The Phantom President

Not exactly sharp political satire, this tells of a stodgy banker who's running for the American presidency, and of the lookalike silver-tongued medicine man who is drafted in to take his place and add zest to the campaign. But it does offer a rare chance to see Cohan ('Mr Broadway') in action. Whether he's as wonderful as Cagney's impersonation of him in Yankee Doodle Dandy is a matter of opinion, but the double role certainly allows him ample space to demonstrate his versatility. Not, however, his song-writing skills: the mediocre tunes were supplied, surprisingly, by Rodgers and Hart.