Where do we learn about love? About hate? About selfishness? About generosity? We learn from our parents. We learn from our friends. From our Clergy. But for many people, we learn from the movies we watch.
This July 4th, many Americans will learn about Independence Day and the life of George M. Cohan, a flamboyant Irishman and the personification of American patriotism, from Yankee Doodle Dandy, the 1942 film biography of Cohan starring James Cagney. TCM will screen the film twice on July 4th as will the Movie Channel.
Cagney wanted to make the film because his own patriotism was being questioned by the House Committee on Un-American Activities, accusing him of being a Communist. Cagney, a committed liberal who strongly supported workers’ rights, hoped to end such accusations by playing Cohan, an ardent patriot When the film was released, the Committee dropped its accusations.
My grandfather, M.K. (Moe) Jerome played a major role in the making of that film. He taught Cagney to dance in the stiff leg way that Cohan used as well as other members of the cast: Walter Huston, Joan Leslie, and Cagney’s sister, Jeanne. Moe was so active on the set, playing the piano, and coordinating the twelve major Cohan numbers the cast performed, that the film’s producer William Cagney (Jimmy’s brother) dubbed him the movie’s “choreographer.’’
Moe and his lyricist partner, Jack Scholl
