Prior to Yankee Doodle Dandy ( 1942 ), James Cagney made MANY movies in which he was neither a gangster nor just a petty criminal. Because there are SO many of these, I shall only list a few years and films to prove you incorrect.
1930/'31: OTHER MEN'S WOMEN ( released a second time in '31 with this title change )
1931:THE MILLIONAIRE
1932: WINNER TAKE ALL, THE CROWD ROARS, FOOTLIGHT PARADE ( in which he sings and dances with Ruby Keeler! )
1933: PICTURE SNATCHER,
1934 THE SAINT LOUIS KID, HERE COMES THE NAVY,JIMMY THE GENT
1935: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, G MEN, DEVIL DOGS OF THE AIR, THE IRISH IN US
AND SO ON AND SO ON, AND SO ON...ALL MADE PRIOR TO 1942! Go look the rest of the years up, I'm NOT typing out all of the rest of them from '36 through the one he made in '42, prior to Yankee Doodle Dandy!
I'm sure you're right, but those sound like the movies that were made during the transition from silent to talkies, and pre-code.
I'm talking about breakout movies. Now, if you want to talk about the movies he made with his best friend Pat O'Brien...
Here Comes The Navy stands out for its on-site location filming in 1934 on the deck of the USS Arizona, giving viewers a look at the iconic battleship just seven years before its destruction at Pearl Harbor.
For that alone, it's worth watching.
-PJ