sergeant york is a 1941 american world war i biographical movie directed by howard hawks based on the diary of the same name by alvin york. it stars gary cooper, walter brennan, joan leslie, george tobias, stanley ridges, margaret wycherly, ward bond, noah beery jr., june lockhart, charles trowbridge, harvey stephens, joseph sawyer and was distributed by warner bros.. it was nominated for 11 oscars and won 2 academy awards in 1942.