Yankee Doodle Dandy Page #7

- Lf it's like "45 Minutes From Broadway"...

- Well, it isn't, and besides...

- George!

- Don't spoil everything.

- She can't have that.

- You gotta let her have it.

- She's gonna sing it!

- She can't sing it!

- She will sing it.

With Abe's money and your brains

we'll be able to make a million.

Come in.

A little early for Christmas, isn't it?

Well, I was just passing the flowers

and they threw in the candy.

George, I'm sure our song will live forever.

I've been playing it since you left

and the neighbors haven't complained once.

What happened with Fay Templeton?

Oh, she's dying to play the part,

but I haven't made up my mind yet.

- Ham or bacon?

- Bacon.

Good, ham makes me self-conscious.

You're hesitating about having

Fay Templeton in your show?

Big stars are always temperamental

and hard to get along with.

Asking impossible terms and conditions.

I'll take my coffee black.

- I think you ought to give in to her.

- But, darling.

- No matter what she asks?

- No matter what she asks.

Why are you so concerned

with Fay Templeton?

I don't care for her,

I'm looking out for you.

Think what it means for you

to have a star like Templeton in your show.

Always worried about me, aren't you?

Ever think about yourself?

Not much lately. Haven't had time.

The minute I saw you without your beard...

...I knew here was a little boy

who needed a lot of looking after.

So I gave myself the job.

There are a lot of singers, you know,

but very few really good looker-afters.

Darling, how would you like

a lifetime job of looking after?

Leading lady, run of the play. Maybe a few

heartaches after the curtain goes up...

...but I can guarantee you some laughs.

- How does it sound?

- I think I might like it, Mr. Cohan.

Could I see some of the script?

Not bad for a first reading.

The coffee's boiling over.

- Darling, something I forgot to tell you.

- Yes, dear?

I gave your song to Fay Templeton tonight.

Darling, did you hear me?

- I gave your song to Fay Templeton tonight.

- Yes, I know.

I knew you did, dear, when you

brought the candy and flowers.

It's a wonderful song, George.

Best you've ever done. It'll live for years.

Thanks, Sam, but I still think

Mary should have sung it.

Oh, that's all right.

Fay has the song, but I have the author.

Look at Cohan.

He's got them lined up at the box office.

I've never seen the guy and his name

all over the place, look at that.

"Cohan and Harris present

George Washington Jr.

Starring the author and composer

George M. Cohan."

I wonder what the M is for?

Oh, modesty.

- Hello, Mr. Foy.

- How are you?

- Enjoyed your show last night.

- Thank you.

- You always appear in the kind of stuff I like.

- Thank you. That's very nice of you.

"George M. Cohan and his royal family.

Books and lyrics, music and directed by

George M. Cohan. Printed by Sam Divensky."

That must be Cohan's alias.

Certainly gave himself good billing,

this George M. Cohan.

You don't have to memorize it,

they're all over town.

I'd like to forget it. Hey, fella,

you connected with this turkey?

- You think it's a turkey? I hear it's good.

- That's a malicious rumor to gyp the public.

Who is this Cohan? Where is he from?

- Is he an upstart?

- He's been through the mill.

Played everything: Bigtime vaudeville,

rep shows, even followed dog acts.

Must have looked like an encore.

Say, is he as good as Foy?

- Who?

- Foy, Foy. Eddie Foy.

- Oh, pardon me.

- Pardon me, I didn't quite catch the name.

- Would you mind spraying it again?

- Eddie Foy.

The star with the big show down the street

with a chorus of 70.

Why, I thought they looked

a little younger than that.

I hear now that Cohan's in town,

Foy's gonna retire.

Foy won't retire till he's 90.

Will it take him that long

to discover he has no talent?

I hear when he tries to sing

the orchestra puts up umbrellas.

Tries to sing? Why, he's a genius.

He keeps his audience glued to the seats.

That's one way to keep them in the theater.

Cohan does it with talent.

He produces his own plays,

writes his own books, lyrics and music...

...plays the leads, and is a great dancer.

- He dances, eh? When does he practice?

When you write your own plays you don't

have to practice. Cohan's done all right.

He's given the world Yankee Doodle Dandy.

What's Foy done for his country?

He gave them seven kids.

- Does he dance?

- One of the best.

When does he get time to practice?

Say, listen, young fella,

my name's Eddie Foy.

I know it. I'm George M. Cohan.

Oh, so you're Cohan?

Well, if I said anything accidental

to make you mad, I'm darn glad I did.

I don't blame you. I'd feel the same way

if I were up against Cohan.

- What do you like to drink?

- Oh, Moxie.

I can supply it.

The attraction inside is bigger than I am.

Come and see it when your show closes.

We took the red from the flame of dawn.

The dawn of a new nation.

And the white was the white

of the snow at valley Forge.

The blue was the blue of the free, open sky.

And the stars were

the 13 sisters by the sea...

...who built their home

and called it "Liberty."

Right!

Right again!

That's the spirit!

And that government of the people...

... by the people,

for the people shall not perish...

... from the earth.

May I have your autograph, Mr. Cohan?

To what do you attribute

your continued success, Mr. Cohan?

Oh, I'm an ordinary guy who knows

what ordinary guys like to see.

Front row center, the greatest

show on earth, the people.

To the people. God bless them.

Here, chick, chick, chick, chick!

Oh, it's such fun, Mother,

having cows and chickens.

Everything's running so smoothly.

It's always been a dream of ours, Mary.

We kept hoping for 20 years

it might come true someday.

Imagine knowing how to feed chickens,

or how much to feed them.

And you're a farmer only three weeks.

Jerry and I've seen

a lot of chickens in train windows...

...and we always wanted some of our own.

You know, watch them hatch

and feed them, and eat them.

If we only could. They're so pretty.

- Georgie?

- Yeah?

- What'd you get Dad for his birthday?

- Nothing much, just a smoking jacket.

- Is it bright? Will he like it?

- It's silk, and very red, and very yellow.

- That'll do it. Look what I got him, Georgie.

- Now, there's a present.

- That must have set you back.

- Dad needed a new watch.

His old one's so loud,

you can hear it right through his coat.

My future husband helped me pick it out.

Your future what?

Husband. We're getting married

as soon as Fred's road tour is over.

So Little Josie's gonna get married, huh?

It doesn't seem that long ago...

- What happens to The Four Cohans?

- Oh, just a simple case of subtraction.

You know, one from four leaves three.

Three Cohans.

That's only arithmetic.

One Cohan from Four Cohans

leaves nothing.

Mom and Pop know?

Mom's been working on

the wedding dress for weeks.

What are you thinking about, Georgie?

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