Theatre Trivia Tweet: By George! George M. Cohan made the Broadway musical big and brash. What actor was famous for his film portrayal of the great stage actor, producer, writer and composer George M. Cohan and what was the name of the movie? SelectReveal Answer> I guess you might say “get a great one to play a great one,” as that was James Cagney who played George M. Cohan in the film Yankee Doodle Dandy. Post navigation previous postNext Post