Sergeant York (1941)
There are some Gary Cooper movies I actually like, but the two that won him his Academy Awards aren’t among them. High Noon is one of the most overrated westerns, next to Shane, and Sergeant York is one of the most overrated war movies, next to The Sands of Iwo Jima. I have no idea why this movie was elevated to the upper echelon when there were countless others made during the same time that were so much better.
Gary Cooper stars as a backwater hick who “couldn’t count to eleven without taking his shoes off” (in the words of Guy Kibbee in Captain January) and gets drunk more often than he goes to church. In a freak accident, he gets struck by both lightening and the fear of God. Now, a completely devout Christian, he objects when he gets drafted into the Great War. His conscientious objection gets refused, and instead, he’s forced to fight for his country. His pastor, Walter Brennan gives him some valuable advice before he leaves, then he kisses his sweetheart Joan Leslie and his mother Margaret Wycherly goodbye and leaves for the war.
This is based off a true story, so any suspense during the war scenes is pretty much lost. Gary’s frightened, wooden performance is so bad, it’s as if they pulled someone in off the street and told him to read lines off a cue card. I can’t believe he won an Academy Award for this lousy movie, and I can’t believe Margaret Wycherly was nominated for her one expression: wide eyes, open mouth, vacant stare. I’m not a Gary Cooper fan anyway, but he’s particularly painful in the two movies that won him his Oscars. He’s much better in The Pride of the Yankees and Ten North Frederick, if you’re searching for good performances.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Gary Cooper movies here!
Gary Cooper stars as a backwater hick who “couldn’t count to eleven without taking his shoes off” (in the words of Guy Kibbee in Captain January) and gets drunk more often than he goes to church. In a freak accident, he gets struck by both lightening and the fear of God. Now, a completely devout Christian, he objects when he gets drafted into the Great War. His conscientious objection gets refused, and instead, he’s forced to fight for his country. His pastor, Walter Brennan gives him some valuable advice before he leaves, then he kisses his sweetheart Joan Leslie and his mother Margaret Wycherly goodbye and leaves for the war.
This is based off a true story, so any suspense during the war scenes is pretty much lost. Gary’s frightened, wooden performance is so bad, it’s as if they pulled someone in off the street and told him to read lines off a cue card. I can’t believe he won an Academy Award for this lousy movie, and I can’t believe Margaret Wycherly was nominated for her one expression: wide eyes, open mouth, vacant stare. I’m not a Gary Cooper fan anyway, but he’s particularly painful in the two movies that won him his Oscars. He’s much better in The Pride of the Yankees and Ten North Frederick, if you’re searching for good performances.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Gary Cooper movies here!