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Paramount Pictures
Not part of a collection.
MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!
Having been discharged from the Marines for a hayfever condition before ever seeing action, Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith delays the return to his hometown, feeling that he is a failure. While in a moment of melancholy, he meets up with a group of Marines who befriend him and encourage him to return home to his mother by fabricating a story that he was wounded in battle with honorable discharge.
CinemaSerf
Feb 9, 2026 · via TMDB
The US Marine Corps reckons excessive sniffing could compromise operational readiness, so it has discharged chronic hayfever sufferer “Truesmith” (Eddie Bracken). He’s no coward, and feeling somewhat ashamed buys some serving soldiers a few drinks in a bar. They take pity on their down-at-heart friend and concoct a wheeze that will enable him to go home to his widowed mother (Georgia Caine) with his head held high. The train arrives into town and off he gets, bedecked in medals and instantly hailed a hero, straight into the middle of their mayoral election campaign. Some of the townsfolk are fed up with the incumbent “Noble” (Raymond Walburn) whose son “Forrest” (Bill Edwards) is dating “Libby” (Ella Raines) who used to be the gal of our fêted arrival, and so with her taking time off from her friancé to make him feel at home and with “Doc. Bissell” (Harry Hayden) agreeing to surrender his political ticket it looks like “Truesmith” is going to be riding high. The thing is, though, the more momentum he gathers the less comfortable he is with the lies he has been telling, largely encouraged by his marine buddies, so soon he must decide whether he will go with the flow of deceit, or impose some integrity on the proceedings. It has a wartime warmth to it, this, and both Bracken and Walburn deliver quite entertainingly as things snowball out of control but never beyond the realms of decency. It takes a little swipe at the pomposity and paraphernalia of civic electioneering whilst reminding us of the courage of not just those away at war but of also of those at home, at war in their own way too. There’s plenty of fun to be had from a script that is presented amiably by a characterful supporting cast that create quite a sense of community. The nature of the ending is quite life-affirming without straying into propaganda territory, and I did quite enjoy it’s whimsicality.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Eddie Bracken
Woodrow Truesmith
Ella Raines
Libby
Raymond Walburn
Mayor Everett J. Noble
William Demarest
Sgt. Heppelfinger
Franklin Pangborn
Reception Committee Chairman
Elizabeth Patterson
Martha - Libby's Aunt
Georgia Caine
Mrs. Truesmith
Al Bridge
Political Boss
Freddie Steele
Bugsy
Bill Edwards
Forrest Noble
Harry Hayden
Doc Bissell
Jimmy Conlin
Judge Dennis
Chester Conklin
Western Union Man (uncredited)
Eddie Hall
Man Swigging Beer at the Bar (uncredited)
Tom McGuire
Town Councilman (uncredited)
Frank Moran
Town Painter (uncredited)
Dewey Robinson
Train Conductor (uncredited)
Robert Warwick
Marine Colonel (uncredited)
Miriam Nelson
Tap Dancer (uncredited)
Esther Howard
Mrs. Everett J. Noble (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
Woman at Train Station (uncredited)
Torben Meyer
Mr. Schultz (uncredited)
Arthur Hoyt
Rev. Upperman (uncredited)
Nora Cecil
Train Ticket Clerk (uncredited)
Dot Farley
Mamie's Mother (uncredited)
Jim Farley
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum
Town Councilman (uncredited)
Julie Gibson
Singer (uncredited)
Mildred Harris
Wife of Marine Colonel (uncredited)
Philo McCullough
Town Councilman (uncredited)
George Melford
Sheriff (uncredited)
Charles R. Moore
The Porter (uncredited)
Jack Norton
Second Bandleader (uncredited)
Harry 'Snub' Pollard
Townsman (uncredited)
Paul Porcasi
Cafe Owner (uncredited)
Victor Potel
Progressive Bandleader (uncredited)
Theodor Sparkuhl
Camera Operator
John F. Seitz
Director of Photography
Edith Head
Costume Design
Wally Westmore
Makeup Artist
Eugene Joseff
Other
Joseph J. Lilley
Additional Music
Victor Young
Additional Music
Preston Sturges
Director
Preston Sturges
Producer
Preston Sturges
Writer
Ensemble
After Mein Kampf?
The Great Dictator
Saving Private Ryan
I Wish I Were a Pigeon
Paris : Les Lieux secrets de l'occupation
Heard She Got Married
Downfall
Marriage Italian Style
The Train
Shaun of the Dead
The Rules of the Game
Enemy at the Gates
Jerry & Marge Go Large
Pleasantville
God Does Not Believe in Us Anymore
Fortress of War
Monsieur Batignole
Momo
The Nazi Jesus
Lewis Black: Stark Raving Black
Loves of a Blonde
Valkyrie
Pearl Harbor
Antonia's Line
Flags of Our Fathers
The Assault
The Last Note
Jakob the Liar
U-571
Beach Red
Kontinental '25
The Red Squirrel
A Bride from the North
En busca del polvo perdido
13 Hours That Saved Britain
Death and Texas
Quarter to Two Before Jesus Christ
Monster Trucks
Spanglish
Take Me Home Tonight
The Last Shot
Ambush
1944 The Final Defence
A Yank in the R.A.F.
People with Wings
Wunderland
Leningrad
Starstruck
Heartbreak Hotel
Ardennes Fury
Enchanted
Plump Fiction
Werewolves of the Third Reich
Thanks Girls and Goodbye
Puffer Rhapsody
My Soul Is a Witness
Coffee Is Important
Packages
Alice and Horst
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
No Time for Sergeants
Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold
The Enemy Below
49th Parallel
Block-Heads
The Best of Enemies
Shoulder Arms
Buck Privates
The Bridge at Remagen
Oh! What a Lovely War
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!
Carry On Sergeant
Carry On Nurse
The Flying Deuces
Sky High
Charlotte's Web
The Secret War of Harry Frigg
Rookie of the Year
The Wackiest Ship in the Army
The Pacifier
Shark Tale
The Sea Wolves
We Can Be Heroes
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
Attack Force Z
Meatballs
Father Hood
Aug 9, 1944
New York City, New York
Aug 18, 1944
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Bicara Cinta
2020
The Pied Pipers of Harlow
1965
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
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