Every war brings patriotic films intended to gird the national psyche for war. These films promote nationalism, a sense of honor and history, and a sense of the essential correctness of the war effort. There are a lot of bad films among them; there are also quite a few memorable ones, like Sergeant York. That the recent US incursion into Iraq prompted only bad ones—Behind Enemy Lines, anyone?—is perhaps a sign of how bad Hollywood has gotten. However, it's likely more a sign of the unpopularity of the war du jour: were there any patriotic, pro-Vietnam movies (at least ones not starring John Wayne)?

But let's talk about Sergeant York. Alvin York, a dirt farmer from Tennessee who attempted to avoid service in World War I on conscientious objector grounds, became a hero when he led seven other soldiers to disable several machine gun nests, kill 25 Germans, and capture 132 others. He won just about every medal that any Allied country had to offer, and he became a sort of demigod to Americans. But he was a humble sort, and he just wanted to go home to Tennessee. Well, not that humble: when approached about the idea of making a film about him, he consented, but only if Gary Cooper played him.

It's dedicated, according to text at the beginning of the film, to the faith that someday man will live in peace. We're still waiting. Gary Cooper, who won the Best Actor Oscar (beating out Orson Welles in Citizen Kane, a film with a markedly dimmer view of the honor of America), plays the titular sergeant, although he starts the film far from the trenches of Europe where he would win his fame. It's 1915, and we first meet him as he disrupts a church meeting run by the kindly Pastor Pile (Walter Brennan, who earned his fourth Oscar nomination). Alvin York is a hellraiser, and he and his rowdy, boozing friends, shooting it up in the street outside the church, make it impossible for Pile to continue preaching.

York lives in a remote section of Tennessee, where they didn't have electricity yet, and where the roads are only passable sometimes. It seems like a world away from events in Europe, and news of a war over there doesn't even cross the town's radar. York lives with his mother (Margaret Wycherly, who sleepwalked her way through the role and into an Oscar nomination as Supporting Actress), his younger brother George (Dickie Moore), and his sister Rosie (June Lockhart). York spends his time drinking and drinking, and Pastor Pile's efforts to turn him on the Lord's path are mostly futile. York finds direction after meeting and falling for the beautiful Gracie (Joan Leslie). He puts himself to work trying to prove himself to her, but his efforts come to nothing until he has a religious experience and turns into a nice, turn-the-other-cheek kind of guy.

This causes problems when the US declares war on Germany and York is drafted. He tries to get an exemption, since he thinks the Bible prohibits any kind of killing, despite the helpful advice given by the draft board that the Bible can be interpreted in any way you'd like. He ends up in the army, where he befriends Pusher Ross (George Tobias), who educates him on the world outside Tennessee. York quickly shows off his marksmanship, catching the eye of a friendly major (Stanley Ridges), who challenges him to overcome his pacifism for the greater good of winning the war. After a furlough during which he is convinced by the old "render unto Caesar" line, he comes back raring to go. He still doesn't like killing, but he's forced to do quite a bit of it during an incredible 15-minute battle scene, which presents the events that earned him his multiple decorations. (There's a moment during his singlehanded assault on the machine gun nests when he says "Just like a flock of turkeys," an odd statement to come from the mouth of a man who still thought killing was wrong.)

This is classic Hollywood at its most efficient. Director Howard Hawks, who was proficient in just about any genre you threw at him, keeps things moving nicely. There are typical doses of humor (my favorite being the presentation of the award from the French general) and pathos, and the kind of sanctimonious speechifying that might get on your nerves in a lesser film. But here it works: the breathless pace, the good script, and the mostly fine performances made me more forgiving of the dated aspects of this film. Overall, though, it's Gary Cooper's film. The 40-year-old Cooper might seem a little old for the role, but the real York was 30 when he was drafted, and Cooper's youthful exuberance at the beginning segues nicely into his more thoughtful, Gary Cooper-like turn after his religious conversion. I'd say he deserved his Oscar, except that Orson Welles deserved his Oscar.

In addition to Cooper's Oscar, the film won Best Editing. It was nominated for a total of eleven Oscars, including Picture, Director, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Sol Polito's cinematography, Max Steiner's score, Art Direction/Interior Decoration, Sound Recording, and the original screenplay by, among others, John Huston. It lost Best Picture to How Green Was My Valley, which should have lost to Citizen Kane.