For Gary Cooper the role is made to order.

The performance of Gary Cooper in the title role holds the picture together magnificently, and even the most unfavorable touches are made palatable because of him.

The first half is quite good, documenting York's rural upbringing with great simplicity and charm. But the second part -- the war -- degenerates quickly and grotesquely.

It’s a handsomely mounted dive into the shallows, with the full complement of Warner Brothers' technical polish and the Howard Hawks touch of production panache. But old-time religion is hardly the only thing the film is full of.