Alvin York a hillbilly sharpshooter transforms himself from ruffian to religious pacifist. He is then called to serve his country and despite deep religious and moral objections to fighting becomes one of the most celebrated American heroes of WWI.
Acting
Cooper's Oscar-winning transformation from yokel to conflicted icon.
Direction
Hawks somehow makes sermonizing cinematic.
Production
Rural Tennessee recreated on Hollywood backlots with weird authenticity.
Director
Howard Hawks
Gary Cooper
Alvin C. York
Walter Brennan
Pastor Rosier Pile
Joan Leslie
Gracie Williams
George Tobias
"Pusher" Ross
Stanley Ridges
Major Buxton
Margaret Wycherly
Mother York
Ward Bond
Ike Botkin
Noah Beery Jr.
Buck Lipscomb
June Lockhart
Rosie York
Dickie Moore
George York
Clem Bevans
Zeke
Howard Da Silva
Lem
Charles Trowbridge
Cordell Hull
Harvey Stephens
Captain Danforth
David Bruce
Bert Thomas
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Alvin York insisted on Gary Cooper and refused other actors for years; he finally approved after Cooper grew a mustache and visited him in Tennessee.
Released six months before Pearl Harbor, this was Hollywood's soft-sell interventionist argument—making pacifism look patriotic so audiences would accept the inevitable.
US
