Cagney is mesmerizing. I must have watched this clip a dozen times. The dance moves, the facial expressions, the hand movements, the unique voice, they all seamlessly come together. He was truly a great talent.
It was said that Al Jolsen was the greatest entertainer in Hollyweird. I strongly disagree. The greatest entertainer is this man. He can sing, dance, and act like no other. I grew up in the 50s and 60s. Late night movies were repeats of the films made during its Golden Years. I watched numerous films of this man and was never bored.
Cagney, immensely talented, his accents were so authentic, he could do anything, sing, dance, drama, comedy, and as Orson Welles commented, was the greatest actor in the world, "never an ingenuous moment on the screen".
I think he said “disingenuous “ which means fake ….he was saying there was nothing fake about Cagney…you are saying the opposite…ie. that there was “(never an honest moment from him)”
Joan Leslie was a beautiful and talented actress. She was only 18 in Yankee Doodle Dandy and 16 in Sergeant York as York’s girl friend and later wife. Superb talent, was terrific in every movie she made.
They would be wrong. There are only a few guys who could have pulled off the scene at the end where he dances down the stairs after his meeting with the president.
@@OldsVistaCruiser yes, I know. Cagney suggested it to the director but it was turned down because he was told it was too dangerous. In typical fashion, Cagney did it anyway and nailed it in one take!
@@OldsVistaCruiser after they did the scene, the director yelled at him, "I told you not to do that, you could have fallen and broken your neck!" Cagney grinned and replied, "sorry, I don't do stunt work."
Harrigan George M. Cohan Who is the man who will spend or will even lend? Harrigan, That's Me! Who is your friend when you find that you need a friend? Harrigan, That's Me! For I'm just as proud of my name you see, As an Emperor, Czar or a King, could be. Who is the man helps a man every time he can? Harrigan, That's Me! H - A - double are - I - G - A - N spells Harrigan Proud of all the Irish blood that's in me; Divil a man can say a word agin me. H - A - double are - I - G - A - N, you see, Is a name that a shame never has been connected with, Harrigan, That's me! Who is the man never stood for a gad about? Harrigan, That's Me! Who is the man that the town's simply mad about? Harrigan, That's Me! The ladies and babies are fond of me, I'm fond of them, too, in return, you see. Who is the gent that's deserving a monument? Harrigan, That's Me! H - A - double are - I - G - A - N spells Harrigan Proud of all the Irish blood that's in me; Divil a man can say a word agin me. H - A - double are - I - G - A - N, you see, Is a name that a shame never has been connected with, Harrigan, That's me!
Cagney certainly was great, though I now especially like his later, more 3-dimensional roles, rather than the gangsters & tough guys he played in the films of his early career. The later ones to which I'm referring are, well, "YDD", of course, but also "The Strawberry Blonde", "Love Me or Leave Me", a number of westerns, "The Gallant Hours", & "One, Two, Three", along with many others. Likewise, I'm a big fan of Edward G. Robinson, too; again, mostly for his later, non-gangster roles. Although he didn't have the full-range of Cagney's vaudevillian talents, Robinson had a strong presence & solidity, always natural & believable, skilled, like Cagney, in both drama & light-comedy. Both actors just truly great talents!
I'm related to the Harrigan this song was written about. My mother told me that all my life, and long after she passed, a total stranger, via DNA Ancestry, told me the exact same story. So I tend to believe it. :) He was the lesser-known of the Harrigan vaudeville performers.
That is so outstanding my friend. I am quite proud to know you. So who then exactly was Harrigan? I mean after watching this movie dozens of times, I have always wondered who this man was and what was his occupation in life. And such things.
@@Dreamwarrior64 I just know there were TWO Harrigans -- both vaudefille performers. The one I was related to was the less-famous one. Wikipedia has it wrong about the song being about Edward. It was about James. The more-famous one was Edward Harrigan. He was the father of 11, I believe, and the youngest was Nedda Harrigan, and she was an actress and also at one point the president of the actors' union. She was married to a famous Broadway producer who produced South Pacific. I wrote her one time long ago, a year or two before she passed, and she said that she was "sure we were related." As the youngest of a large family, she said she did not know many in her family. We may or may not have been related -- because perhaps Edward, her father, and James, my relative, both Harrigans were related? I guess we'll never know. It was so sweet of her to respond to me. This was long before email, so it was a handwritten note.
