Sergeant York (1941)

Sergeant York, nominated for Best Picture of 1941, probably earned its spot on the list thanks to the lead performance of Gary Cooper. Cooper was always best at roles that required some measure of restraint and quiet, and he found no better part than that of World War I hero Alvin York. The film itself is pretty standard for a biopic, with its attention to the major events of York's life, especially the difficulty that the poor face in trying to make a living or even perhaps get a chance at a better life.

York was a simple farmer from Tennessee who was drafted into military service. Having recently become a Christian after quite a few years of what my grandmother would have called "carousing," he holds fast to the principles that he has learned in church and from talks with his minister, Rosier Pile, played by Walter Brennan. After several attempts to get out of military service as a conscientious objector, York becomes a war hero by almost single-handedly capturing a troop of German soldiers. He uses the trick of gobbling like a turkey to pick off soldiers one by one, a trick he had demonstrated earlier in the movie in attempting to win the prize money at a turkey shoot.

Cooper plays York as an innocent, someone who is naive to the ways of the world. He seems to find almost everything new to be awe-inspiring and even miraculous. He also has incredible luck throughout the years he was in the military. Unlike back home in the hills, where he has been cheated out of some land by someone jealous over York's relationship with a pretty unmarried girl (Joan Leslie, affecting an unbelievably bad accent), in the Army and in Europe and even in New York after his service has ended, York is never taken advantage of and no one ever encourages him to do the wrong thing. I'm not sure that the real Alvin York was so lucky and/or--dare I suggest it--simple-minded as he is played here, but Cooper manages to show us that strength of character is the virtue most likely to keep you alive and successful.

This film is more overtly Christian in its tone than you might expect from a Hollywood film of its time, but it isn't "preachy." In fact, the conflict between York's patriotism and his religious faith is handled with intense seriousness. It's a further testament to Cooper's acting ability that he can show the difficulty that York faced in making the decision of which was to be more important to him: service to his country or the principles he learned in his church. Never during the course of the film did I feel manipulated, and that's probably a trait that has been lost in the art of moviemaking since Sergeant York was first released.