Sergeant York (1941)

War propoganda. - Sergeant York review by Steve

Warner Brothers adapted a true story from WWI, the war to end all wars, to make a case for why America must fight again. Alvin York was an uneducated farmer from rural Tennessee. He was a conscientious objector on religious grounds, but went to the Western Front in 1918 and reluctantly used his gift as a sniper, and his extraordinary bravery, to silence machine gun nests and capture 130 German soldiers in a single manoeuvre.

He became a decorated hero and a legend. Gary Cooper was well cast as the determined pacifistic who goes to war, and he won an Oscar. The first half of the film is about his conversion to Christianity among the enduring poor of the American south. Hawks creates this world with humour and affection. Margaret Wycherly is excellent as the steadfast, durable Mother York.

This isn't typical Hawks. There is zero screwball élan, no fast talking dames. The slow, introspective hero is an anti-Hawks character. He is a loner. The director performs a miracle in largely avoiding sentimentality, helped by Max Steiner elegant score. Though the film is unashamedly mystical.

 This was propaganda aimed at the hearts and minds of ordinary Americans reluctant to fight in another foreign war. The model of the peaceful man who decides he must act for the greater good was a scenario that Hollywood would use extensively in the war years. Sergeant York tells us that country and freedom must be fought for. A few weeks later, after Pearl Harbour, Hawks' film became a popular vehicle for patriotic America interventionism.