@@lawrencelewis2592 Also, Edward Harrigan had 14 children, and the youngest was NEDDA HARRIGAN, and she wrote me a note a year before she died, She was an actress and became president of the Screen Actors' Guild. I was asking about her Edward Harrigan, and she said in her note she was sure we were related! And she did not know much about her siblings since she was youngest, and they were all passed. She was 89 I believe when she wrote this. I know now we probably WERE NOT related...(maybe if all Harrigans are related to each other. ) ) She was also married to the producer of South Pacific, JOSHUA LOGAN. Wikipedia has an entry for him.
this movie was release the same year that george m cohan died they must've found out he didn't have very long to live and decided to make a movie about his life and what a movie they made
My grandfather's name was Harrigan and he tought me this diddy when I was a wee lad on his knee. He also tought me to be proud of the Irish blood within me!
If you want to see another side of Joan Leslie, check out her impressions of James Cagney and Ida Lupino the following year in "Thank Your Lucky Stars". She costarred with both, so she had the opportunity to observe them. her impressions are not only dead on, but rather cute.
I have a copy of that film! Spectacular performances by a host of performers, motivated to raise money during the 2nd World War. "Stop kicking!" "I always kick on a third down."
I believe I read somewhere once that "Harrigan" was, in fact, recognized as a potential-hit almost instantly. To create some drama, the movie apparently decided to indicate some doubt about its acceptability to the musical-talent guys. Almost anyone can see, upon hearing it for the first time, that it's incredibly-catchy and show-business/stage-play worthy! In the movie's defense, it's not inconceivable that the song's reception would've been met by boredom and/or sounded unimpressive--after all, the 2 fellows for which Cagney's auditioning the song, easily could be jaded and non-plussed after so many years in the musical-talent-scout business, having seen many mis-fires, failures, & disappointments, as they've seen & heard'em all, lack-of-imagination, and/or expecting too much from a new Cohan song, of which "Harrigan" didn't seem to cut-the-mustard. The fictitious-scene causes no setback to authentic-history but it really is hard-to-believe, though, the song's potential wouldn't've been seen as a hit right-away, as it actually was in reality!
@@jackbuckley7816 Great explain. And the two older, middle-aged, dyspeptic-looking bottom-line producers did not look Irish, so perhaps they thought this song too ethnically jaunty, fit for just an Irish American market.
Just wonderful! I too, sang and played that song (& 200+ others) on the banjo in the '60s & '70s - Westwood, Las Vegas and Reno sometimes with old movies. Great fun, happy times, new friends! Spencer Vaughn
When I was in 7th grade...1962...the brother if one of the girls came into class and did this song...tapping on the teacher's desk...I still can see that kid...almost 60 years later...at the time I had no idea that it was a Cohan/Cagney tune...
This was the theme song for a very old sitcom, i think it was called "Harrigan & Son", but i never did see it. As a kid after school at my friend's house, we'd only see the credits as the song played at the very end, then we watched some other old sitcoms. So now i'll try to find it here on UA-cam.
I also am 63. In 1969 my parents directed a melodrama play in Oakhurst, California. After the play there were several song and dance acts. My parents and I performed a medley of George M. Cohan songs. At the tender age of eight I sang “Harrigan” in the act. I stole the show until the next year when my 4 year old sister joined the act. My folks loved the Cohan songs, and I ended the act each night using Cohan’s words from the movie: “My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you.” It was a few years later that I saw “Yankee Doodle Dandy “ on TV and loved the story and James Cagney’s singing and dancing.
Except this song is a tribute to Edward Harrigan, of Harrigan & Hart fame - arguably the most significant vaudeville star at the turn of the 20th Century.
