for a while. This 1948 film directed by H. C. Potter features photography by James Wong Howe. Oh, and the piano player is really good too. ... Read more