Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) dir. Michael Curtiz

[neilnw]

I rented out as a favor to myself (Amazon, natch) the movie musical Yankee Doodle Dandy. I rented it for three primary reasons: a) cuz I hadn't seen it; b) to hear how James Cagney sings; and c) to see if the 1943 Warner Brothers cartoon Yankee Doodle Daffy is a direct parody of the movie itself.

The answer to the third matter is no, but it IS special in that this is truly Daffy's/Mel Blanc's one-man show. The duck simply dominates the film. It stands tall among director Friz Freleng's greatest achievements.

The middle reason is answered by Cagney's 3/5ths spoken, and only 2/5ths sung performance, and it's not that great a singing voice at that. Was it Oscar-worthy? I can't vouch for all major 1942 releases, but Cagney for me is an emphatic yes. Charisma to burn.

On IMDB.com, I give cartoon a 10 and the feature a 9.

[Belle]

This brilliant WB cartoon parody of classical music and Franz Liszt is absolutely inspired. These "Looney Tunes" cartoons were for the entertainment of adults, but children could also watch them and laugh. How ingenious most of them were and light years removed from the USA of today - riven to the core, as it is, with hatred, identity politics and the attendant scourges of that ideology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzeFyKiPHZ8

Those cartoons remind us all that the USA once had a vibrant sense of humour, along with a can-do philosophy that went hand in glove with economic progressivism. Sadly, no more.

[neilnw]

Rhapsody Rabbit is one of Friz Freleng's proudest achievements as well.

Here's a link to Yankee Doodle Daffy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5M9atCMJdI