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Actors: Eddie Bracken, William Demarest, Ella Raines, Raymond Walburn, Bill Edwards, Georgia Caine, Jimmie Dundee
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Hail the Conquering Hero |
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When six WWII marines can't pay a cafe for their beer, morose civilian Woodrow Truesmith picks up their tab. Thanking him, they learn that his medical discharge from the marines a year ago crushed his lifelong dream of living up to his father, a WWI recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, killed the day Woodrow was born. Too ashamed to face his mother and his hometown after the sendoff they gave him, he has been staying away and letting them think he was accepted. Over his protestations, the six concoct a plan to rescue his reputation. They phone his mother. Their story is that he just got back from Guadalcanal with them, having been wounded and honorably discharged. He'll be home tomorrow.
They expect a quiet homecoming. Instead, they step off the train to cheers and banners and marching bands. Woodrow is given the keys to the city, and a welcoming speech from a little girl with flowers. There is talk of building a monument to both Truesmith heroes. When he is pressed to run for mayor, his admissions of unworthiness are mistaken for noble modesty. It doesn't help that Sarge, determined to see "Hinky Dink" Truesmith's boy revered, keeps laying on the phony praise, even claiming that Woodrow saved his life amid a hail of Japanese bullets. Overwhelmed, Woodrow tries to trump the lies with another lie, an excuse for him to leave town: He pretends the marines are calling him back.
Meanwhile, Libby, the girlfriend he told from "overseas" to forget about him, has been unable to admit she is engaged to the mayor's son. When she finally does, he admits the whole sordid story to her. He tells her that he loves her too, but that she is better off without him. When he gets up to make his "campagin speech" to the town, he is unaware that the nervous mayor's office has contacted a marine base in San Diego and learned the truth, and that the mayor is about to spring it on the town. Is there any way Woodrow can spare his mother from the shame?
--vjm, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Hail the Conquering Hero |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Struggle with
- conduct in war
How much humor v. drama
- Mostly humor, but some serious drama
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair type
- (man) very short/crewcut
Events of movie makes character more...
- aggressive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- white/grey
Hair style
- (man) very short/crewcut
How much in movie?
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
Eccentric:
Yes
- deluded
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 80%
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- full of laughter
Check here if B&W
Yes
Any profanity?
- None
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 vjm
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