Bill Slocum When Woodrow Truesmith comes marching home, it's to the happiest homecoming any U. S. Marine ever saw: Marching bands, a mortgage- burning ceremony for his mother, even a campaign for mayor. But Truesmith's not only a reluctant hero, he's no hero at all.Transforming a false-flag endeavor into the stuff of comedy would be a challenge for any writer-director circa World War II: Preston Sturges handles it with steady aplomb. Truesmith (Eddie Bracken) is no fraud; rather he's found himself with six real Marines who take to him and his failed effort to join their ranks, and decide to grant him the stature that hay fever denied. The fact Truesmith himself wants no part of this only makes it more interesting."They want heroes, we got six of 'em," says Marine Sgt. Heffelfinger (William Demarest). "All right, we throw in a seventh for good luck. Who's counting?"Bracken and Demarest have some great back-and-forths, two overbearing actors who find just the right backboards in each other. When Truesmith refuses to wear a Marine uniform because it's against regulations, Sgt. Heffelfinger waves it off: "That only applies to Marines."When the other five Marines take turns telling terrible Truesmith tales to the tipsy townspeople, Truesmith complains they are lying. Heffelfinger again holds firm: "Every one of those boys is telling the truth except they changed the names a little so as not to give out military information."Why are the Marines so gung-ho on selling Truesmith so high? Some of it has to do with his father, a war buddy Heffelfinger saw fall at Belleau Wood. Heffelfinger probably senses Truesmith would have turned out the same had hay fever not gotten in the way, and he's keeping faith with the old man. Also, these six Marines still have a war to fight. By championing Truesmith, they are getting maybe their only chance at a heroic homecoming of their own.And what a homecoming! Norman Rockwell couldn't have painted it better. Georgia Caine as Woodrow's mother makes breakfast for six new sons, while Ella Raines as the girl Woodrow left behind keeps putting off breaking the news that she's gotten engaged to someone else. This is comically difficult when everyone in town including the fiancé's mother is pulling for Woodrow.The usual Sturges stock company shows up here; this time there's no awkward shoehorning as the characters have just enough time to make their unique impressions without clogging up the works. It's actually a marvelous thing how the movie flows together, a thrusting narrative that makes time for diverse voices by having everyone interrupt everyone else. Raymond Walburn as the narcissistic mayor even interrupts himself.Just when things seem to be reaching critical mass, Sturges cuts to a tender moment between Bracken and Raines, or a tense one between Woodrow and one of the Marines (Freddie Steele) who suffers from undiagnosed PTSD and is fixedly determined that Woodrow not disappoint his mother, being he has no mother of his own. Even this isn't beyond Sturges' comedy."Are you nuts or something?" Woodrow asks him."Maybe," the Marine answers.Sturges works a political campaign into the story, coded messages about greedy Republicans doing battle with selfless Democrats with a war hero thrown in the mix. It's very simplistic, but adds to the fun.Sturges films can be exhausting, but "Hail The Conquering Hero" hits all the right notes. It has a lot to say about military service, and how people can contribute to a larger cause with or without putting themselves in combat. There are many ways to be a hero.

jc-osms This has always been always been one of my favourite films and with its central theme of undeserved celebrity, seems even more relevant in today's world of reality TV stars and overnight fame. The difference here is that the object of everyone's affection, the hapless Woodrow Truesmith (there's irony in his name) doesn't want the spotlight accidentally diverted onto him by the six penniless but well-meaning serving fellow-marines for whom he buys a drink in a bar. Although signed up for service in the marines himself, Truesmith has been medically discharged for a year because of chronic hay fever and to finally return home, has at last got up the courage to admit it to his adored mother, herself the widow of a marine hero, Truesmith's dad of course. Not wishing to have him hurt his mum's feelings, the marines phone ahead, fabricating Woodrow's background story of heroism, which promptly catches fire in his native town and sees him lauded to the skies on arrival in his hometown. Reluctant to play along right from the start, things quickly snowball out of control for Woodrow as the town promptly fawns over him, pays off his mum's mortgage and even puts him up for mayor against the long-standing, self-important and bumptious Everett Noble, but even when Truesmith's secret inevitably comes out there are still a few surprises in store before the end.There's no great secret behind the wonderful series of films Preston Sturges produced in the early to mid 40's, it's all there in the writing. The dialogue is crisp, funny and pithy, the sharp exchanges between characters requiring expert timing and intelligent direction. It gets both and then some, the cast young and old, getting nary a line to waste and never wasting a word. With the machine-gun delivery, any slackers would be found out and there just aren't any. By the time we get to the surprise ending when Truesmith's native honesty and humility change the expected run of events, there's still time for Sturges to insert some front-line truth, one of the marines telling Woodrow that he's lucky to only have the one battlefield nightmare compared to the many who have them constantly and even finish with a war-time rallying point as the marines finally leave town to return to duty, their well-meant meddling all repaired at last.None of the stars Sturges employs are household-name, but by dint of many of them forming part of his regular troupe, their interplay is a delight to watch, as is the director's skill with crowd-scenes. Eddie Bracken with his expressive face and honest disposition is great as the accidental hero, Truesmith while Ella Gaines also does well as his love interest, while the interplay between the blowhard elder Noble and his slow-witted, drone-voiced son is hilarious. That said, there's no face out of place here, everyone acts with such naturalness, quirks and all, that like with Capra, you're convinced you're the extra visitor in a real-life town.Sturges was considered the "wunderkind" of Hollywood around this time and this sparkling satire shows him at his considerable best.

kenjha Sturges set the bar very high with the four films preceding this one, including his masterpiece, "Sullivan's Travels." This one is disappointing. Bracken is given little to do except look outraged and embarrassed. Raines is pretty but there is little chemistry between her and Bracken. Demarest comes off best as the Sarge who tries to help Bracken soften the news of his discharge to his mother by making up a story of heroic exploits, a setup that has good comic possibilities. However, Sturges' script is surprisingly flat and unfunny, lacking the zaniness of his earlier efforts. After a brief period of inspiration marked by genius, Sturges seems to have abruptly lost it and this was the start of the decline.

perfectbond I initially picked this up because I had just seen Phantom Lady with Ella Raines and was very impressed with her work in that film noir thriller. In this film she has a decidedly less prominent role though whenever she is onscreen my enjoyment of the film intensified. This is the first of Eddie Bracken's work that I have encountered. I think he did well with both the dramatic and comedic elements of his chracter. I have seen a few of Preston Sturges' films and in my opinion the director succeeded handsomely with this effort. In addition to the leads he elicited excellent performances from the character actors most of whom are recognizable to avid film buffs like all of us in the IMDB community I'm sure. As a change of pace from the more traditional WW II films, Hero is very smart and entertaining comedy. Recommended, 7/10.