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Jeanette MacDonald is ready to serenade her lucky Valentine.   Ann Miller could get any man to be her Valentine with legs like those. Men of the world, beware! Lana Turner is ready to aim. I'm sure Tony Martin would be delighted if he got home on Valentine's Day and found Cyd Charisse waiting for him like this. Or like this. See, I told you Tony would be happy. Look at what he gave her the next day. Mary Carlisle looks extra cute in her little Valentine's Day outfit.   Joan Leslie is pin-up perfect as the Queen of Hearts. Rita Hayworth has just received a huge box of chocolates from her Valentine. Well done, Mary Pickford. I'm sure Doug will be very happy to receive that. Irene Dunne makes for a very lovely face on a Valentine's Day card. Happy Valentine's Day. ❤❤❤

Since today is James Cagney's 116th birthday, this week on "Film Friday" I want to tel l you about what was, according to the man himself, his favorite of all the films he made. Original release poster by Bill Gold Directed by Michael Curtiz, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) opens in the early days of World War II, when George M. Cohan (James Cagney) is called to meet President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House, after impersonating him in the Rodgers and Hart musical I'd Rather Be You . In response to Roosevelt's questions, Cohan begins narrating the story of his life, beginning with his birth on July 4, 1878 and then recalling his vaudeville days with his father Jerry (Walter Huston), mother Mary (Rosemary DeCamp) and sister Josie (Jeanne Cagney). Th e Four C ohans perform successfully across the country, but G eorge gets too cocky as he grows up and is blacklisted by theatr ical prod ucers for being troublesome. In the early 1900s, while the fam...