When you hear it said that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, it's the story of "Sergeant York" that might have been the inspiration. I'd been on the lookout for this film for some time when it appeared today on Turner Classic Movies as part of a Veteran's Day tribute. I tried to picture the real life hero Alvin York on the battlefield amid enemy fire pulling off the ruse that led to the capture of one hundred thirty two enemy soldiers, and all because a superior officer ordered him to take charge. Perhaps he should have been ordered to win the war.
I would like to have seen the real Alvin York, he must have been quite the extraordinary person. Not in a celebrity fashion, but in a deep spiritual sense, to have integrated his pacifist background with a sense of loyalty and brotherhood with his fellow soldiers. I can think of no other man you would want more in your corner when the chips are down and it's a matter of life or death.
Gary Cooper's Best Actor Oscar was well deserved for his portrayal of Sergeant York. He's convincing throughout as he transforms York from a rabble rousing back woods country hick to a principled man of values and ideals. The scenes where he records his meager earnings in hopes of buying some fertile downland is nearly heartbreaking, made even more poignant when he later makes amends with the men who essentially betrayed him.
Cooper is backed up with a fine supporting cast, but I have to admit I wound up chuckling a time or two when Walter Brennan's pastor character appeared. For some reason, those bushy black eyebrows called to mind an image of Groucho Marx that I just couldn't shake. Margaret Wycherly brings a matriarch's knowing instincts to the part of Mother York, somehow knowing that her son would eventually get his own patch of land someday, even when her own husband's experience seemed to suggest otherwise.
It was somewhat surprising yet gratifying at the same time to learn that the real Alvin York shunned all attempts to cash in on his name and hero status in order to get back to his home and family responsibilities. When he finally relented to numerous requests to make a film of his war time achievements, he had only two conditions - that all of the proceeds go to religious charities, and that the actor to portray him would be Gary Cooper. I'd say he cut a square deal.
I would like to have seen the real Alvin York, he must have been quite the extraordinary person. Not in a celebrity fashion, but in a deep spiritual sense, to have integrated his pacifist background with a sense of loyalty and brotherhood with his fellow soldiers. I can think of no other man you would want more in your corner when the chips are down and it's a matter of life or death.
Gary Cooper's Best Actor Oscar was well deserved for his portrayal of Sergeant York. He's convincing throughout as he transforms York from a rabble rousing back woods country hick to a principled man of values and ideals. The scenes where he records his meager earnings in hopes of buying some fertile downland is nearly heartbreaking, made even more poignant when he later makes amends with the men who essentially betrayed him.
Cooper is backed up with a fine supporting cast, but I have to admit I wound up chuckling a time or two when Walter Brennan's pastor character appeared. For some reason, those bushy black eyebrows called to mind an image of Groucho Marx that I just couldn't shake. Margaret Wycherly brings a matriarch's knowing instincts to the part of Mother York, somehow knowing that her son would eventually get his own patch of land someday, even when her own husband's experience seemed to suggest otherwise.
It was somewhat surprising yet gratifying at the same time to learn that the real Alvin York shunned all attempts to cash in on his name and hero status in order to get back to his home and family responsibilities. When he finally relented to numerous requests to make a film of his war time achievements, he had only two conditions - that all of the proceeds go to religious charities, and that the actor to portray him would be Gary Cooper. I'd say he cut a square deal.