Perhaps Sturges most neglected masterpiece | Hail the Conquering Hero

"What are you nuts or something!?" "Maybe." | Hail the Conquering Hero | Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines

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	• Hail the Conquering Hero Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines Universal Studios, 1992 average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Entertaining little comedy that embraces the values of

WWII America. I see this as probably the second movie of a double feature at the local Bijou, (who remembers those days?).
Eddie Bracken plays the little guy with a big name (Woodrow LaFayette Pershing Trusmith) & a bigger legacy, that of his father who died a Marine hero. in WWI. Of course he joins the Marines but promptly washes out with severe hayfever. Too embarassed to return home he dumps his girlfriend & pretends to be overseas. He's drinking at a bar & runs into a group of real Marines just back from Guadalcanal. Despite his protests, they accompany him back home. He is mistakenly greeted as a hero home from war. Bedlam & confusion ensue as befits the screwball comedies of the day. It all has a happy ending, (required in those days). This movies satirizes the cult of celebrity & the effects of mob mentality. Woody, his girlfriend Libby played by Ella Rainer & the townsfolks are all likeable. To add a bit of patriotic flavor you have those loveable lugs of the United States Marine Corps., with anthem & everything. They are led by their gruff but loveable Sgt. played by William Demarest. Good movie for the home front during the last "good" war & amusing still today.

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Perhaps Sturges most neglected masterpiece

Between 1940 and 1944, Preston Sturges was on a role. He wrote and directed seven absolutely stellar comedies before he lost the magical touch that had made his one of the great comedy screenwriters of the 1930s and directors of the early 1940s. This was the last of that stellar run.

The premise is simple. Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith, magnificently portrayed by Eddie Bracken, is discharged from the marines because of hay fever, but is too ashamed to return home. Instead, he fakes a military career, having people mail home letters from abroad to make his friends and family and girlfriend all believe he is in combat. When a group of marines hear about his situation, they compassionately decide to return him to his hometown as a war hero. The bulk of the film deals with the misunderstandings that arise from this pretence.

HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO has all the marks of Sturges's best work: lightening paced dialog, a huge cast of talented character actors (most familiar from other Sturges films), and multiple layers of action in scene after scene. The ensemble cast truly excels in this film. No one, however, stands out more than William Demarest, who did almost all his greatest work in Sturges films.

For some reason, this film does not seem to be shown as often as most of Sturges best films, and even some lesser films get shown more frequently. But this is absolutely first rate Sturges, and anyone enjoying THE LADY EVE or SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS or THE PALM BEACH STORY will find just as much to love in this one.

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"What are you nuts or something!?" "Maybe."

Woodrow comes from a small close-knit town in California. His grandfather owned the land the town was built on and his father was a brave Marine who die for his country. So when Woodrow is kicked out of the Marines after one month for chronic hay fever he's too embarrassed to go home. He works for a year at the shipyards and mails letters home via outgoing soldiers.

One fateful evening some Marines on leave hear his tale and concoct a fake war hero story and escort him home thinking that only his poor worried mother will hear their lies. They even gather up some medals for him. But when they arrive on the train Woodrow's greeted by a cheering crowd and five marching bands all playing different songs at one time. The mayor gives Woodrow the key to the city, the town folk pay off his mother's mortgage, they nominate Woodrow for the upcoming race for mayor, a statue is being erected and they even write a song about him. Woodrow tries over and over to tell everybody the truth, but each time he does the lie only gets bigger and bigger.

Made the same year as Sturges' screwball classic THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK this movie has a number of the same actors (I lost count at 10) and is almost as funny, but for some reason it's kinda slipped through the cracks. Would make a great double feature with THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK.

Why is there not a Preston Sturges DVD box set?

D: Preston Sturges (THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK, THE LADY EVE)

Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith - Eddie Bracken (THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK, HOME ALONE 2)
Libby - Ella Raines (THE SENATOR WAS INDISCREET, BRUTE FORCE)
Sgt. Heppelfinger - William Demarest (THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK. IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD)

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"Opportunity has only one hair on its head - Grab it!"

Top-notch Preston Sturges comedy about patriotism and small-town politics. Eddie Bracken plays the son of a WW I marine hero who has joined up for WW II with high hopes for glory, only to be discharged for hay fever. Embarrassed to go home to his mother and sweetheart (Ella Rains), he meets six marines in a bar one night (led by William Demerest) and before he knows what hit him, he's on his way home a decorated war hero (thanks to the snow job concocted by Demerest). The town goes ga-ga and ends up electing him mayor. He finally straightens things out at the end, but in the meantime we are treated to some of the best Sturges exploding humor on screen. The entire Sturges stock company is on hand, and especially good are Raymond Walburn as the windbag mayor Bracken defeats, Freddie Steele as a mother-loving marine, and, of course, Demerest. Brilliant fare, this is Sturges in peak form.

IT'S A CRYING SHAME THERE'S NO DVD OF THIS YET. COME ON!!

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The Best of Sturges

I watched Sullivan's Travels and didn't understand what the big deal over Sturges was about. THIS film, however, is great! The dialogue is snappy and, most importantly, services a strong PLOT. With Travels it was the other way around.

Put this movie on DVD!!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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