@@thomashoban6888 ..Along with Roger Perry, Georgine D'Arcy and Helen Kleeb, sponsored by Reynolds Aluminum. Don't figure out my age, LOLOLOL, but I watched this show back in the day.
When I was young, I parodied certain lines: H-A-double R-I-G-A-N, you see Is a shame that a name never has been connected with... (I was playfully calling Harrigan a bastard in its original definition!)
My grandpa's last name was Hannigan, and he taught me this song when I was just a wee lad, he changed it up a bit, but I loved to hear him sing it. He taught me to be proud of all the Irish blood within me! 🇮🇪
my new grandson's name is Harrison and I started singing his name to this little diddy not remembering where it came from.. thanks for posting this to remind me of a childhood song I had buried deep
Joan is SO cute. Watch her face when she puts em up...looking endearingly fierce...
Cagney is mesmerizing. I must have watched this clip a dozen times. The dance moves, the facial expressions, the hand movements, the unique voice, they all seamlessly come together. He was truly a great talent.
Cagney was one of the most talented ever! whether singing and dancing or playing the hood, he had it all.
He was a super nice guy too
It was said that Al Jolsen was the greatest entertainer in Hollyweird. I strongly disagree. The greatest entertainer is this man. He can sing, dance, and act like no other. I grew up in the 50s and 60s. Late night movies were repeats of the films made during its Golden Years. I watched numerous films of this man and was never bored.
I love Cagney’s Irish brogue!
Cagney, immensely talented, his accents were so authentic, he could do anything, sing, dance, drama, comedy, and as Orson Welles commented, was the greatest actor in the world, "never an ingenuous moment on the screen".
Did Orson Welles mean that onscreen, Cagney never for a moment seemed an ingenue?
I think he said “disingenuous “ which means fake ….he was saying there was nothing fake about Cagney…you are saying the opposite…ie. that there was “(never an honest moment from him)”
@@JudgeJulieLit no he meant disingenuous, Petroica got it right.
@@PetroicaRodinogaster264 yes you are correct.
James Cagney is so watchable...in any movie...but especially this one.
Wait wait my dad was gonna name me James Cagney if i were a boy 🥴🤣🥴🤣🥴🤣 now I get it… I would have been James Cagney Harrigan 😳 Lord im glad Im a girl
But ... "Jamie" can be a girl's name.
Every time I hear this, I go around all day humming and whistling the tune...Harrigan!
RIP Joan Leslie. Perhaps underrated but delicately talented, and this song is so novelty~
Joan Leslie was a beautiful and talented actress. She was only 18 in Yankee Doodle Dandy and 16 in Sergeant York as York’s girl friend and later wife. Superb talent, was terrific in every movie she made.
My Aunt taught me this song as a kid in the 70s. And we're not even Irish. lol...but it's a fun song.
Can you gentlemen look any more bored? Very professional! Very classy! 😀
72 and remember the song, back when life was simple.
Some folks say White men can't sing and dance. Musta never seen Cagney.
They would be wrong. There are only a few guys who could have pulled off the scene at the end where he dances down the stairs after his meeting with the president.
I think that's a relatively recent trope. Doubt anyone thought that way back then.
@@albundy6008 - And that dance on the stairs was a Cagney ad-lib! It was not scripted.
@@OldsVistaCruiser yes, I know. Cagney suggested it to the director but it was turned down because he was told it was too dangerous. In typical fashion, Cagney did it anyway and nailed it in one take!
@@OldsVistaCruiser after they did the scene, the director yelled at him, "I told you not to do that, you could have fallen and broken your neck!" Cagney grinned and replied, "sorry, I don't do stunt work."
Harrigan
George M. Cohan
Who is the man who will spend or will even
lend?
Harrigan, That's Me!
Who is your friend when you find that you need a friend?
Harrigan, That's Me!
For I'm just as proud of my name you see,
As an Emperor, Czar or a King, could be.
Who is the man helps a man every time he can?
Harrigan, That's Me!
H - A - double are - I - G - A - N spells
Harrigan
Proud of all the Irish blood that's in me; Divil a man can say a word agin me.
