calvinnme "Hail the Conquering Hero" as directed by Preston Sturges is a film about deception and its reception by the public, and in this case the American public. This film is also a biting satire delineating ideals about patriotism, hero worship of the military, politicians, the gullibility of the public and even mother love. Starring many of the Sturges travelling road company like Eddie Bracken, Raymond Walburn, and William Demarest among others, the story of Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith details why a man who is rejected by the Marines for chronic hay fever comes to be a hero in spite of these limitations.When Woodrow meets up with his father's former military buddy, as played by Demarest a deception and fraud follows that begins a chain of events that include the house mortgage to be handled, a statue of Woody and paterfamilias to be erected and Woodrow to be nominated for mayor of the town. The fact that the sharp and biting wit of Preston Sturges was willing to take on such giants of sentiment and satirize them, especially during wartime, shows what a relentless observer of mankind he was. Being that he had changed his own real name from Edmond Biden, perhaps the idea of changing identities was appealing to him also.The fact that the societal norms purveyed here have not changed much in the years since it was produced in 1944 tell a lot about the American public's ability to forgive any story or fraud or crime, if the story and tale behind it are exciting or interesting enough. That ostensibly is the real story here in all its raw truth. The public's need to see the good in a crook, the honor in a liar and brains in a fool, are still extant in our current society.Deception in movies or in real life is often applauded and is a thematic constant in both. Highly recommended.

MARIO GAUCI Curiously enough, while I do admire and enjoy most of Sturges' films, I've never been quite as taken with him as his reputation would seem to demand. Nevertheless, I fully acknowledge his standing as one of the most important figures in Comedy.The thing is that, having started off as a writer (like his contemporary Billy Wilder), Sturges' peerless talent in this department kind of swamps his technical side (which is boldly integrated into the comedies of Frank Capra whereas it's more refined, but still palpable, in those of Ernst Lubitsch) – so that his films come across as undeniably erudite (which, however, clashes at times with their small-town settings and working-class characters) but also a bit loquacious! For me, the best comedy director remains Howard Hawks – in whose work the form not only appears effortless but is actually made to transcend genre (thus acquiring an artistry without resorting to undue camera gymnastics or editorial tricks). What Sturges' films may have lacked besides was that he rarely worked with bona-fide stars; instead, he amassed an enviable repertory of character actors around him and then let them rip – with the consequence that most of his canon emerges to be undisciplined and tiresomely frenetic! Anyway, after that rambling introduction, let's get down to the issue at hand: HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO can surely be counted among Sturges' finest. As were all of his films, it's an absolute original but also somewhat audacious (his previous outing, THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK [1944], had tackled an even more outrageous and controversial theme) – this being a wartime comedy about the put-down of hero-worship! The plot sees milquetoast hero Eddie Bracken rejected for war duty because of hay fever; not wanting to break his mother's heart (his father was a hero of the previous war, incidentally), he only returns home after a year. He meets up with six marines on leave (the Sergeant among them happens to have served with Bracken's father) and they contrive to get him a hero's reception, thinking that all will blow over once they're there. However, the whole town shows up to greet him at the station with due fanfare – he's clearly embarrassed at this, but the soldiers persuade him to go along with the ruse for the time being. The situation escalates further when the town decides to erect a statue in Bracken's honor and, eventually, pushes him into an electoral campaign for the Mayor's seat! There's a predictably upbeat ending, following a Capraesque speech in which Bracken confesses the truth about his 'war record', where the people decide they still want him because – for once – they've been faced with an honest declaration!! Eddie Bracken may have had too limited a range to make it as a comic genius in the Bob Hope mold, but he certainly fit the Preston Sturges universe (characteristically, he's given an unwieldy – and ironic – name here). Leading the Sturges stock company is William Demarest as the fixer of a Sergeant who lands Bracken in more trouble with every new scheme to aid his 'case' (a memorable scene early on sees him attempting to trade service at a café with a collection of war 'mementos', only to have the owner turn out to be even more supplied with such worthless trinkets than he is!). Other members include typically well-meaning but perennially flustered Franklin Pangborn (his efforts to organize multiple bands at Bracken's reception are continually frustrated through lack of cooperation or outright incompetence from those concerned), Raymond Walburn (as the pompous and unpopular current mayor – whose similarly insensitive offspring is naturally engaged to Dad's secretary, the lovely Ella Raines) and, in smaller roles, Al Bridge, Jimmy Conlin and Torben Meyer.Raines herself – whom I'd only seen in film noirs – gets quite a well-rounded character (though her longing for a homespun life alongside Bracken feels decidedly idealized). Also notable is ex-boxing champ Freddie Steele, playing an orphaned soldier who finds in Bracken's mother a surrogate parent – often berating him (both verbally and physically) for what he deems Bracken's inconsiderate behavior towards her! This subplot introduces an element of sentimentality into the fray, which usually bothers me, but it was quite amusing here to see a big man like Steele go soft every so often.I should be getting soon to Sturges' most misunderstood film, THE GREAT MOMENT (1944), which would then leave me with only his little-seen directorial swan song – THE FRENCH, THEY ARE A FUNNY RACE aka THE DIARY OF MAJOR THOMPSON (1955) – to catch up with from his brief but highly individualistic oeuvre...

Culburn I watched this movie last night and was wondering about the comment from the one Marine as they're standing at the back of the train at the end. Bracken thanks them profusely by stating he can't believe the Marines could do such a thing as to help him out. One Marine answers him in the last spoken words of the film: "You have no idea." What did he mean? I imagine it to mean the battlefield engagements and combat endeavors that they had undergone, but, yet the line struck me a little out of kilter. Good movie, but, a bit too harried and overdone. Bracken also plays the owner of Wallyworld in National Lampoon's Vacation.

Nick McNamara 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.