Sergeant York (film)

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox film Sergeant York is a 1941 American biographical film about the life of Alvin C. York, one of the most decorated American soldiers of World War I. Directed by Howard Hawks, the film stars Gary Cooper in the title role, and was based on York's diary, as edited by Tom Skeyhill,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and adapted by Harry Chandlee, Abem Finkel, John Huston, Howard E. Koch, and Sam Cowan (uncredited). York refused, several times, to authorize a film version of his life story, but finally yielded to persistent efforts to finance the creation of an interdenominational Bible school. The story that York insisted on Cooper for the title role comes from a telegram that producer Jesse L. Lasky wrote to Cooper pleading with him to accept the part, to which he signed York's name.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Sergeant York was a critical and commercial success, and became the highest-grossing film of 1941. Cooper went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, while the film also won Best Film Editing and was nominated in nine other categories, including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Walter Brennan), and Supporting Actress (Margaret Wycherly). The American Film Institute ranked the film 57th in its 100 most inspirational American movies list; it also rated Alvin York 35th in its list of the top 50 heroes in American cinema. In 2008, Sergeant York was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Plot

Before America's entry into World War I, Alvin York is a poor, young farmer in rural Tennessee, living with his widowed mother, sister, and younger brother. He spends his time fighting and getting drunk with friends. Alvin's goal is to purchase a piece of farmland, fertile "bottomland". He works hard to acquire the price for the land, and is given an extension by the owner. His sharpshooting skills enable him to raise the money needed, but the owner reneges, making Alvin seek revenge, only for him and his mule to be struck by lightning, prompting him to rejoin his church.

When the U.S. enters World War I, Alvin seeks exemption as a conscientious objector, which is denied. He is torn between fighting for his country and the biblical prohibition against killing. His sympathetic commanding officer gives him leave to go home and come to a decision. He reconciles his moral conflict after reading the biblical injunction to "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."

During the Meuse–Argonne offensive, Alvin's qualms vanish when he sees his friends and comrades being killed as they assault a strong German position. With all of his superiors dead or incapacitated, he takes charge. He infiltrates the German lines by himself and finds a position that enfilades the main German defensive trench. He kills so many German soldiers that they eventually surrender to him en masse. After a prisoner of war treacherously throws a grenade that kills Alvin's good friend, "Pusher" Ross, Alvin shoots him dead. He and the handful of survivors from his unit lead their many captives behind their lines, but have a hard time finding anyone to take the Germans off their hands. The officer who finally does is astonished to learn that so few men captured so many of the enemy.

Alvin is decorated and hailed as a national hero, feted in Europe, New York, and Washington DC, but he desires to return home. He rejects commercial offers that would make him wealthy, explaining that he could not take money for doing his duty. He returns home to marry his fiancée, Gracie. To his surprise, the state has purchased the bottomland farm and built a house for Gracie and him.

Reception

Sergeant York was a success at the box office and became the highest-grossing film of 1941. This was influenced by the attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurred while the film was still playing in theaters. The film's patriotic theme helped recruit soldiers; young men sometimes went directly from the movie theater to military enlistment offices.<ref name="kennett1985">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp After its initial release, the film was frequently reshown at theaters all over America during the war as a quick replacement for box-office flops and as a theme program for bond sales and scrap drives.

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $6,075,000 domestically and $2,184,000 internationally.<ref name="warners"/>

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 88% rating based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Accolades

File:Joan Fontaine and Gary Cooper.jpg

Gary Cooper, with his Academy Award for the film, and Joan Fontaine, 1942

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
Academy Awards<ref name="Oscars1942">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NY Times">Template:Cite web</ref>	Outstanding Motion Picture	Hal B. Wallis and Jesse L. Lasky	Template:Nom
	Best Director	Howard Hawks	Template:Nom
	Best Actor	Gary Cooper	Template:Won
	Best Supporting Actor	Walter Brennan	Template:Nom
	Best Supporting Actress	Margaret Wycherly	Template:Nom
	Best Original Screenplay	Harry Chandlee, Abem Finkel, John Huston and Howard Koch	Template:Nom
	Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration – Black-and-White	John Hughes and Fred M. MacLean	Template:Nom
	Best Cinematography – Black-and-White	Sol Polito	Template:Nom
	Best Film Editing	William Holmes	Template:Won
	Best Scoring of a Dramatic Picture	Max Steiner	Template:Nom
	Best Sound Recording	Nathan Levinson	Template:Nom
National Board of Review Awards<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Best Acting	Gary Cooper	Template:Won
National Film Preservation Board	National Film Registry		Template:Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Best Film		Template:Nom
	Best Actor	Gary Cooper	Template:Won

The film was nominated by the American Film Institute for its 2006 list of most inspiring movies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Further reading

• Michael E. Birdwell, Celluloid Soldiers: The Warner Bros. Campaign against Nazism (NY: New York University Press, 1999)
• McCarthy, Todd, Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood (NY: Grove Press, 1997), ch. 22: "Sergeant York"
• Robert Brent Toplin, History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American Past (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1996)

External links

• Sergeant York essay by Donna Ross at National Film Registry
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• Sergeant York And His People, by Sam Cowan, 1922, from Project Gutenberg
• Alvin York and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, by Douglas Mastriano, Military History magazine, Sept 2006. (Corporal York's actions as seen from the German perspective.)
• Photos and details of the discovery of the site where York earned the Medal of Honor, Discovered October 21, 2006, by the Sergeant York Discovery Expedition.
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• Sergeant York essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 Template:ISBN, pages 333–335