4 Movies | November 11, 8 p.m.
This annual holiday to honor all those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces (as opposed to the Memorial Day observance of those who died in military service) was originally called Armistice Day, to mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. It was officially renamed Veterans Day by Congress in 1954, but continues to be celebrated on November 11, the date of the actual armistice, regardless of which day of the week it falls on. This year, TCM host Eddie Muller welcomes two notable veterans for screenings of four films featuring America’s fighting forces.
U.S. Army Major (Ret.) Jeremy Haynes was shot during his tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2014, severing his vena cava and 80% of the nerves to his lower extremities, paralyzing both legs. After a long and difficult recovery, he is now able to stand and walk for brief periods using adaptive equipment. He joins Muller for the essential “coming home” story, William Wyler’s Oscar®-winning The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), about the struggles of three World War II veterans (Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Harold Russell) and their families to readjust to life after service. Real-life veteran and nonprofessional actor Russell had hook protheses to replace both of his hands, lost during a training accident, and he sensitively portrays a veteran trying to regain his life with his fiancée.
U.S. Army Captain (Ret.) Leslie Smith, who lost her left leg and most of her vision after exposure to toxic chemicals in Bosnia, co-hosts a bit lighter fare with G.I. Blues (1960). This was Elvis Presley’s fifth movie and his first after being drafted and returning from service in Germany, where the story is set. The basic plot for this one – singing ladykiller with big dreams courts an initially uninterested beauty – which pretty much set the pattern for every Presley movie from this point forward.
The evening’s programming also features two of studio-era Hollywood’s biggest stars in some of their finest roles. Gary Cooper won an Academy Award for his performance as real-life war hero Sergeant York (1941). In this somewhat fictionalized account of the decorated veteran’s life, York is depicted as a rowdy, hard-drinking youth who becomes devoutly religious, claiming conscientious objector status when he was drafted to fight in World War I. Despite his pacifism, the expert marksman York serves with valor, saving the lives of many of his fellow combatants and capturing dozens of Germans almost single-handedly.
Henry Fonda recreates his stage success as Mister Roberts (1955), a cargo officer on a Navy supply ship who longs to be at the front lines in World War II. The gently comic story doesn’t reveal the off-screen conflict and turmoil that accompanied its making, but it turned out to be the third-biggest box office hit of the year and won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Jack Lemmon as the rebellious Ensign Pulver. In addition to Lemmon, Fonda had the support of other estimable actors, notably James Cagney as the ship’s dictatorial captain and William Powell in his final film role as the sympathetic Doc.
