Hail the Conquering Hero
1944, NR, 101 min. Directed by Preston Sturges. Starring Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn.
REVIEWED By Robert Faires, Wed., June 30, 1999
The Homecoming From Hell, or No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. Sturges sends up the military, wartime hero fever, and political horse races in this tale of hay fever victim Woodrow Truesmith, an Army reject who buys a few drinks for some penniless Marines and is strongarmed into putting on a uniform and returning home, where he's drafted to run for mayor. It's top-grade Sturges: crisp, sardonic, and paced like the Indy 500, with the genius touch of Woodrow fighting to tell the truth but being stymied by the Marines' lies (!) and the public's lust for a hero. Sturges veteran Demarest is at his peak here, as is Bracken, whose desperation is hysterical. Check out the Chronicle's article austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2000-01-14/screens_feature.html on the Austin Film Society's Preston Sturges Retrospective.
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Kimberley Jones, Nov. 19, 2012
Robert Faires, Feb. 17, 2000
Marjorie Baumgarten, Feb. 3, 2000
Sept. 24, 2021
Sept. 17, 2021
Hail the Conquering Hero, Preston Sturges, Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn
