Cagney wasn't a dancer by Astaire's standards, or a singer by anybody's, but he was such a good actor he could fake it: “Cagney can't really dance or sing,” observes the critic Edwin Jahiel, “but he acts so vigorously that it creates an illusion, and for dance-steps he substitutes a patented brand of robust, jerky ...

Did James Cagney take dance lessons?

Cagney had no formal training as a dancer, but he moved well and learned quickly. He was hired, and, ironically, the future tough guy of gangster pictures first appeared on stage in drag. Cagney made his Broadway debut on 29 September 1920 in the chorus of a revue called Pitter Patter.

How accurate is the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy?

Most of the basic facts portrayed in Yankee Doodle Dandy are accurate. He and his family really did travel and perform as The Four Cohans [bonus fact: little sister Josie Cohan is played by Jeanne Cagney, Jimmy's Cagney's real-life little sister].