I have always enjoyed watching sturges sullivans travels. Hail the conquering hero 1944 is a satirical comedydrama written and directed by preston. Yes, it does become a tad cumbersome at times later in the film, but hail the conquering hero is truly a classic in anyones book. Rent hail the conquering hero 1944 on dvd and bluray dvd. Hail the conquering hero is a 1944 black and white wartime comedy that is directed by preston sturges this story was originally a screenplay and the playwright for that was also preston sturges. And now that his hail the conquering hero has come to the paramount, you can see this beyond any question that might persist from his former excellent films. 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. This film focus is around are main character woodrow truesmith. Read the full synopsis of hail the conquering hero, 1944, directed by preston sturges, with eddie bracken, ella raines, raymond walburn, at turner classic movies. Hail the conquering hero is a story about a young man in the midst of world war ii. Thomas hampson rule britannia last night of the proms duration. Rent hail the conquering hero 1944 on dvd and bluray.
Movie, hail the conquering hero movie,hail the conquering hero trailer,hail the conquering hero 1944, preston sturges,bill edwards. 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. High resolution movie poster image for hail the conquering hero 1944. Salve, heroe victoriano miracles do happen 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.
This particular man happens to be a son of a world war i hero. That venerated form, known as screwball, reached its apotheosis in the late 1930s and early 40s, characterized by sharp verbal sparring, chaotic plot twists, and snappy pacing that veered from witticism to pratfalling as it pleased. I love this movie so much, its cinches a ten out of ten without question. Jul 01, 2011 discharged from the marines for a hay fever condition, woodrow lafayette pershing truesmith eddie bracken is too embarrassed to return home. Eddie bracken, ella raines and william demarest in hail the conquering hero. All of these movies are today considered classics and it remains one of the great achievements by any filmmaker. Hail the conquering hero 1944 journeys in classic film. The box office closes 30 minutes after start of performance or last movie. Hail the conquering hero 1944 preston sturges cast. Many modern critics consider hail the conquering hero as sturges best film. Hail the conquering hero 1944 the movie database tmdb. Preston sturges wrote and directed the 1944 film hail the conquering hero, which stars eddie bracken, william demarest, ella raines and franklin pangborn. But i found it tedious and mawkish the 1944 equivalent of a dopey sitcom. Bracken is woodrow truesmith, whose father was a famous war hero.
Met eddie bracken, ella raines en william demarest. Severna park library anne arundel county public library. Find movie and film cast and crew information for hail the conquering hero 1944 preston sturges on allmovie. Watching hail the conquering hero has convinced me to find and view more of sturges films. Stick around afterward for a discussion of the film. Hail the conquering hero 1944 hail the conquering hero. Hail the conquering hero was the seventh movie he wrote and directed in 4 years, following the great mcginty, christmas in july, the lady eve, sullivans travels, the palm beach story and the miracle of morgans creek. Brackens speeches which frame the film are beautifully written, directed, and performed. Preston sturges hilarious madcap comedy about a wwii soldier with a 4f discharge whose hometown mistakenly believes hes a returning hero. 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. Couldnt find a clip of this masterpiece anywhere else on youtube, so i decided to upload the first three minutes. A frantically funny, satirical comedydrama, this film was directed by preston sturges and stars eddie.
Hail the conquering hero 1944 preston sturges eddie. Preston sturges did something delightfully subversive in this film, choosing to make another movie that appears on the surface level to be about patriotism and supporting our boys in the war effort. That famous clutch of films culminates here in his best film, and all his ingenuity and grace are firmly in place. Ronald grant for a few happy hours, i was able to suspend the feelings of dread and. Unlike yesterdays great mcginty, hail the conquering hero blends sturges romantic ideals of patriotism. Woodrow eddie bracken, overwhelmed and intending to confess that he never served in the marine corps, can.
Cast and crew credits for hail the conquering hero, 1944, directed by preston sturges, with eddie bracken, ella raines, raymond walburn, at turner classic movies. The image measures 1944 2954 pixels and is 16 kilobytes large. This is a 1944 movie and wwii was still going on so it has a lot of war related awareness in there and about small town america and traditional family values. Sturges was nominated for two academy awards in 1944 for best original screenplay for this film, and for the miracle of morgans creek. Preston sturges eighth and final film for paramount, hail the conquering hero 1944 is a satire on mindless hero worship, smalltown politicians, and something we might call momism, the almost idolatrous reverence that americans have for the institution of motherhood. Rent hail the conquering hero 1944 starring eddie bracken and ella raines on dvd and bluray. Hail the conquering hero 1944 passed 1h 41min comedy, war september 1944 usa woodrow is discharged from the military for hay fever, but fabricates receiving a heroic honorable discharge before returning home. His performance gives an odd edge to the film, being an awful actor and a poor comedian helps him stand out and appear as someone more real and genuine. Hail the conquering hero 1944 official trailer, organic. Hail the conquering hero is widely praised as one of preston sturges best films, and it earned an oscar nomination for its screenplay. Hail the conquering hero is a film directed by preston sturges with eddie bracken, ella raines, raymond walburn, william demarest, year.
