Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)

Director:

Preston Sturges

Writer:

Preston Sturges (writer)

Release Date:

9 August 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Having been discharged from the Marines for a hayfever condition before ever seeing action, Woodrow...

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Mayor | Irony | Beautiful Woman | Politician

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Eddie Bracken	...	Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith
Ella Raines	...	Libby
Raymond Walburn	...	Mayor Everett D. Noble
William Demarest	...	Sgt. Heppelfinger
Franklin Pangborn	...	Committee Chairman
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Libby's Aunt
Georgia Caine	...	Mrs. Truesmith
Al Bridge	...	Political Boss (as Alan Bridge)
Freddie Steele	...	Bugsy
Bill Edwards	...	Forrest Noble
Harry Hayden	...	Doc Bissell
Jimmy Conlin	...	Judge Dennis
Jimmie Dundee	...	Cpl. Candida
Chester Conklin	...	Western Union Man
Esther Howard	...	Mrs. Noble

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

Forrest Noble: If he waited a year longer, there might have been three of us to welcome him. If he waited two years, there might have been...
Libby: Oh, shut up.
Forrest Noble: Well, that's what marriage is for isn't it?
Libby: Oh, I suppose so, if you look at it from a purely unromantic standpoint - like a breeding farm.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Patty Duke Show: The Conquering Hero (#1.8)" (1963)

Soundtrack:

Hail the Conquering Hero

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.