Hail The Conquering Hero is another winner from Preston Sturges

My favorite Preston Sturges of all time is The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek. I have seen it like 20 times. Well last night I watched his other masterpiece from that same year of 1944, Hail The Conquering Hero, for the first time. And it's just as great. Close to matching Morgan's Creek. All so close. It helps that Sturges brought a lot of the same actors from Morgan to Hero. Such as Eddie Bracken, William Demarest and Franklin Pangborn.

Woodrow doesn't know if he can go through with

the charade now as he arrives in his hometown

Bracken stars as Woodrow Truesmith, as a likable fellow who was discharged from the Marines due to chronic hay fever. He struggles on returning to home because he thinks he is a failure. Well while drowning his sorrows at a bar, he meets up with six Marines, led by Sgt. Heppelfinger (the always dependable William Demarest). After hearing of his story they convinced Woodrow to return home as a Marine with stories of heroic battles and such.

Woodrow getting in deep...

The trouble is once the town hears that he is coming home, they stage a big production with a big homecoming rally and parade. And he also gets to see his one true love Libby (the underrated Ella Raines), who is now engaged to the mayor's son. Woodrow had wrote her letters telling her to move on and not wait for him. But once seeing him, Libby falls in love all over again.

Woodrow getting a nice welcome from his girl Libby on his return home

And the townsfolk rally behind Woodrow, electing him to run for mayor. So things snowball really fast and the situations Woodrow get in are truly hilarious.The dialogue is crisp and fast. Reminds me of His Girl Friday quite a lot. The setting of the small town looks great and the whole cast just sparkles. Bracken is fall down funny and even touching towards the end when the truth finally comes out. Demarest is in his usual great form. And Ella Rains is very good as Libby. She says what's her on mind without hesitation. It shocked me when she said ass a few times in the context of the way she said it. And she wears some of the best dresses of this time period of any film I have seen.

Libby in her cute dress, with Woodrow in a quiet moment

Hail The Conquering Hero is close to being a masterpiece. I loved it immediately from the opening credits.
B+

The beautiful Libby

Here are some choice quotes from this hilarious film:

Sgt. Heppelfinger: These flapjacks might taste better with a little butter on 'em Mrs. T.

         Mrs. Truesmith: Maybe you haven't heard Sgt. but there's a war on.
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Sgt. Heppelfinger: I tell you it'll all blow over. Everything is perfect - except for a couple of details.


Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith: They hang people for a couple of details!
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Libby's Aunt: [comforting Libby, who's crying about Woodrow's return] Well, that's the war for you. It's always hard on women. Either they take your men away and never send them back at all; or they send them back unexpectedly just to embarrass you. No consideration at all.
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Libby: [mad at Mayor Noble for criticizing Woodrow] That ass of a father of yours! Going around talking about people he doesn't know anything about.


Forrest Noble: You're still talking about your children's grandfather.


Libby: What are you trying to do? Depress me? If I thought they'd look anything like him...


Forrest Noble: Well, I don't look anything like him.


Libby: I've noticed that. I've pinned my hopes on it

CHRISTMAS IN JULY (1940) makes for a great holiday movie

Classic screwball farce by Preston Sturges about an office clerk named Jimmy MacDonald (a nice change of pace for 30's musical star Dick Powell) who loves entering contests to win a fortune and marry his girl Betty (played by Ellen Drew). Well his latest attempt is the Maxford House Coffee Slogan Contest. As a joke, some of his co-workers put together a fake telegram which says that he won the $25,000 grand prize. And soon Jimmy is spending money all over town (which he hasn't even received yet). Stores greet him with open arms because they know he is about to get paid. But when his co-workers finally fess up, things become a little difficult. Christmas in July is a funny little gem from the master of screwball comedies, Preston Sturges. And a likeable cast is a plus. Powell is actually ok in this comedic role. Ellen Drew is really good as Betty. And a great supporting cast that includes William Demarest and Franklin Pangborn. Christmas In July is perfect viewing for any time of the year.
B

Preston Sturges: facts and trivia

Interred at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York, USA.
Appears as a character in John Kessel's story "The Miracle of Ivar Avenue".
He was working on his memoirs when he died. Incredibly, the working title of the book was "The Events Leading Up To My Death."
When he was at his peak at Paramount in the mid-1940s, he was not only the highest paid screenwriter but he was one of the highest paid people in America.
He once owned a nightclub on the Sunset Strip called The Players. He met and later married his fourth wife, Sandy Sturges (born Sandy Nagle) in the place. She did not know he was the owner when they met, thinking he was just another employee.
Great-grandfather of Jack Enzo Kelly, born September 6 2001, to 'Shannon Sturges' and Michael Kelley.
Grandfather of actress Shannon Sturges.
He was a womanizer who struggled in most of his serious sexual relationships. Part of his unwillingness for monogamy was that his mother often held several affairs with several different men and women at one time while she was raising him.
Was voted the 28th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. With only 13 films to his credit, he directed even fewer movies than did Stanley Kubrick.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 1085-1090. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
Son Solomon Sturges IV born June, 1941. Son Preston Sturges Jr. born in 1953. Son Thomas Preston Sturges born June 22, 1956.
In the talkies movie era he was the first great writer to became a director.
Sold Paramount the rights to The Great McGinty (1940) for one dollar with the agreement that he direct the film.
His mother, Mary Desti, was for a time the lover of the notorious Aleister Crowley, whose dislike for the young Sturges was heartily reciprocated, and they each came in for harsh criticism in the other's memoirs.

New Poll started...

Since Preston Sturges is the featured director over on me and Noiree's page, The Directors, I figured he would be the perfect topic for the new poll here on Screwball Cinema. What is your favorite of Preston's films as a director. Because he also wrote several classic comedies, but we will focus on the ones he directed. The choices are: The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek, Hail The Conquering Hero and Christmas In July. The poll will run for the month of April. I've already made my choice. Hope everyone takes a minute to pick one too.