When you hear it said that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, it's the story of "Sergeant York" that might have been the inspiration. I'd been on the lookout for this film for some time when it appeared today on Turner Classic Movies as part of a Veteran's Day tribute. I tried to picture the real life hero Alvin York on the battlefield amid enemy fire pulling off the ruse that led to the capture of one hundred thirty two enemy soldiers, and all because a superior officer ordered him to take charge. Perhaps he should have been ordered to win the war.

I would like to have seen the real Alvin York, he must have been quite the extraordinary person. Not in a celebrity fashion, but in a deep spiritual sense, to have integrated his pacifist background with a sense of loyalty and brotherhood with his fellow soldiers. I can think of no other man you would want more in your corner when the chips are down and it's a matter of life or death.

Gary Cooper's Best Actor Oscar was well deserved for his portrayal of Sergeant York. He's convincing throughout as he transforms York from a rabble rousing back woods country hick to a principled man of values and ideals. The scenes where he records his meager earnings in hopes of buying some fertile downland is nearly heartbreaking, made even more poignant when he later makes amends with the men who essentially betrayed him.

Cooper is backed up with a fine supporting cast, but I have to admit I wound up chuckling a time or two when Walter Brennan's pastor character appeared. For some reason, those bushy black eyebrows called to mind an image of Groucho Marx that I just couldn't shake. Margaret Wycherly brings a matriarch's knowing instincts to the part of Mother York, somehow knowing that her son would eventually get his own patch of land someday, even when her own husband's experience seemed to suggest otherwise.

It was somewhat surprising yet gratifying at the same time to learn that the real Alvin York shunned all attempts to cash in on his name and hero status in order to get back to his home and family responsibilities. When he finally relented to numerous requests to make a film of his war time achievements, he had only two conditions - that all of the proceeds go to religious charities, and that the actor to portray him would be Gary Cooper. I'd say he cut a square deal.

It's 1916. Alvin York (Gary Cooper) lives in the poverty stricken Tennessee hills. He often gets into drunken fights to the dismay of Pastor Rosier Pile and his mother. He falls in love with Gracie Williams. He stops drinking and works to buy a farm. He wins a backwoods shooting contest to get the last of the money but the landowner reneges on the deal. He gets drunk and looks to get revenge. A lightning strike destroys his gun. He has a religious conversion and vows to never kill. His change improves his outlook. When America joins WWI, York is conscripted as a conscientious objector. His commanders are taken with his shooting skills and York faces a struggle with his values. On the frontlines, he and his men capture a German position. When they come under fire, York's religious conviction is tested by the realities of war. He and his seven surviving men take 132 Germans prisoner.

This was a highly successful patriotic film released five months before Pearl Harbor. It became a great recruiting tool for the war. I was expecting a war movie but this starts off a little slow. Gary Cooper is a great every man. He has an innate goodness. His religious conversion is compelling. He really fits the role well. One can imagine the idealism really affecting the audience at the time. It's not a simple flag waving propaganda. It's a real portrait of a man struggling with his convictions.

As a film that Hollywood made in anticipation of our eventual involvement in WWII, this film was magical and sure did its job in rallying Americans to the cause. The film is a propaganda masterpiece and can't help but affect the viewer. While I am sure many today might laugh at its sentimentality and clichés or some might get angry at its unabashed Americanism, the fact is that this is a brilliantly made film. Heck, by the end of the film, I found myself all choked up--even though I knew that the real story of Sergeant York was a bit different (though he still was an amazing man).

Speaking of inaccuracies, believe it or not, compared to most biopics, this film actually is mostly correct. The inaccuracies were mostly done for dramatic effect and don't really change the nature of the man or his deeds. Sure, his conversion was a lot less spectacular and he was already married before he went off to war, but the spirit of the film was correct. Leave it to Warner Brothers to get wonderful supporting character actors and a wonderful musical score and great cinematography to work together to make a perfect film for the time. Not surprisingly, the film took home the "Best Actor" Oscar in 1942.

I'd say more but frankly, there are already a ton of reviews on this seminal film. I'd hate to be repetitive, though just had to point out how much I love and respect the film, having just seen it again for the second time.

By the way, get a load of Walter Brennan's eyebrows. I'd LOVE to know what the preacher REALLY looked like!