H - A - double are - I - G - A - N, you see,
Is a name that a shame never has been connected with, Harrigan, That's me!
Who is the man never stood for a gad about?
Harrigan, That's Me!
Who is the man that the town's simply mad about?
Harrigan, That's Me!
The ladies and babies are fond of me,
I'm fond of them, too, in return, you see.
Who is the gent that's deserving a monument?
Harrigan, That's Me!
H - A - double are - I
- G - A - N spells Harrigan
Proud of all the Irish blood that's in me; Divil a man can say a word agin me.
H - A - double are - I - G - A - N, you see,
Is a name that a shame never has been connected with, Harrigan, That's me!
Cagney was brilliant. 'Top of the world mah!'
It's the only movie that won Cagney an Oscar.
White Lightning…a personal favorite!
@@moryan6447 Do you mean White Heat?
@@eddie12454 Yes! I knew when I typed it, it didn’t look quite right. Thank you. Sadly the old brain ain’t what it used to to be😊
Cagney certainly was great, though I now especially like his later, more 3-dimensional roles, rather than the gangsters & tough guys he played in the films of his early career. The later ones to which I'm referring are, well, "YDD", of course, but also "The Strawberry Blonde", "Love Me or Leave Me", a number of westerns, "The Gallant Hours", & "One, Two, Three", along with many others. Likewise, I'm a big fan of Edward G. Robinson, too; again, mostly for his later, non-gangster roles. Although he didn't have the full-range of Cagney's vaudevillian talents, Robinson had a strong presence & solidity, always natural & believable, skilled, like Cagney, in both drama & light-comedy. Both actors just truly great talents!
Listening to this Joan Leslie is singing the tune but James Cagney is singing quite difficult harmonies almost effortlessly. He was so talented.
I'm related to the Harrigan this song was written about. My mother told me that all my life, and long after she passed, a total stranger, via DNA Ancestry, told me the exact same story. So I tend to believe it. :) He was the lesser-known of the Harrigan vaudeville performers.
That is so outstanding my friend. I am quite proud to know you. So who then exactly was Harrigan? I mean after watching this movie dozens of times, I have always wondered who this man was and what was his occupation in life. And such things.
@@Dreamwarrior64 I just know there were TWO Harrigans -- both vaudefille performers. The one I was related to was the less-famous one. Wikipedia has it wrong about the song being about Edward. It was about James.
The more-famous one was Edward Harrigan. He was the father of 11, I believe, and the youngest was Nedda Harrigan, and she was an actress and also at one point the president of the actors' union. She was married to a famous Broadway producer who produced South Pacific. I wrote her one time long ago, a year or two before she passed, and she said that she was "sure we were related." As the youngest of a large family, she said she did not know many in her family. We may or may not have been related -- because perhaps Edward, her father, and James, my relative, both Harrigans were related? I guess we'll never know. It was so sweet of her to respond to me. This was long before email, so it was a handwritten note.
@@lorilynbailey4165 Gotcha.
@@lorilynbailey4165 That is awesome! I always wondered just who Harrigan was and now I know.
@@lawrencelewis2592 Also, Edward Harrigan had 14 children, and the youngest was NEDDA HARRIGAN, and she wrote me a note a year before she died, She was an actress and became president of the Screen Actors' Guild. I was asking about her Edward Harrigan, and she said in her note she was sure we were related! And she did not know much about her siblings since she was youngest, and they were all passed. She was 89 I believe when she wrote this. I know now we probably WERE NOT related...(maybe if all Harrigans are related to each other. ) ) She was also married to the producer of South Pacific, JOSHUA LOGAN. Wikipedia has an entry for him.
What a classic, song .👍🇨🇮🍀☘🇺🇸🦅👍
this movie was release the same year that george m cohan died they must've found out he didn't have very long to live and decided to make a movie about his life and what a movie they made
That song just popped into my head after over 50 years.
My grandfather's name was Harrigan and he tought me this diddy when I was a wee lad on his knee. He also tought me to be proud of the Irish blood within me!
