I Was a Male War Bride

Howard Hawks has fashioned many a film on his favorite subject of the war between men and women. But none has been more droll, in my estimation, than "I Was Male War Bride". The movie was filmed in actual French locations not long after the end of WWII. The plot revolves about the necessity for two officers, a Frenchman and an American WAC, to go on a mission together--after a disastrous first assignment, at least on a personal level. The adventures, mishaps, one-upsmanships, accidents and lodging-room mixups they have results in further infuriating the French officer, at the same time he is falling in love with his maddening partner. But the real problem for them begins when they decide to get married and go to the United States--and the only way it can be handled swiftly is if he is declared to be a "war bride". The Frenchman is admirably played despite his accent by Cary Grant; the female is the lovely Ann Sheridan, who proves herself to be adept at verbal comedy of the deadpan variety. Other seen to advantage in the film include Randy Stuart, Kenneth Tobey as a grumpy officer, and Marion Marshall. Editor James B. Clark and hairstylist Ben Nye were kept busy during this one; and Lyl;e Wheeler provided luminous images to accompany Cyril Mockridge's clever music. Henri Rochard's story is so real and so involving that the writers who worked on it were able to milk this slender premise for all it was worth. The climax as Grant manages to get to sail home to the US on a ship disguised as a female only adds to the overall sense of intelligence in charge and fun in the air. Not a great film, perhaps, but an important lesson in how to ground satirical comedy in reality, and reap the benefits of a situation .

I was wavering between awarding this movie a 7 or an 8, and have finally plunked for an 8 because a movie with Cary Grant in it has got to be truly horrible and an utter stinker to get anything below an 8.

This should make it pretty obvious what the best thing about this otherwise average film was. The chemistry between Grant and Sheridan is amusing but not engaging (not the way his verbal sparring with other co-stars like Katharine Hepburn and Rosalind Russell just sparkle right off the screen); the plot is contrived and the romance between the two main characters--Henri and Catherine--isn't particularly believable. (Grant and Sheridan fail at what Gable and Colbert did so well in 'It Happened One Night': making it believable and real and sympathetic that two characters at absolute loggerheads *could* fall helplessly in love.)

This doesn't mean that the film is *bad*. The first half of the movie is mildly amusing, with the bickering between the two main characters as they take a motorcycle trip to their destination. But the best part of it probably comes when Henri and Catherine get married (three times!), with all its attendant problems. It is Grant's perfect comic timing and adorable mien that makes the blatantly "please laugh now" moments genuinely funny. The look of resignation, anger, or suppressed annoyance on Henri's face as he repeatedly asserts that he is "an alien spouse" under the Congressional War Brides Act must be seen to be believed. And I dare anyone *not* to laugh when Grant cross-dresses. That is probably the best part of the film.

An average film without Cary Grant, a better one for having him in it, but definitely an average (if not poor) Grant film. If you want to introduce a friend to the charms of Cary Grant or to screwball comedy, you're better off with Bringing Up Baby or His Girl Friday. This one's probably for true Grant aficionados only.

One of the most undervalued screwball comedies... I think this picture is equal to classics like "It Happened One Night","Bringing Up Baby" or "My Man Godfrey".In this movie Ann Sheridan has the rare opportunity to show that she's not just a great dramatic actress but also has a impressive comedian talent - neither Katharine Hepburn nor Carole Lombard would have made it better.Cary Grant acts also quite good,but he has no chance against Ann with her sharp-tongued,dry commentaries...The dialogues and the action are very funny,I even laugh about it when I see that feature the 10th time...part of the plot is nonsense,of course,but there are also some sarcastic digs on the bureaucratic system. If you like screwball comedies,this movie is a MUST!!!

As a fan of Cary Grant's work in such comedies as Philadelphia Story and Bringing Up Baby, I was thoroughly disappointed by this movie.

It has a few shining, laugh out loud moments in the beginning and in the well known cross-dressing segment near the ending, but I found the middle to be long, slow and not very entertaining. The plot wasn't very interesting and Grant's adventures became repetitive and boring. Also, Grant isn't very convincing as a Frenchman, and I kept forgetting why he had trouble getting into the States in the first place. If you have trouble sitting through slow-moving movies, I would definitely not recommend this.

However, on the opposite side, there are a few funny moments, a cute romantic plot, and, of course, Cary Grant. See it if you wish, but be warned not to have too high of expectations.

Captain Henri Rochard is assigned to work with Lieutenant Catherine Gates on a very serious mission. Tho initial problems between the two are rife, it's not long before the two of them fall in love and hastily arrange to get married. However a ream of bureaucratic red tape ensures the couple can not be together and with Catherine set to go back to America, there may be only one option, Henri will have to invoke a War Brides Clause in army regulations, with some rather zany results.

I Was a Male War Bride is not even close to being a poor film, it has many moments of hilarity and contains a last twenty minutes to savour, it is however un-fulfilling as a comedy whole and sags on far too many occasions. How much of this is down to the chemistry of the leads and off camera illness problems is open for debate, for both Cary Grant {Rochard} and Ann Sheridan {Gates} both suffered ill health during the shoot, while director Howard Hawks himself was to succumb to being unwell at an inappropriate juncture. Tho Ava Gardner was originally wanted for the role of Gates {something i feel would have been excellent, if still wishing for a more comedic actress}, Hawks went for the more brisk acting of Sheridan, tho a fine actress, she seems wrong here, not quite coping with the comedy interplay with her leading man, almost missing the comedic beat as it were. Grant himself was said to have praised the picture quite often, but he does look weary and often appearing to be on auto pilot during the more laborious sequences.

The film has many supporters, but i can't in my wildest dreams term this as a screwball comedy, perhaps i expect better from Grant and Hawks?, i mean after His Girl Friday, Bringing Up Baby and to a lesser extent, Monkey Business, my expectation for this one was always likely to be high, and of course viewing Sheridan as a great dramatic actress was meaning i viewed this one with suspicion from the off. I honestly feel the last twenty minutes saves the picture from being very average, the script perks up, and naturally a bit of gender confusion always raises a titter, tho the sight of Grant in drag looks more akin to Frankenstein's monster than the boys from Some Like It Hot!. It's more than worth a watch and it has guaranteed laughs dotted throughout, it just falls some way short of being a comedy classic in this viewers humble opinion. 6/10