There’s a rich wealth of movies about World War I, but not many high-profiles ones that are actually American-centric. The majority of US citizens had no desire to get entangled in a large war between imperial European powers. Opinion slowly shifted over the course of the Great War, partly because of effective British propaganda (Anglo-American sentiment was growing strong thanks to shared language) and also because of German U-boat attacks on American shipping (they targeted ships carrying war material). The United States declared war in 1917, but it wasn’t until 1918 that it had an army ready to fight in Europe. The army suffered over 116,000 deaths, which seems light compared to the American Civil War and World War II, but was actually appalling when you consider how little time the Yanks actually spent on the front lines.
America’s reluctance to enter a
global conflict and then it’s decision to join later, made the first war ripe
material for interventionist propaganda come World War II. Sergeant York, based on the life of Medal of Honor winner Alvin
York, plays into this, released in the middle of 1941 when America had not yet
been attacked at Pearl Harbor. Thus this is actually a bit of interventionist
propaganda, but regardless it’s a pretty good movie.
Actually, Sergeant York is not primarily a war movie thought the titular character’s military performance is the culmination of his character’s growth. Alvin York’s story resonated deeply with Americans because his background was linked to the earlier frontier figures of United States history. He grew up in the Appalachian hills of East Tennessee with little formal education and was an incredible shot with a rifle. Thus Americans had a mountain man, a tough yet humble hero, making his name in what was at the time a shocking revelation of modern war.
York’s story was also one of
personal redemption, and this is what drives the movie’s plot. It was based
heavily on York’s biography as well as several interviews, so assuming that
York is the simple good guy he’s made out to be, it’s an accurate depiction.
Gary Cooper was perhaps a bit old for the character and lacks his mustache, but
his good looks and black-and-white footage does help obscure this fact. And of
course, Cooper is just a really good actor, able to deliver the less
grammatically correct Appalachian dialogue without coming across as a parody or
an idiot. As in real life York starts adulthood as a wild figure, getting drunk
and fighting a lot. He’s not a complete loser, however, as he does work hard to
help feed his poor family, a widowed mother and two siblings.
York falls for the pretty Gracie
Williams (Joan Leslie), but in order to win her he needs to able to provide a
better life. This drives him to cut down on play and take on various jobs to
raise money for property with good soil. When he’s cheated out of his land at
the last moment, he is driven to drunken despair, but then finds his Christian faith.
Through all of this he’s encouraged and even aided by Rosier Pile (Walter Brennan, left), a store clerk and pastor who doles out wisdom, and he becomes a committed member of Pile’s church. It was part of the Church of Christ in Christian Union, a denomination that strived hard not to involve itself in secular affairs and also preached pacifism. The formerly combative York now believed that fighting, much less killing, was a sin even in the context of war. He initially tried to avoid the draft for World War I as a conscientious objector. This produces the first major inaccuracy of the movie. Cooper’s York tries repeatedly to avoid service as a conscientious objector, but in real life he gave up on it pretty quickly. There was no dramatic moment where one of his superior officers at training camp used an American textbook to inspire him to become a warrior for God. In fact this is a bit of World War II-era nationalist propaganda, heavily linking America’s fight for democracy abroad with Christianity.
Speaking of the training camp,
it’s a fun part of the movie that shows isolated Appalachian hillbilly York
learning about wider America as he pals around with recruits from all over,
most notably New York City boy “Pusher” Ross (George Tobias). After training,
York’s unit, the 328th Infantry, heads to France, gets a little trench warfare, and then participates in the Meuse-Argonne
Offensive, the campaign in which the Americans and French finally broke through
the German trench lines for good. The action in this part is accurate,
including the incredible conclusion. York’s regiment got stopped dead in its
attack, the men being pinned down and slaughtered by German machine gun nests.
York was sent with a little over
a dozen men to slip in and take out the nest, but they were mostly taken down
as well. York used his incredible marksmanship, honed by years of hunting in
the Appalachian hills, to gun down numerous Germans. Incredibly, with just
seven other men, York accepted the surrender of 132 men. There’s a comedic
sequence where York keeps marching them from post to post, trying to get rid of
them. Unfortunately the movie did not feature the following exchange.
General: Well York, I hear you
have captured the whole German army.
York: No sir. I got only 132.
York as a soldier (https://moviecrashcourse.com/2019/03/01/sergeant-york-1941/)
There are a couple inaccuracies
to note. The terrain in the movie is the familiar desolate wasteland featured
in most scenes of trench warfare. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was really fought
in the forested area, in fact near where Nazi Germany made its big thrust in
its 1940 offensive against France. There’s also the moment where (spoilers)
“Pusher” Ross gets hit by a grenade. This sets York off on his one mean,
vengeful moment when he seeks out and kills the man responsible. He in fact
killed a prisoner who sneakily threw a grenade, but he did not lose a buddy in
the moment. He just did it because of course you don’t want to let prisoners
get away with trying to kill you.
The last part of the film shows
the humble York suddenly become a major celebrity, getting visits from major
politicians. Tennessee Representative Cordell Hull (Charles Trowbridge) stands
out as he at the time of the movie’s release he was Secretary of State in
Franklin Roosevelt’s administration. To be honest I found the hero worship to getting
a bit overboard in this part, even if it makes York’s humble roots and attitude
stand out more. At the end he finally gets his own private farm with good soil
as a gift from his local community, but it should be noted that in real life he
actually struggled financially and then was gifted the house three years after
his return.
York consults his Bible about whether he can ill in battle. The wind just happens
to blow the pages to a relevant verse, which my dad says is bad theology to practice.
The movie doesn’t get into his
later life, but I’d like to say that he used his celebrity and influence to
increase education in East Tennessee and even mortgaged his own house to fund
students’ travel. Ironically enough, he had completely abandoned his strict
pacifist beliefs and was one of the few notable voices to stump for American
entry into World War II. Indeed, the messages of this movie were likely made at
his request and when America did enter he would support the war effort any way
he could despite his advancing age.
Sergeant
York
is one of the most positive American movies on this list. York is just a good
guy: hardworking, religious, humble, and seeking peace but courageous when he
has no choice but to fight.
Rating: 8/10
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