Woodrow is discharged from the military for hay fever, but fabricates receiving a heroic honorable discharge before returning home.
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Title: Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
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Edit
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 |
Edit
Plot Summary
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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. Written by J. Adam Ingle
Plot Keywords:
national film registry | screwball comedy | mayor | mother | u.s. military |Taglines:
The "Miracle of Morgan's Creek" team is back again...You'll howl when Eddie runs for Mayor -and the Marines run riot! (Print Ad- The Union, ((Manchester NH)) 26 October 1944) See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
September 1944 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Herói de Mentira See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
[indicating bandleader]
Singer: won't play it in seven flats.
American Legion Bandleader: We don't know how to play in seven flats. We're not musicians.
Singer: You don't have to tell me.
See more »
(1747) (uncredited)
from "Judas Maccabeus"
Written by George Frideric Handel
Played at the railroad station
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
As the marines are leaving the Oakridge station, a billboard behind them is advertising The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943), another film by Preston Sturges. See more »Goofs
Early in the movie, in the nightclub, there's a shot of a man sitting at a table eating a sandwich. After a quick cutaway the man is smoking and the sandwich is on his plate...untouched. See more »Quotes
Singer: I got to have cooperation. I sing for him in seven flats. And he[indicating bandleader]
Singer: won't play it in seven flats.
American Legion Bandleader: We don't know how to play in seven flats. We're not musicians.
Singer: You don't have to tell me.
See more »
Soundtracks
Hail the Conquering Hero(1747) (uncredited)
from "Judas Maccabeus"
Written by George Frideric Handel
Played at the railroad station
See more »
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Preston Sturges's companion piece to The Miracle of Morgan's Creek was this brilliant satire on patriotism and hero worship, with Eddie Bracken giving a touching performance as a 4-F reject whose elaborate system of lies snowballs when he runs into a troop of returning Marines who decide to help him maintain his imposture. Taking a lot of strands from Sturges's previous comedies, this film remains fresh and perceptive, with hilarious insights into politics, family values, and ethics. With the disenchantment with politics in today's society, where is Preston Sturges when we need him?