About this episode
The episode discusses the film Sergeant York, highlighting its historical context and the portrayal of its main character.
While America is yet again fighting a war in the Middle East, I end Oscar Month by getting into the doin's of a legit WWI hero in Howard Hawks' Sergeant York. Gary Cooper plays the real-life hero, a dirt-poor man from the Tennessee mountains who's forced the join the army (mother), even though he's ag'in killin'. But when the chips are down, he's courageous and talented enough to kill a lot of Germans! America's entry into WWII helped make this the #1 hit of 1941. It also led to an Oscar for Super Duper Cooper, even though he often comes across as fake when talking like the real Alvin no doubt talked. But Mr. Stiff's conversion from no-goodnik to Bible lover to German killer (and his romance with a very young Joan Leslie) IS heartfelt. Plus, the great Hawks was almost incapable of making an unwatchable movie. So whet your sights when they force you to be a doughboy while you also cue up the 729th episode of Have You Ever Seen. Subscribe to this channel in your podcast app. Review it, rate it...and hunt me down on Letterboxd too (RyanHYES). Contact options are: haveyoueverseenpodcast@gmail.com via email, ryan-ellis on Bluesky and @moviefiend51 on the tweet machine.
People in this episode
Host: Ryan Ellis
Topics covered
- World War I
- film review
- Oscar history
- heroism
- American cinema
Keywords
- Sergeant York
- Gary Cooper
- Howard Hawks
- WWI hero
- Oscar winner
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Howard Hawks, Oscar
Places: Tennessee
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