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Makes me feel proud when i see this movie.....different time.....different issues, but important to remember what our country has been through. Good to see what patriotism felt like back then. We must remember our history! 
Tears every time....
PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN
PROUD TO BE A DEMOCRAT
for his energetic portrayal of the life of George M. Cohan, famous American vaudeville entertainer and composer in the patriotic movie 'Yankee Doodle Dandy." Cohan (1878-1942) was known as "the man who owned Broadway" and is considered the father of American musical comedy. He appeared in more than 30 Broadway musicals and published over 300 songs including "Over There," "Give My Regards to Broadway," "The Yankee Doodle Boy," and "You're a Grand Old Flag." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Cohan
Cohan and sister Josie in the 1890s.
Cagney took the role of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy, a film Cagney "took great pride in" and considered his best. Filming began the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the cast and crew worked in a "patriotic frenzy" as the United States' involvement in World War II gave the cast and crew a feeling that "they might be sending the last message from the free world." Cohan was given a private showing of the film shortly before his death, and thanked Cagney "for a wonderful job". A paid première of the movie raised $5,750,000 for war bonds for the US treasury.
~ "Smart, alert, hard-headed, Cagney is as typically American as Cohan himself..It was a remarkable performance, probably Cagney's best, and it makes Yankee Doodle a dandy," Time Magazine.
James Francis Cagney Jr. (1899-1986), New York born, red head Irish American actor.
Many critics of the time and since have declared it Cagney's best film, drawing parallels between Cohan and Cagney; they both began their careers in vaudeville, struggled for years before reaching the peak of their profession, were surrounded with family and married early..The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three, including Cagney's for Best Actor. In his acceptance speech, Cagney said, "I've always maintained that in this business, you're only as good as the other fellow thinks you are. It's nice to know that you people thought I did a good job. And don't forget that it was a good part, too."
In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among its list of greatest male stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Orson Welles said of Cagney, "[he was] maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera", and Stanley Kubrick considered him to be one of the best actors of all time.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cagney