Sergeant York (film)

• Release Date: 1941
• Director(s): Howard Hawks
• Writer(s): Harry Chandlee; Abem Finkel; John Huston ; Howard Koch
• Principal Actors and Roles: Walter Brennan (Pastor Rosier Pile); Gary Cooper (Alvin C. York); Joan Leslie (Gracie Williams); Stanley Ridges (Major Buxton); George Tobias ("Pusher" Ross); Margaret Wycherly (Mother York)

Sergeant York is a 1941 biographical film based on the diaries of Alvin C. York, one of the most-decorated United States soldiers of World War I. York is famous for his actions during the Battle of Argonne on October 8, 1918. He led a small unit of men in an attack against a German machinegun nest. When his detachment was pinned down by fire, York charged alone and captured ninety enemy soldiers. He then captured an additional forty-two German soldiers by forcing an officer to order their surrender. In all, York and just eight American soldiers captured 132 German soldiers.

York explained that he used a turkey hunting technique from his home in Tennessee to capture all the men. He shot the hindmost turkey first and was able to shoot most of the group before the lead turkeys knew what was happening. This same strategy was portrayed in the movie. In real life, York was promoted to sergeant and later received the US Congressional Medal of Honor and the French Croix de Guerre. General John J. PershingGeneral John J. Pershing, the leader of American armies during WWI, called York "the greatest civilian soldier of the war."

The real-life York had refused all offers to make a movie based on his story but was finally convinced to let Howard Hawks create Sergeant York in order to raise capital for a religious school in Tennessee. He may also have been motivated by his concerns over the rise of fascism in Europe. The story that York personally selected Gary Cooper to play him in the film is false. In fact a producer sent Cooper a telegram begging the actor to take the role and signed York’s name.

Plot

As the film opens, Alvin York is a poor ne’er-do-well in the rural Tennessee hills. He is an expert marksman but prone to drinking and fighting, to the chagrin of his mother. York has worked hard to buy some good bottomland, but he is cheated out of it. He plans to take violent revenge. However, a lightning strike causes a religious awakening in the young man, and he dedicates himself to pacifism.

As World War I engulfs Europe, York asserts that he is a conscientious objector, but his claim is denied because his church has no standing. York is drafted. In basic training his outstanding marksmanship is noted, and he is made a corporal.

However, he still objects to the Army and killing. His commanding officer is sympathetic and tries to convince him that others are making and have made sacrifices for noble causes throughout American history. York is given leave to think things over. While praying for guidance, a breeze opens York’s Bible to the verse "render unto Caesar." This prompts him to return to the service, where he intends to leave things in the hands of God.

In Europe, York’s unit is trapped by a machinegun nest. York’s sergeant is ordered to attack from behind. Soon York is the only uninjured noncommissioned officer on the field. His lieutenant puts him in command. As his men are shot around him, York loses his doubts. He works himself into a position from which he can fire into the enemy trench, and he uses his turkey shooting skills to start picking off soldiers. His fire is so deadly that the Germans surrender. He then forces a German officer to order other German soldiers in another section of the trench to surrender. With just a handful of men York captures 132 German soldiers. He receives the Congressional Medal of Honor and becomes a national hero, explaining that he made the transition from dedicated pacifist to warrior in order to save the lives of his men.

He is given a tickertape parade and the keys to the city in New York and is awed by the advanced comforts of his hotel, such as reliable electricity. But he refuses profitable opportunities because he is not proud of having killed German soldiers; it had to be done, he says regretfully. Now he just wants to go home.

He returns to Tennessee and his humble existence. At home people have bought good land for him and paid for a house to be built on it. He settles back into a peaceful life with Gracie, his prewar sweetheart. He continues to refuse all opportunities to capitalize on his fame.

Significance

Gary Cooper was already a star when Sergeant York came out, and he received his second Academy Award nomination for the role—which he won. The film also won an Oscar for best editing and received nine other nominations: best picture, best director for Howard Hawks, supporting actor for Walter Brennan as York’s preacher, supporting actress for Margaret Wycherly as York’s long-suffering mother, sound recording, original screenplay, music, black-and-white art direction/interior decoration, and black-and-white cinematography.

It was the top-grossing film of 1941. The American Film Institute ranks it fifty-seventh among its 100 most-inspirational movies and ranks Alvin York thirty-fifth among its top-fifty movie heroes of all time. In 2008 the Library of Congress added Sergeant York to the National Film Registry.

Interestingly, Sergeant York is said to have been turned into a stage play, but no record of the play’s production has been found. What is known is that Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan reprised their roles for the radio. They performed for the tenth anniversary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars on February 2, 1941.

Perhaps most importantly, Sergeant York introduced an entirely different kind of war hero to the movies. Alvin York’s hesitancy about his role in war and the use of force, resolved in favor of force, presents a profound moral question that is rare in films about combat. Considering that the movie was released when the United States was on the brink of entering another global conflict, the questions raised in Sergeant York are even more meaningful. Alvin York’s dilemma would confront his whole country in just a matter of months.

Awards and nominations

Won

• Academy Award (1941) Best Actor: Gary Cooper
• Academy Award (1941) Best Film Editing

Nominated

• Academy Award (1941) Best Picture
• Academy Award (1941) Best Director: Howard Hawks
• Academy Award (1941) Best Supporting Actor: Walter Brennan
• Academy Award (1941) Best Supporting Actress: Margaret Wycherly
• Academy Award (1941) Best Screenplay (Original): Harry Chandlee, Abem Finkel, John Huston, Howard Koch
• Academy Award (1941) Best Score: Max Steiner
• Academy Award (1941) Best Sound Recording
• Academy Award (1941) Best Cinematography (Black-and-White): Sol Polito
• Academy Award (1941) Best Art Direction (Black-and-White)

Bibliography

Breivold, Scott, ed. Howard Hawks: Interviews. Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 2006. Print.

Feldman, Gene and Suzette Winter. Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero. New York: Janson, 2013. Electronic.

McCarthy, Todd. Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood. New York: Grove, 2000. Electronic, Print.

Schneider, Steven Jay. 1000 Movies You Must See Before You Die. New York: Barrons, 2013. Print.

Toplin, Robert Brent. History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American Past. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1996. Print.

Wood, Robin. Howard Hawks. Detroit: Wayne State U, 2006. Print.