Hail the Conquering Hero

Hail the Conquering Hero

Hail the Conquering Hero

Preston Sturges directed this comedy/satire that stars Eddie Bracken as Woodrow Lafeyete Pershing Truesmith, a discharged soldier being sent home because of a persistent hay fever condition. Despondent that he never saw action, a group of Marines take pity on him and decide that he should fabricate his military exploits when he returns home to see his mother, so give him medals and concoct a war record for him. This joke backfires when, upon his return home, his mother has gone overboard by organizing a parade in his honor, where he is treated as a war hero, with songs and a statue dedicated to him, and he is urged to run for mayor! How can he tell everyone the truth now? Though an amusing idea, with some funny bits, this film is way too far-fetched and contrived to be believed, and Eddie Bracken wears out his welcome early on with his obnoxious and dense character. Much ado about very little.

The last of the really great comedies that Preston Sturges directed had a more serious undertone than his previous films. This is not to say that Hail the Conquering Hero isn't hilarious though. It is just as intelligent, fast-paced, subversive and witty as could be expected from the writer/director of The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story. Eddie Bracken plays Woodrow Truesmith, a would-be marine who was discharged from service for chronic hay fever. Woodrow, whose father died a hero during WWI, hasn't had the heart to tell his mother about his discharge and has been pretending to still be on the front line. When he befriends a group of marines on leave, they dress him up as a hero and bring him home to make his mother happy, not anticipating that his whole town will give him a hero's welcome. Considering that the film was made during the war, it is surprising the way it satirises the notion of the war hero as well as the attitudes of those who did not go away to fight. The awestruck townspeople are depicted as being rather gullible while the marines are shown as a tough, cohesive unit, if maybe a bit dishonest and mercenary (and in one case slightly unhinged). The film has fine production values and great performances across the board but it is Sturges' script, with its marvellous characterisations and sparkling dialogue, that really shines. If you like Preston Sturges' other, earlier comedies, this film is essential viewing.

I adored this film and came close to giving it a 10--it's THAT good. But I am not a reviewer who gives out 10s willy-nilly and so I'll content myself with a 9 and a strong recommendation that you watch it. Eddie Bracken is marvelous as a poor schnook who wants to serve his country and make his family proud during WWII. However, he's rejected and cannot serve. Instead of telling everyone and disappointing them, he decides to pretend to be overseas. It's a dumb plan but one that gets absolutely crazy as the film progresses. The film picks up as Bracken is on his way home. A group of soldiers (headed by William Demarest) hear his story and feel sorry for him--so much so that they decide to help him pretend to be a returning hero and stick with him during much of the film. Again and again, the story gets wilder and wilder and the community ends up making a huge fuss over Bracken--now what is he to do?! Exquisitely written, acted and directed--this is a very fun film from start to finish.

Sturges set the bar very high with the four films preceding this one, including his masterpiece, "Sullivan's Travels." This one is disappointing. Bracken is given little to do except look outraged and embarrassed. Raines is pretty but there is little chemistry between her and Bracken. Demarest comes off best as the Sarge who tries to help Bracken soften the news of his discharge to his mother by making up a story of heroic exploits, a setup that has good comic possibilities. However, Sturges' script is surprisingly flat and unfunny, lacking the zaniness of his earlier efforts. After a brief period of inspiration marked by genius, Sturges seems to have abruptly lost it and this was the start of the decline.

Few films end up satirizing politics, human gullibility, and (less strongly) the military as much as this one does. To find all three being skewered is a rare treat. Sturges uses many players from his "stock company" to tell about a young man who's reluctant to come home -- he'd been a Marine, but was medically unfit -- until several Marines he encounters try to make something better of his situation. His hometown takes the "hero" to heart, and complications arise. You can find a better summary in the external reviews, but what they don't say is that Sturges does what he did best: warps the universe by showing every variety of human folly. Prepare to be surprised and delighted.

I initially picked this up because I had just seen Phantom Lady with Ella Raines and was very impressed with her work in that film noir thriller. In this film she has a decidedly less prominent role though whenever she is onscreen my enjoyment of the film intensified. This is the first of Eddie Bracken's work that I have encountered. I think he did well with both the dramatic and comedic elements of his chracter. I have seen a few of Preston Sturges' films and in my opinion the director succeeded handsomely with this effort. In addition to the leads he elicited excellent performances from the character actors most of whom are recognizable to avid film buffs like all of us in the IMDB community I'm sure. As a change of pace from the more traditional WW II films, Hero is very smart and entertaining comedy. Recommended, 7/10.

This is one of Sturges' 5 great movies. The others are "Miracle of Morgan's Creek", "The Lady Eve", "The Palm Beach Story", and "Unfaithfully Yours". His lesser works include movies like "The Great McGinty" and "Sullivan's Travels" which would be high points in the careers of all but the best directors, but even Howard Hawks at his best was unable to come close to the inspired goofiness of Sturges at his peak. (As much as I love "Bringing Up Baby" and "His Girl Friday", they just aren't as wonderfully nuts as these movies.) The movie is generally about Eddie Bracken, a 4F in WWII, being passed off as a war hero in his hometown. But the movie is really about a lot of things, and it is hysterically funny. It kind of runs out of gas at the end, but I was so tired from laughing through the movie that it was a relief. As with any comedy, seeing it in a theater is best, since the audience appreciation amplifies the pleasure, but see it by all means. (I'm not sure that kids will go for this one as well as some of the others. My 9-year-old loves "The Palm Beach Story" and "Unfaithfully Yours", even if a lot of the jokes go right over her head.)