Sergeant York

For the self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon, see M247 Sergeant York.

Sergeant York
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Howard Hawks
Produced by	Howard Hawks Jesse L. Lasky Hal B. Wallis
Written by	Harry Chandlee Abem Finkel John Huston Howard Koch
Starring	Gary Cooper Walter Brennan
Cinematography	Sol Polito
Editing by	William Holmes
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release date(s)	July 2, 1941 (1941-07-02)
Running time	134 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2 million

Sergeant York is a 1941 biographical film about the life of Alvin York, the most-decorated American soldier of World War I. It was directed by Howard Hawks and was the highest-grossing film of the year.

The film was adapted by Harry Chandlee, Abem Finkel, John Huston, Howard Koch, and Sam Cowan (uncredited) from the diary of Alvin York as edited by Tom Skeyhill. The real York was originally against the idea of making a movie of his experiences, but relented when he needed funds to finance the creation of an interdenominational Bible school. The story that York insisted on Gary Cooper in the title role derives from the fact that producer Jesse L. Lasky, who wanted Cooper for the role, recruited Cooper by writing a plea that he accept the role and then signing York's name to the telegram.

Cooper went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal. The film also won for Best Film Editing and was nominated in nine other categories, including Best Picture, Director (Hawks), Supporting Actor (Walter Brennan), and Supporting Actress (Margaret Wycherly). The American Film Institute ranked the film 57th in the its 100 most inspirational American movies. 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".

Plot

Alvin York (Gary Cooper), a poor Tennessee hillbilly, is an exceptional marksman, but a ne'er-do-well prone to drinking and fighting, which doesn't make things any easier for his patient mother (Margaret Wycherly). He undergoes a religious awakening when he is struck by lightning during a late-night rainstorm and turns his life around, assisted by Pastor Rosier Pile (Walter Brennan). York vows never to get angry at anyone ever again, determining to be a good husband and provider for his sweetheart Gracie Williams (Joan Leslie).

York tries to avoid induction into the Army for World War I as a conscientious objector due to his religious beliefs but gets drafted into the Army nonetheless. His status as a true conscientious objector is rejected since his church has no official standing, and he reluctantly reports to Camp Gordon for Army basic training. During basic training, his superiors find out that he is a phenomenal marksman and promote him to corporal.

York still wants nothing to do with the Army and killing. Major Buxton, his sympathetic commanding officer, lectures York about history from a U.S. history book. He gives York temporary leave to go home and think about fighting to save lives. York wants to read the U.S. history book and the officer gives it to him. He tells York that after his leave if he still doesn't want to fight he will discharge him from the Army. York reads the book, decides he will serve his country and reports back for duty. York decides to leave it in God's hands, but still doubts he can kill someone because of his interpretation of the Bible.

His unit is shipped out to Europe and participates in an attack during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Pinned down by German fire and seeing his friends being shot down all around him, his self-doubt disappears. Owing to the large number of casualties, York suddenly finds himself the last remaining Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and thus placed in charge. He works his way around behind German lines and shoots with such deadly effect that the Germans surrender. Then, York forces a captured German officer (Charles Esmond) at gunpoint to order the Germans still fighting to surrender. He and the handful of other survivors end up with 132 prisoners. York becomes a national hero and is awarded the Medal of Honor.

York later explains that he did what he did to hasten the end of the war and minimize the killing.

Returning to Tennessee, after a ticker tape parade and celebration, the people of Tennessee have purchased the bottomland farm he tried to get before the war and paid for a house to be built on the land where Gracie and Alvin will start their married life.

Cast

• Gary Cooper as Alvin York
• Walter Brennan as Pastor Rosier Pile
• Joan Leslie as Gracie Williams, York's girlfriend and future wife
• George Tobias as "Pusher" Ross, a soldier from New York City; Alvin's friend
• Stanley Ridges as Major Buxton, who convinces York to stay in the army
• Margaret Wycherly as Mother York
• Dickie Moore as George York
• Ward Bond as Ike Botkin
• Noah Beery Jr. as Buck Lipscomb
• June Lockhart as Rosie York
• Clem Bevans as Zeke
• Howard Da Silva as Lem
• Charles Trowbridge as Cordell Hull
• Harvey Stephens as Captain Danforth
• David Bruce as Bert Thomas
• Victor Kilian as Andrews (uncredited)^{[citation needed]}
• Tully Marshall as Uncle Lige (uncredited)^{[citation needed]}
• Jane Isbell as Gracie's sister

Pre-production

Henry Fonda, James Stewart, and Ronald Reagan were all considered for the title role.^{[citation needed]}

Reception

Sergeant York benefited from the attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurred while the film played in theaters, and became 1941's top box office hit. The film's patriotic theme helped recruit soldiers; young men sometimes went directly from the movie theater to military enlistment offices.

At the 14th Academy Awards, the film won two Oscars:

• Best Actor - Gary Cooper
• Best Film Editing - William Holmes

It was also nominated for:

• Outstanding Motion Picture - Warner Bros. (Hal B. Wallis and Jesse L. Lasky Producers)
• Best Director - Howard Hawks
• Best Writing (Original Screenplay) - Harry Chandlee, Abem Finkel, John Huston, Howard Koch
• Best Supporting Actor - Walter Brennan
• Best Supporting Actress - Margaret Wycherly
• Best Art Direction (Black-and-White) - John Hughes, Fred M. MacLean
• Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) - Sol Polito
• Best Music (Score of a Dramatic Picture) - Max Steiner
• Best Sound Recording - Nathan Levinson

Inaccuracies

The film depicts York as the eldest of three children. In real life, he was the third of eleven children. His two older brothers had moved away from home by the time his father died, so York became the man of the house.

In the film, York became a Christian after he was struck by lightning while riding his mule. Real-life accounts of his conversion vary, though all accounts agree that York quit drinking and fighting and started attending church, and later became a genuine convert. The film depicts York coming home to a new house and farm provided for him by the state of Tennessee. In real life, York had been home and married a few years before the state gave him his new farm.

The film depicts York using an M1903 Springfield rifle and a German Luger pistol on October 8, 1918 to win the Medal of Honor. The actual rifle used by Sergeant Alvin York was an M1917 Enfield rifle which is currently located at Middle Tennessee State University. According to his diary, Sergeant York also used a .45 Colt automatic pistol on that fateful day.

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 at the TCM Movie Database
• Sergeant York at the Internet Movie Database
• Sergeant York at AllRovi
• 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 21 October 2006 by the Sergeant York Discovery Expedition.
• Craig S. Smith (October 26, 2006). "Proof offered of Sergeant York's war exploits". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 2009-02-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20090221001052/http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/26/news/york.php/. Retrieved 2011-11-22.