I Was a Male War Bride (1949)

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Must See Movie...

Best movie of this year hands down!

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

A post-WWII Howard Hawks screwball comedy transpires in the Allied-occupied Germany, Cary Grant plays a French Army Captain Henri Rochard, who is teamed up with American Lieutenant Catherine Gates (Sheridan) in his last mission before bowing out of military service once and for all. It starts as a typical ill-matched pair reluctantly bundled together (even sharing the same bed one evening), who are constantly at each other's throats through comedy of errors, more often than not, at Henry's expense, but, improbable to audience, a budding romantic is bound to emerge from both sides and by the end of their task, they are going to tie the knot. Honestly, the first half is very pleasurable with Grant adopts his tried-and-tested winning formula to juggle goofy, loosey-goosey innocuousness with snit-driven prolixity, meanwhile a proactive Ann Sheridan pulls no punch to prove that as a woman, her Catherine is no lesser to any masculine peer of hers, she can operate a spanking vehicle as competent as fast-tracking their mission. In truth, it is this conformity-defying, role-swapping gender politics that gingers up the film right out of the box, however, in the second half, when the narrative is mired in overwrought red tapes, only to put the newly weds in the quagmire of a repeatedly deferred marriage consummation, and laboriously plays up the same source of amusement that Henri must apply as a war bride in order to be emigrated to USA as Catherine's spouse, the film's allure starts to pall, and its objectionable ethnocentric overtone doesn't help either. When the plot reaches that mane-clipping, nurse-impersonating climax, it only leaves a first-time viewer gobsmacked, not by the plan's wits but the whole idiocy which Hawks condones, maxing out Cary Grant's belabored discomfiture but largely relegating Ann Sheridan on the sideline, an utter betrayal to its promising premise. Another Golden Age Hollywood crowd-pleaser doesn't come through the test of time, as at one point Henri jests that woman is, au contraire, not the weaker gender to man since they are blessed with more sleep, the joke is in fact on the film and Hawks himself, a blatant tokenism in addressing gender equality, but cranked out inside a masculine hothouse, it is the same old blarney that now borders on offense.

. . . proved more dangerous to film in Real Life than lensing SCHINDLER'S LIST. However, you'd never know this from a casual viewing of I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE, the first half of which features Cary Grant's and Ann Sheridan's characters searching post-WWII Germany for a black marketeer named "Schindler," who apparently grinds rare military-grade lenses. Filmming had to break off for months mid-shoot as Cary Grant, playing the BRIDE, nearly died of hepatitis, while co-star Ann Sheridan battled life-threatening pleurisy and pneumonia. Most Americans forget or never learned that U.S. Gen. "I-Like-Ike" Eisenhower, to avenge WWII, killed several MILLION German P.O.W.s and civilians through denying them access to food and medicine from 1945 through 1948. (These facts are NOT in most history books, because War's winners write the texts, which then are censored by the Texas State School Board.) When I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE filmed ON LOCATION, every inch of Germany was crawling with corpses and the deadliest germs known to mankind, making it one big happy Death Camp. But Hollywood's moguls had no qualms about nearly sacrificing the lives of Mr. Grant and Ms. Sheridan (plus probably ACTUAL fatalities among the lesser known cast and crew) on the altar of political expediency (as in, "Hey, Middle America, watch this movie and then book a Bavarian vacation!") while the fat cats themselves were snuggled safely in their Tinsel Town castles. If all this sounds like an apt analogy for generals and privates in War, you only need to watch I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE with informed eyes to notice how haggard Mr. Grant and Ms. Sheridan look towards the end. You may conclude that this flick was a total travesty, parading as Art.

I doubt that any movie has gotten more amusement from sheer frustrations than this one. Poor Capt. Rochard (Grant). If he's not getting dumped by a sidecar, or trying to get the better of the resourceful Lt. Catherine, or having to fill out one more bureaucratic form (Sheridan), he's having to dress up as a woman and call himself a "war bride". It's just one frustrating embarrassment after another, all done in exquisitely humorous fashion as only Grant can bring off. But don't count out Sheridan. Together, they play off one another splendidly.So is it love or hate between them. She's always got a better idea than he, as together they try to locate a German scientist in post-war Europe. But, he's the captain—shouldn't he be the master of situations, not she. No wonder he wants to wring her lovely, domineering neck. But then he decides kissing it would be more agreeable, and thankfully she agrees. After all, he is Cary Grant. Now all they have to do to get a wedding night and get to America, is get past a blizzard of red tape. That means getting married three times to please post-war authorities; then fill out a ton of forms to please the same authorities; and then get a quick sex change for the poor French captain since only war brides are allowed to immigrate to the US. Talk about frustrations!It's a delightful service-based comedy filmed in post-war Europe, so we get a taste of conditions there, circa 1948. It's not really madcap, though director Hawks keeps things moving in his usual knowing style. Then too the three screenwriters have come up with a great script that needs little embellishment. I do have to say that maybe Hollywood's handsomest man makes one homely woman. Plus, you have to get past Grant's playing a Frenchman yet speaking perfect English, not much of a chore as it turns out. Anyway, I gather this is Grant's favorite comedy among the many of his brilliant career. And I can see why.

I Was a Male War Bride (1949)Howard Hawks directing Cary Grant in a farce of a post-war comedy. It's hilarious at times, and always engaging as you'd expect. But then, you might also expect something even further over the top, which might have made this a classic rather than just a really funny fun film.A reminder--this is the pairing that gave us "Bringing Up Baby" and "His Girl Friday," two of the funniest movies ever. Even "Monkey Business," three years later, had more zaniness to it, though clearly in third place among the four. "I Was a Male War Bride" is the up side to the film noir version of the American soldier in the late 1940s, and it plays into a lot of jokes that were probably hilarious at the time--like the absurd acronyms the military used and uses--but in 2011 it's the larger romance and brief cross-dressing that are the hooks.If the other three Hawks-Grant comedies have the likes of Katherine Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe to give them longevity (and writers like Ben Hecht chipping in on that score), this one has the lesser known Ann Sheridan. As friendly, likable and every-day as she is meant to be (a little like Ginger Rogers in "Monkey Business"), she never quite lights up the screen. Or more importantly, lights up Cary Grant. Don't worry, there are really funny parts--the motorcycle scenes in general, including on the boat--so watch this, definitely. Grant might not be his quirky or even romantic best, but he's still Cary Grant. And the writing is fun, the pace always fast. And then, when you're done, you'll want to remember the others in this group. And to round it out, you might discover the fifth collaboration--not a comedy--the moving and very well made "Only Angels Have Wings." Great stuff all around.