If you want to see another side of Joan Leslie, check out her impressions of James Cagney and Ida Lupino the following year in "Thank Your Lucky Stars". She costarred with both, so she had the opportunity to observe them. her impressions are not only dead on, but rather cute.
I have a copy of that film! Spectacular performances by a host of performers, motivated to raise money during the 2nd World War. "Stop kicking!" "I always kick on a third down."
Why didn't those two music business guys like it? I thought it was great.
I believe I read somewhere once that "Harrigan" was, in fact, recognized as a potential-hit almost instantly. To create some drama, the movie apparently decided to indicate some doubt about its acceptability to the musical-talent guys. Almost anyone can see, upon hearing it for the first time, that it's incredibly-catchy and show-business/stage-play worthy! In the movie's defense, it's not inconceivable that the song's reception would've been met by boredom and/or sounded unimpressive--after all, the 2 fellows for which Cagney's auditioning the song, easily could be jaded and non-plussed after so many years in the musical-talent-scout business, having seen many mis-fires, failures, & disappointments, as they've seen & heard'em all, lack-of-imagination, and/or expecting too much from a new Cohan song, of which "Harrigan" didn't seem to cut-the-mustard. The fictitious-scene causes no setback to authentic-history but it really is hard-to-believe, though, the song's potential wouldn't've been seen as a hit right-away, as it actually was in reality!
@@jackbuckley7816 Great explain. And the two older, middle-aged, dyspeptic-looking bottom-line producers did not look Irish, so perhaps they thought this song too ethnically jaunty, fit for just an Irish American market.
Nobody points like Cagney could point.
Just wonderful! I too, sang and played
that song (& 200+ others) on the banjo in the '60s & '70s - Westwood, Las Vegas and Reno sometimes with old movies.
Great fun, happy times, new friends!
Spencer Vaughn
I went up to New York and got made fun of by all the old people when I was little and I just found this, this is a gem
What do I think? That you're the greatest actor who ever lived!
When I was in 7th grade...1962...the brother if one of the girls came into class and did this song...tapping on the teacher's desk...I still can see that kid...almost 60 years later...at the time I had no idea that it was a Cohan/Cagney tune...
Cagney is hilarious in this scene
A fantastic melody!
Cagney = Perfection.
The lady who played his sister was actually James' sister!
This was the theme song for a very old sitcom, i think it was called "Harrigan & Son", but i never did see it. As a kid after school at my friend's house, we'd only see the credits as the song played at the very end, then we watched some other old sitcoms. So now i'll try to find it here on UA-cam.
*Harrigan. The luck of the Irish to you, in your search.
@@JudgeJulieLit Thank you!
Loved this movie when I was a kid --still love it at 63!!!!!!
Damn Right!
I also am 63. In 1969 my parents directed a melodrama play in Oakhurst, California. After the play there were several song and dance acts. My parents and I performed a medley of George M. Cohan songs. At the tender age of eight I sang “Harrigan” in the act. I stole the show until the next year when my 4 year old sister joined the act. My folks loved the Cohan songs, and I ended the act each night using Cohan’s words from the movie: “My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you.”
It was a few years later that I saw “Yankee Doodle Dandy “ on TV and loved the story and James Cagney’s singing and dancing.
The greatest, hands down
I remember when Colonel Potter and some Army Nurse were singing this song in a episode of mash
wow!
Ya, that episode just brought me here. MASH season 7 episode 3
Lil. Played very sweetly by Carmen Mathews.
It occured to me that this could be sung with my name.
Cagney had sure had IT
Raw talent..real deal..
Oh my goodness, I've been singing this as WILLIAMS all along... it seems we nicked another family's tune!
Does anyone else recognize the guy smoking the cigar as the next door neighbor, Abner, from Bewitched?
I recall a television show in the early 60's, called 'Harrigan" and they did this tune as the theme song!!
Starring Pat O'Brien
Except this song is a tribute to Edward Harrigan, of Harrigan & Hart fame - arguably the most significant vaudeville star at the turn of the 20th Century.
I remember that! I have no recollection of what the show was about but what the hell.
