Preston Sturges' little film, "Sullivan's Travels" has been a favorite of mine for a very long time. Since my discover of it through the Criterion collection, I have been impressed with the comic mind of Sturges and his ability to use dark modern issues as a backdrop for something that audiences could laugh at. In "Sullivan's Travels" it was the story of a Hollywood director trying to become a hobo to learn about life. While it seems dismal, it provided quite a bit of laughs with an ending that not only solidifies Sturges' ability, but also creates brain candy for hours afterwards. Thus, it was no surprise that when "Hail the Conquering Hero" arrived to view - that same excitement for Sturges' overcame me. I was ready for laughter coupled with a sensitive discussion about an ageless topic. Alas, what was viewed, was a cute movie that felt longer than necessary, a comic film with repetitive jokes, and a satire on patriotism that merely scratched the surface to what could have been another ageless film. Instead, "Hail the Conquering Hero" felt dated, lacked the push to make it pioneering, and honestly, felt safe. This was a rushed Sturges film, despite the Oscar nomination, and like Eddie Braken's speech at the end, needed to have a stronger voice of truth. Too many missed elements coupled with repeat jokes caused "Hail the Conquering Hero" to miss it's mark and remain a "cute" movie.
The concept is an easy one. You probably have seen it a dozen times before in other films; the son of a war hero is discharged from the army for chronic hay fever, and refuses to go home to face his mother. Enter a band of surly, obvious Army-type figures who influence him into going home looking like a decorated war hero. Hilarity attempts to ensue as the town welcomes him with open arms with such grandiose statements as a parade in his honor, the burning of his mother's mortgage, and the eventual nomination for mayor. As much as Eddie Bracken tries to avoid the applause, he gets further thrust into it. This is a moment where Sturges doesn't quite live up to his comedic hype. There are moments where the scenes are very funny, but Sturges overuses the same jokes again and again that it eventually infects the rest of the film. What should have been witty jokes to move the pace, instead become so repetitive that the nearly hour and half feels like two-plus hours behind the wheel of this vehicle. Braken gives the stationary look of shock throughout, Sgt. Heppelfinger gives the same stern look, and moments of comedy are replaced with awkward settings that should have been funny, but instead failed. Scenes which are reminiscent of this failure are; Braken's arrival home - the entire set up for his grand arrival was funny at first, but as the scene pathetically continued - it just felt claustrophobic and stagnate. This could be said again for the scene where he is about to be nominated for mayor. What should have been funny wasn't - and I think it is because Sturges couldn't control the scenes. Too much in too little time provided minimal laughs.
While I claim that our characters were feeling a bit stale, I do argue that they were the strongest element in this film. There were secondary characters that Sturges gave a small string of screen time, and they stole each second. Look out for the priest who burns the mortgage, hilarious; look for the southern Mayor who owns the Chair factory; again - hilarious. I could even laugh again at the Army man who had this fascination with people's mothers. Yet, our major characters couldn't quite reach this level. While the characters were disappointing, the scene structure was obtrusive by Sturges, the actual story was relatively exciting. I loved this concept, the themes of battles not only happening on the front lines, but also at home was impressive. The constant reminders that WAR BONDS were for sale was a small jab at the Government by Sturges, and the universal mind of the soldier who also turned out to be the Braken's guardian angels was delicious. Sturges had a strong mapped film, one just wonders if he was happy with the final product. Again, there were smart elements and there were mediocre moments, all together just making a "cute" one-time viewing movie.
Overall, Sturges again entertained, but he did not impress. This was a "cute" film that just felt too long at certain scenes and at others it felt like missed opportunity. This could have been a stronger satire on patriotism, but jokes fell flat. Sub-characters took control and created a strong town, but the ones that were leading us felt stale from the beginning. I was looking forward to this film due to my admiration towards Sturges, but "Hail the Conquering Hero" didn't live up to the hype. "Sullivan's Travels" continues to be my favorite as I continue to view more from this infamous director's cannon. I was happy to see that the screenplay was Oscar nominated, but not surprised that it didn't win. Good, not great - "cute" - not classic.
Grade: ** 1/2 out of *****
The concept is an easy one. You probably have seen it a dozen times before in other films; the son of a war hero is discharged from the army for chronic hay fever, and refuses to go home to face his mother. Enter a band of surly, obvious Army-type figures who influence him into going home looking like a decorated war hero. Hilarity attempts to ensue as the town welcomes him with open arms with such grandiose statements as a parade in his honor, the burning of his mother's mortgage, and the eventual nomination for mayor. As much as Eddie Bracken tries to avoid the applause, he gets further thrust into it. This is a moment where Sturges doesn't quite live up to his comedic hype. There are moments where the scenes are very funny, but Sturges overuses the same jokes again and again that it eventually infects the rest of the film. What should have been witty jokes to move the pace, instead become so repetitive that the nearly hour and half feels like two-plus hours behind the wheel of this vehicle. Braken gives the stationary look of shock throughout, Sgt. Heppelfinger gives the same stern look, and moments of comedy are replaced with awkward settings that should have been funny, but instead failed. Scenes which are reminiscent of this failure are; Braken's arrival home - the entire set up for his grand arrival was funny at first, but as the scene pathetically continued - it just felt claustrophobic and stagnate. This could be said again for the scene where he is about to be nominated for mayor. What should have been funny wasn't - and I think it is because Sturges couldn't control the scenes. Too much in too little time provided minimal laughs.
While I claim that our characters were feeling a bit stale, I do argue that they were the strongest element in this film. There were secondary characters that Sturges gave a small string of screen time, and they stole each second. Look out for the priest who burns the mortgage, hilarious; look for the southern Mayor who owns the Chair factory; again - hilarious. I could even laugh again at the Army man who had this fascination with people's mothers. Yet, our major characters couldn't quite reach this level. While the characters were disappointing, the scene structure was obtrusive by Sturges, the actual story was relatively exciting. I loved this concept, the themes of battles not only happening on the front lines, but also at home was impressive. The constant reminders that WAR BONDS were for sale was a small jab at the Government by Sturges, and the universal mind of the soldier who also turned out to be the Braken's guardian angels was delicious. Sturges had a strong mapped film, one just wonders if he was happy with the final product. Again, there were smart elements and there were mediocre moments, all together just making a "cute" one-time viewing movie.
Overall, Sturges again entertained, but he did not impress. This was a "cute" film that just felt too long at certain scenes and at others it felt like missed opportunity. This could have been a stronger satire on patriotism, but jokes fell flat. Sub-characters took control and created a strong town, but the ones that were leading us felt stale from the beginning. I was looking forward to this film due to my admiration towards Sturges, but "Hail the Conquering Hero" didn't live up to the hype. "Sullivan's Travels" continues to be my favorite as I continue to view more from this infamous director's cannon. I was happy to see that the screenplay was Oscar nominated, but not surprised that it didn't win. Good, not great - "cute" - not classic.
Grade: ** 1/2 out of *****