I think that perhaps Hail the Conquering Hero is Sturges’ funniest movie, at least of the ones that I’ve seen. It’s a brilliant exercise of panicky slap-stick comedy and stinging satire. Like all his films, it’s satirical about America, but this time it focuses on hero worshiping and the illusion of heroism, as a small town is caught in the rage of celebrating their local hero. It’s about being caught in madness and hype, something that is still relevant in today’s world.
Woodrow is our protagonist and he is depressed. He’s hanging out at bars and drinking because he can’t go back home. The reason for this is that a year ago he signed up to join the Marines, only to be rejected because he has hay fewer. His father was a Marine and killed in the war when Woodrow was just an infant, and he doesn’t dare return to the shame of not having lived up to his father’s memory, so he pretends that he did join the Marines and sends his mother letters where he lies about it. One night he meets up with a group of real Marines who have leave. However, they are all broke and don’t quite know what to do with their time. However one of them is fixated on mothers because he never had one, and is infuriated at Woodrow for not having gone back to his yet. So the Marines get an idea; how about lending Woodrow one of their uniforms and going back with him pretending he was in the war, but released because of an injury. Perfect! So they all take him back to his small hometown. This is of course against his own will, as Woodrow sees the many faults that this plan could have, but they drag him along anyway. This is one of the comedic highlights of the films, and Eddie Bracken is perfect as the mumbling and unwilling Woodrow, who is extremely upset about the situation and fears being found out. However they assure him that they will be as discreet as possible, and only visit his mother for a few days, then leave.
Of course, it doesn’t quite work out like that. One of the funniest scenes is when the train Woodrow and his Marine pals are approaching the station, and the whole town has turned up, with banners and four different bands nonetheless. Mass hysteria hits the town as they want to greet their homecoming hero, including the mayor being ready with a speech and the key to the city. Woodrow’s old flame is also there, although she is engaged to another man, as Woodrow in one of his letters lied about being in love with someone else, and urging her to move on. What makes this film so funny is the juxtaposition of Woodrow’s reluctance and fear with the hysteria of the townspeople, creating many great situations. It doesn’t get any better, as soon some serious political figures in the town start thinking that Woodrow with his “charisma” and “heroism” would make a great new major, as the election is just a few days away. And Woodrow just gets dragged in deeper and deeper. Having been made during the Second World War, Sturges is quite brave to hit this particular nerve for satire. It’s a testament to how independent and sharp Sturges had become, and the film captures the American idyllic hero worshiping at its worst, clearly unraveling how ridiculous this had become by that time. It poked fun at something very central, and I would imagine hadn’t it been for the excellent humor this film would have been seen in a much more critical and controversial light. But what’s great about Sturges’ comedy is that it doesn’t take away from the satire, but strongly adds to it.
Hail the Conquering Hero is a very, very funny film. It hits all the right notes and also works extremely well as a satire of Americana, which becomes even funnier and clearer today. It’s a testament to the strength of Sturges’ filmmaking that his films manage to stay so fresh and the issues they deal with are still relevant, even more so, today. But he captured a particular spirit of the time, and for that, we should hail him.
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