Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)

Woodrow is discharged from the military for hay fever, but fabricates receiving a heroic honorable discharge before returning home.

Director:

Preston Sturges

Writer:

Preston Sturges

Stars:

Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines, Raymond Walburn

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Eddie Bracken	...	Woodrow Truesmith
Ella Raines	...	Libby
Raymond Walburn	...	Mayor Everett J. Noble
William Demarest	...	Sgt. Heffelfinger
Franklin Pangborn	...	Reception Committee Chairman
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Aunt Martha
Georgia Caine	...	Mrs. Truesmith
Al Bridge	...	Political Boss
Freddie Steele	...	Bugsy
Bill Edwards	...	Forrest Noble
Harry Hayden	...	Doc Bissell
Jimmy Conlin	...	Judge Dennis
Jimmie Dundee	...	Cpl. Candida

Storyline

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. While in a moment of melancholy, he meets up with a group of Marines who befriend him and encourage him to return home to his mother by fabricating a story that he was wounded in battle with honorable discharge. They make him wear a uniform complete with medals and is pushed by his new friends into accepting a Hero's welcome when he gets home where he is to be immortalized by a statue that he doesn't want, has songs written about his heroic battle stories, and ends up unwillingly running for mayor. Despite his best efforts to explain the truth, no one will listen.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | screwball comedy | mayor | mother | u.s. military | 

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Taglines:

from the Miracle Men of "Morgan's Creek"

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Genres:

Comedy | War

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Herói de Mentira

Filming Locations:

Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 500 movies nominated for the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.

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Goofs

Camera shadow on the backs of citizens when Woodrow comes out of the house after being nominated for mayor.

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Quotes

Sgt. Heppelfinger: They say opportunity's only got one hair on his head and you gotta grab it while it's going by and dog it down or you mightn't get another chance.

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Chill (1983)

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Soundtracks

My Ideal
(1930)(uncredited)
Music by Richard A. Whiting and Newell Chase
Lyrics by Leo Robin

User Reviews

Sturges' best!

A great, great movie; one so-well written and with such astonishing momentum I can watch it twice in one sitting or just sample bits and pieces when I wish. Eddie Bracken, who was pretty hard to take in MIRACLE AT MORGAN'S CREEK, is perfect here. Raymond Walburn's performance is sheer genius; the section in which he dictates his speech first to his son and then his son's fiancee is hilarious -- a masterpiece of verbiage, characterization, and timing. Notice also, the subtle directing, such as when the camera pans in perfect time to catch the re-election poster. Beyond praise.

CONQUERING HERO packs an emotional wallop lacking, I think, in Sturges' other movies -- and I mean emotion other than joy and giddiness, of course. Bracken's speeches which frame the film are beautifully written, directed, and performed; the last speech is terribly moving.

Sturges lost his Paramount deal after this film, and never quite regained his footing. That famous clutch of films culminates here in his best film, and all his ingenuity and grace are firmly in place. God bless Preston Sturges.