Sergeant York: Howard Hawks

By the start of the 40s, director Howard Hawks was on a roll.  He had released three of the most famous and beloved films of the era in a row with Bringing Up Baby, Only Angels Have Wings, and His Girl Friday.  He followed up this tremendous trio with what is considered to this day to be one of his greatest films: Sergeant York.  How good was it?  It competed with the likes of Citizen Kane, Suspicion, and The Maltese Falcon for Best Picture.  The true story of Corporal Alvin York, the most decorated American soldier of World War One.  The film follows his life in rural Tennessee as a drunkard who converted to Christianity after a near-death experience.  When World War One was declared, he registered as a conscientious objector due to his religious convictions.  However, he was denied an exemption and quickly became known as one of the best sharpshooters in the Army.  During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, he managed to capture 132 prisoners through a combination of bravery and skill.  The film takes great patience to develop York's character...perhaps a little too much.  There is a subplot about him trying to earn enough money for a piece of good farmland that takes up about a fourth of the film.  It only really exists to establish that he is a good shot as he enters a shooting contest to win the money that he needed to buy the land.  Of course, this was already established at the start of the film when he shot his initials into a tree while drunk and on horseback.  Still, the film is a warm character study that is unabashed of its pronounced patriotism and religious conviction.  It might seem a bit cheesy to modern, jaded audiences...but it's well worth a watch.

8/10