Hail the conquering hero 1944 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Hail the conquering hero 1944 is a comedy, war movie starring eddie bracken and ella raines. Hail the conquering hero 1944 movie clip he could be president. That venerated form, known as screwball, reached its apotheosis in the late 1930s and early 40s, characterized by sharp verbal sparring, chaotic plot. 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. Hail the conquering hero was the first film made by exboxer freddie steele, the tacoma assassin, but its release was held up for so long. Having been discharged from the marines for a hayfever condition before ever seeing action, woodrow lafayette pershing truesmith eddie bracken delays. Other articles where hail the conquering hero is discussed. The sentiment is occasionally rather precious for a sturges film, but that is my quibble. Conquering hero packs an emotional wallop lacking, i think, in sturges other movies and i mean emotion other than joy and giddiness, of course. Hail the conquering hero 1944 preston sturges synopsis. Hail the conquering hero 1944 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. 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. 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.
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 preston sturges eighth and final film for paramount, hail the conquering hero 1944 is a satire on mindless hero worship, smalltown politicians, and something we might call momism, the almost idolatrous reverence that americans have for the institution of motherhood. Watch hail the conquering hero online stream full movie. 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 has been ranked 3303 times, wins 54.
Starring eddie bracken, ella raines, william demarest, and raymond walburn. Hail the conquering hero 1944 movie clip home to the. Hail the conquering hero is a comedy war movie set in home front america in world war ii. See what the critics had to say and watch the trailer. Hail the conquering hero 1944 directed by preston sturges. In this film, eddie bracken plays the son of a wwi marine hero who is the first in his small town to sign up for military service. Sep 16, 2010 couldnt find a clip of this masterpiece anywhere else on youtube, so i decided to upload the first three minutes. Jul 01, 2011 academy awardwinning writer and director preston sturges sullivans travels delivers a hilarious satire on the american penchant for hero worship in hail the conquering hero. Then suddenly, as if his frantic, frenzied comedies. Hail the conquering hero may be writerdirector preston sturgess finest, funniest film. Hail the conquering hero 1992 like his war hero father who was killed in action during world war i, woodrow lafayette pershing truesmith eddie bracken leaves his small town to join the marines. Hail the conquering hero 1944 our final preston sturges film of the week with hail the conquering hero, one of two sturges films released in the same year, both starring eddie bracken the other being the miracle of morgans creek. It was released in 1944 and is a black and white classic directed by preston sturges. I dont know how it comes away still intact and with my heartfelt laughter and deepest respect no less.
The title is taken from a musical composition by george friedrich handel titled hail the conquering hero comes that was written to commemorate the duke of cumberlands victory over the scots at the battle of culloden. 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. Seamless opening scene from writerdirector preston sturges, introducing woodrow eddie bracken crying in his beer, and marines led by heffelfinger william demarest, in hail the conquering hero, 1944. Hail the conquering hero film by sturges 1944 britannica. Hail the conquering hero passed 1h 41min comedy, war september 1944 usa woodrow is discharged from the military for hay fever, but fabricates receiving a heroic honorable discharge before returning home. Believing him a war hero, his mother prepares an elaborate celebration for his return. Movie title from the film hail the conquering hero 1944, directed by preston sturges, starring eddie bracken, ella raines and raymond walburn. Hail the conquering hero 1944 preston sturges cast and. This movie was release around the end of world war ii. 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. A hapless soldier reluctantly fools his hometown into thinking hes a war hero with the help of his marine buddies.
Academy awardwinning writer and director preston sturges sullivans travels delivers a hilarious satire on the american penchant for hero worship in hail the conquering hero. In his beloved series of films of that decadethe lady eve 1941, the palm beach story 1942, the miracle of morgans creek and hail the conquering hero both 1944, among otherssturges would help to perfect a very particular form of romantic comedy. Hail the conquering hero is a miracle assemblage of poignancy and humor. 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. Sturges was nominated for a 1945 academy award for his screenplay.
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