James Cagney never said, “You dirty rat,” but he did "rat out" his favorite movie: “Many people assume that one of those knock-down, drag-'em-outs would be my choice. A discerning critic...can’t understand why I would choose Yankee Doodle Dandy over White Heat and The Public Enemy . The answer is simple, and it derives from George M. Cohan’s comment about himself: Once a song-and-dance man, always a song-and-dance man. In that brief statement, you have my life story; those

In real life, people rarely burst into song, which is why musicals are superior to reality. Feeling “meh”? Wanna get happy, fast? Zhuzh...

Much as I love Singin’ in the Rain, I’ve always had a soft spot for The Band Wagon. The pics feel like musical bookends: Released just a...