Hail the conquering hero 1944 film complete

Woodrow is discharged from the military for hay fever, but fabricates receiving a heroic honorable discharge before returning home. Hail the conquering hero 1944 is a satirical comedydrama written and directed by preston sturges, starring eddie bracken, ella raines and william demarest. Sturges was nominated for two academy awards in 1944 for best original screenplay for this film, and for the miracle of morgans creek. Preston sturgess last feature for paramount 1944 takes on wartime patriotism with a brio and vengeance that may take your breath away. It will lift your spirits as i imagine it was meant to do in 1944. One response to hail the conquering hero 1944 david csontos, on june 25th, 2012 at 9. Hail the conquering hero 1944 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Hail the conquering hero, 1944, paramount pictures. While eddie brackens nerdish mannerisms can wear on the viewer, he is kept marvelously in check throughout hail the conquering hero. It was released in 1944 and is a black and white classic directed by preston sturges. This film has enough themes for half a dozen firstrate american satires. This particular man happens to be a son of a world war i hero.

Hail the conquering hero dvd, 2011 for sale online ebay. Sturges filmed it before the miracle of morgans creek and hail the conquering hero but it was released after both of them. Hail the conquering hero synopsis home on a medical discharge for hay fever, a wouldbe marine eddie bracken gets a heros welcome. And now that his hail the conquering hero has come to the paramount, you can see this. Starring eddie bracken, ella raines, william demarast. This war era satirical dramedy written and directed by preston sturges was the last film he made for paramount pictures. Unfortunately, his hay fever lands him an immediate discharge, and rather than go home to face his friends and family, he pretends to be fighting overseas while working in a san diego. This exultant march is frequently heard at celebrations, co j. Other articles where hail the conquering hero is discussed. Hail the conquering hero is widely praised as one of preston sturges best films, but i found it tedious and mawkish the 1944 equivalent of a dopey sitcom. With eddie bracken, ella raines, raymond walburn, william demarest.

Hail centers around an army reject who is accidentally thought to be a war hero, whereas miracle is a satirical folktale, spoofing just about every sacred mores, including motherhood. Hail the conquering hero 1944 frankenstein 1931 miss pinkerton 1932 the brainiac 1962 lock, stock and two smoking barrels 1998 to kill a mockingbird 1962 the adventures of robin hood 1938 red river 1948 bride of frankenstein 1935 the magician 1926 desirable 1934 five graves to cairo 1943 eegah 1962 all quiet on the. Hail the conquering hero a preston sturges comedy for. Hail the conquering hero is a story about a young man in the midst of world war ii. Stick around afterward for a discussion of the film. In hail the conquering hero and the miracle of morgans creek both in 1944, sturges expresses ambivalent emotions toward basic american values and institutions. But when hes given a medical discharge after only a month, he takes a job at a san diego shipyard and writes letters to his mother about his fictitious wartime exploits. This type of purely aesthetic thrill had remained in the shadows of film criticism. This film marks exboxer freddie steele and stephen gregorys feature film debuts. New york times subscribers enjoy full access to timesmachineview over 150 years of. Produced by preston sturges often considered preston sturges major misstep, the great moment was reportedly recut by the studio. Hail the conquering hero film by sturges 1944 britannica.

Writerdirector preston sturges 1944 film may lack some of the thematic typically taboobreaking originality of his other classics such as sullivans travels and the miracle of morgans creek, but, for me, hail the conquering hero is one of the mans outandout funniest films. Movie, hail the conquering hero movie,hail the conquering hero trailer,hail the conquering hero 1944, preston sturges,bill edwards. Discharged from the marines for a hay fever condition, woodrow lafayette pershing truesmith eddie bracken is too embarrassed to return. I can go on and on about all the things i love about this film. Special mention must be made of ella raines as a refreshingly noncliched heroine, and exboxer freddie steele as a morose marine with a mother complex. In this film, eddie bracken plays the son of a wwi marine hero who is the first in his. Hail the conquering hero film still actress ella raines in a scene from the movie hail the conquering hero photo by donaldson collectiongetty images textfortogglebutton1065243888. Hail preston sturges, the king of screwball comedy, whose string of subversive. Believing him a war hero, his mother prepares an elaborate celebration for his return.

