Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical drama film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeanne Cagney, and Vera Lewis. Joan Leslie's singing voice was partially dubbed by Sally Sweetland.

The film was written by Robert Buckner and Edmund Joseph, and directed by Michael Curtiz. According to the special edition DVD, significant and uncredited improvements were made to the script by the twin brothers Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. The film was a major hit for Warner Bros. Pictures, and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning three.

In 1993, Yankee Doodle Dandy was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", and in 1998, the film was included on the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movies list, a compilation of the 100 greatest films in American cinema, ranking number 100.

In the early days of World War II, George M. Cohan comes out of retirement to star as President Roosevelt in the Rodgers and Hart musical I'd Rather Be Right. On the show's first night, he is summoned to the White House to meet the President, who presents him with a Congressional Gold Medal. Cohan is overcome and chats with Roosevelt, recalling his early days on the stage.

The film flashes back to Cohan's supposed July 4 birth while his father is performing on the vaudeville stage.

Cohan and his sister join the family act as soon as they learn to dance, and soon The Four Cohans are performing successfully. But George gets cocky as he grows up and is blacklisted by theatrical producers for being troublesome. He leaves the act and hawks his songs unsuccessfully to producers.

In partnership with Sam Harris, another struggling writer, Cohan finally interests a producer and they are on the road to success. He marries Mary, a young singer/dancer. As his star ascends, he persuades his now-struggling parents to join his act, eventually vesting some of his valuable theatrical properties in their name. When the sinking of the Lusitania pulls the U.S. into WWI, Cohan attempts to enlist in the military but at 39 is too old. Determined to play some patriotic role in the war effort, he finds himself inspired to write morale-boosting songs such as “Over There,” which are well-received. Cohan retires but returns to the stage several times, culminating in the role of the U.S. president.

The film returns to the White House, where George has just received the Congressional Gold Medal for his inspirational patriotic songs. As Cohan leaves, he tap-dances down a set of stairs. Outside, Cohan joins a military parade where the soldiers are singing "Over There" as Cohan listens, overcome with emotion. Not knowing Cohan is the song's composer, one of the soldiers asks if he remembers the song. Cohan joins in the singing.