“I
Was a Male War Bride” is a Howard Hawks
/ Cary Grant romantic comedy released in 1949.
The exterior scenes were filmed in Heidelberg, Germany. Terrible weather resulted in illnesses to
much of the cast and crew. Grant
suffered from hepatitis and jaundice which pushed back production for three
months. He had to regain thirty pounds
to finish the movie. The movie took a
total of eight months to complete. It
was worth it as the film was a box office success and ended up being Hawks’
third highest grosser after “Sergeant York” and “Red River”. It is actually based on a biography by
Grant’s character, but I would assume it is highly fictionalized.
A woman in pants on a motorcycle! |
The
movie is set in post-WWII Germany. Grant
plays a French soldier named Henri Rochard.
He is paired with the very feisty Lt. Catherine Gates (Anne
Sheridan). She's a WAC. They had been paired before
on missions to locate stolen art treasures.
Working together has not led to fondness and in fact they dislike each
other immensely. Imagine that. Their banter is vicious even for the
1940s. He calls her a “bubblemouth” and
she calls him a “blistering idiot”. This
being the good ole days before feminism, Henri threatens that he is “going to
kick [her] bowlegged". She is bossy and
he is mean. They have what the movie
calls “sex antagonism”. Do you think
they will get together before the end of the movie?
Spoiler alert: they get together |
Their
route to matrimony begins with a feverish motorcycle with a sidecar adventure
with Catherine donning slacks to drive.
Sheridan did some of the stunts which included the accidental demise of
a goose. As in all romantic comedies of
this time period, they end up in the same hotel room and misunderstandings
ensue to postpone the inevitable coupling.
Oh, and they are supposed to be on a mission to bring in a valuable lens
maker who is now a black marketeer. They
find him and love. Their first kiss is
in a hay stack. Three weddings later
(don’t ask), we get to see Anne Sheridan in a night gown. She fills it nicely. They would have lived happily ever after
except that Catherine gets orders back to the States and would you believe the
law covering military spouses assumed they would be females? So here comes the big payoff for sitting
through this long snooze fest – the sight of Cary Grant in drag! Go back in a time machine so you can get a
thrill out of this.
Trust me, this is actually Cary Grant |
Cary
Grant enjoyed making this movie and is quoted as saying it was the best comedy
he had done up till then. Sure! And “The Green Berets” was John Wayne’s best
war movie. The movie is terrible no
matter what Grant said in his hepatitis induced delirium. It feels like it is lasting longer than the
war when it is actually only 105 minutes.
Parts are redundant and all of it is predictable (except the stunning
sight of Grant in drag). The movie gets
worse as it goes along. Just when you
think it can’t get any more tedious, it does.
The acting is average. Sheridan
is game and holds her own, but Grant appears to be going through the motions
and does not even attempt a French accent.
I did not find they had much chemistry.
The biggest problem is the movie is just not that funny. I smiled a few times, but never laughed out
loud. Apparently audiences howled at the
sight of Cary as a female. And they
guffawed over Milton Berle in a dress back then, too. Different times. Back when war brides were topical I suppose
the movie was humorous. However, if you
want to see a WWII comedy that holds up, watch “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek”.
GRADE = D
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