Hail the conquering hero 1945 tells the story of woodrow, played by eddie bracken, the first man in his small town to enlist at the start of world war ii. Impressed by this performance, paramount producerdirector preston sturges borrowed raines from universal to costar with eddie bracken in hail the conquering hero 1944. It took nerve for writerdirector preston sturges to lampoon the whole concept of hero worship in the middle of world war ii, but once more sturges oddball sense of taste and propriety paid off at the box office in hail the conquering hero. Hail the conquering hero is a comedy war movie set in home front america in world war ii. Bracken, the son of a ww i marine corps hero, is rejected by the corps and rendered 4f for hay fever, but somehow ends up mistaken for a war hero by his home. Hail the conquering hero 1944 directed by preston sturges. Hail the conquering hero 1944 part two of preston sturges wartime farces, hail the conquering hero is a stealthily suggestive comedy about the demythification of good old american heroism and smalltown hypocrisy a madcap gem, and if youre asking this viewer, the crowning achievement of the sturges pantheon.

Dont ever let anyone tell you that preston sturges is just a maker of madcap films, of gloriously. Hail the conquering hero is the story of a pitiful discard from the marines. Eddie bracken never worked with a director more sympathetic to his talents than sturges, and he gives one of his finest performances as the. Many critics consider the film to be one of sturges best. Hail the conquering hero is an incredibly witty, astute satire that delves with a great sense of irony into the cult of the war hero. Moviechat forums hail the conquering hero 1944 discussion hilarious and overlooked hilarious and overlooked posted 11 years ago by xcalat3 9 replies jump. Like his warhero father who was killed in action during world war i, woodrow lafayette pershing truesmith eddie bracken leaves his small town to join the marines during world war ii. Watch hail the conquering hero online stream full movie. This time backen played a marine who, having been discharged from the service because he suffered from hay fever, returns home to family and friends who. Hail the conquering hero 1944 2282017 1 comment hail the conquering hero is directed by preston sturges, who is also referred to as the king of screwball comedy. The conquering hero is a musical with a music by mark charlap, lyrics by norman gimbel, and book by larry gelbart.

I enjoy watching films made during wwii it helps me understand the. For me, though, his best work was hail the conquering hero 1944, a wwii satire of blind hero worship and smalltown politics. Hail the conquering hero may be writerdirector preston sturgess finest, funniest film. Hail the conquering hero is a 1944 screwball comedy by preston sturges, set during world war ii woodrow truesmith eddie bracken, the son of a marine war hero from wwi, is a devotee of the marines, and had enlisted in the hopes of living up to his familys name. It would make sense for him to follow his fathers footsteps, seeing as another war is going on, and he is of an age appropriate for the soldiering life. Most of all, hail the conquering hero makes us laugh.

I absolutely love the plot, especially the very drastic and dramatic change of mood at the very end. The musical ran for only eight performances on broadway in 1961. Writerdirector preston sturges 1944 film may lack some of the thematic. It was a contradictory wartime film, mocking motherhood, politics, smalltown americana, and americas penchant for deifying its heroes, yet it ended with a moving mea culpa speech by its phony hero to the townspeople he has deceived. Sturges idea was to tilt his slapstick shenanigans in yet another direction, choosing a. Embarrassed, woodrow takes a job at a san diego shipyard and writes home detailing all his fictious exploits as a marine. The musical was based on preston sturgess 1944 film hail the conquering hero. Hail the conquering hero 1944 is a satirical comedydrama written and directed by preston sturges, starring eddie bracken, ella raines and william demarest, and featuring raymond walburn, franklin pangborn, elizabeth patterson, bill edwards and freddie steele sturges was nominated for a 1945 academy award for his screenplay. With a plot centered on a marine corporal and a nun stranded in a japaneseoccupied island in the pacific in 1944, the film received several oscar nominations the year it was released including a. Watch hail the conquering hero full movie in hd visit having been discharged from the marines for a hayfever condi.

Unfortunately, because of his chronic hay fever, he was discharged after a month. Woodrow truesmith eddie bracken has been prevented from enlisting because of his chronic hay fever. Preston sturges eighth and final film for paramount, hail the conquering hero 1944 is a satire on mindless heroworship, smalltown politicians, and something we might call momism, the almost idolatrous reverence that americans have for the institution of motherhood. They make him wear a uniform complete with medals and is pushed by his new friends into accepting a heros welcome when he gets home where he is to be immortalized by a statue that he doesnt want, has. Of all his films, sturges called hail the conquering hero the one with the least wrong with it, which says a lot. Having been discharged from the marines for a hayfever condition before ever seeing action, woodrow lafayette pershing truesmith eddie bracken delays the return to his hometown, feeling that he is a failure. Hail the conquering hero directed by preston sturges. Nevertheless, sturges made a name for himself with some genuine comedic masterpieces in the 1930s and 1940s.