@@thomashoban6888 ..Along with Roger Perry, Georgine D'Arcy and Helen Kleeb, sponsored by Reynolds Aluminum.
Don't figure out my age, LOLOLOL, but I watched this show back in the day.
"Harrigan & Son," starring Pat O'Brian
CAGNEY!!!
I have this song so stuck in my head I woke up singing it in my sleep.
That will probably be me tomorrow morning.
Ever since watching the movie a couple of days ago
that's why I came here...
It's 2019 and every time that I hear a surname even close to it, I start singing this song.....haha...
That sounds like a problem
One of my favourite movies. ☺️
They don't make 'em like this anymore. What a shame.
I’ve sang this song my whole life! I tend to come back to this exact one as it’s my favorite.
Oh and my last names Harrigan!
That’s Me!!!!
At the time this was released, Joan Leslie was 17 years old and Jimmy Cagney was about to turn 43.
That's show business...
When I was young, I parodied certain lines:
H-A-double R-I-G-A-N, you see
Is a shame that a name never has been connected with...
(I was playfully calling Harrigan a bastard in its original definition!)
H-A-double ARE-I-G-A-N spells Harrigan
My name is Harrigan. Jim Harrigan.
My sister is obsessed with this song
I'm Harrigan too, from Panama and we are the only Harrigan's.
Me too! From LA though.
The Greatest!
Listen to Allan Sherman's "Horowitz."
This makes smile 👒
I came here from BALLARD'S FARM
First rap ever
My real father was irish..i was adopted
Wish my name was Harrigan. It'd be my theme song.
Mine IS. My sister taught this song to me when I was a little kid. ;)
My grandpa's last name was Hannigan, and he taught me this song when I was just a wee lad, he changed it up a bit, but I loved to hear him sing it. He taught me to be proud of all the Irish blood within me! 🇮🇪
Joan Leslie steals the show!
🎶 M-I-A, another M-I, M-I-A-M-I spells Miami Beach 🎶
0:42 HAYCH AAAA DUBBLE-WAR-AYE!
Great flick cool song
my new grandson's name is Harrison and I started singing his name to this little diddy not remembering where it came from.. thanks for posting this to remind me of a childhood song I had buried deep
HARRIGAN! That's me!
B-A-L-L-A-R-D's spells Ballards. Ballard's brings out the best for you.
That was the theme for the 1960 61 ABC series, Harrigan and Son, starring Pat O Brien and Roger Perry as father and son lawyers.
Harrigan thats me . the last line of the song should be The next S.O.B. that calls me Harrington I,m coming for you .
There a little bit of Irish in all Anglo saxons -Irish welsh fathers side -scot German mother’s side -that’s official
Tell me more Nan please ty
I think that's great
I Think.
It is So Beautiful !
What do You tink.
“The Golden Girls.” M-I-a-m-I spells Miami (Beach).
now we can't listen to a song without buying or renting a movie - guess you tube in going down the tubes as well - anything for a buck
No a bad song... unfortunately they misspelled the name.
If you put it on reverse and slowed it down, it's the falaise water tower incident theme
That's acting!
I always thought it was spelled H-a-r-r-i-g-a-n.
I think we've all tried to put our names into the chorus of that song.
Alors! C’est l’accent irlandais plus mauvais
Music to listen to when youre being hunted down by a watertower
Hach! A! Double War Eye!
this is great
If they'd not liked it, he'd moida da doity rats!
I got your harrigan right here, swingin'
only one in comments with the last name harrigan
Or are you? Right there with you.
huh?
My name!
our name
Alexandra Harrigan True.
My youngest brother has been singing this one for sixty years. Too bad he can't dance like Cagney!
do it as a rap lol🚓
God, Cagney was brilliant.
and a great actor!
G-i-ll-i-g-a-n spells Gilligan.
somebody ought to write some parody song like that ;)
I love James Cagney
OH MY !!!! 😀
Casablanca
Represent
hehe, missing cap just listening to this..
WHY WAS THIS SONG IN MY HEAD
The old timey piano keys hammered it in.
Harrigan thats me!
Me too!