I Was a Male War Bride

Starring:Cary Grant, Ann Sheridan, Marion Marshall, Randy Stuart, Bill Neff, Lester Sharpe, Otto Reichow, Joe Haworth, Martin Miller, John Whitney (II), Gil Herman, Edward Platt, Otto Waldis, Kay Young, Stanley Maxted, Arthur Hill, Harry Lauter, Patricia Cutts, King Donovan, Paul Hardtmuth
Director: Howard Hawks
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Product Type: DVD

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This laugh-a-minute farce takes place in Occupied Germany, in the years following World War II. French officer Henri Rochard (Cary Grant) gets assigned to pair up with Lt. Catherine Gates (Ann Sheridan) to track down black marketers; they're already well acquainted and can't stand each other's presence. Eventually their antagonism turns to love, however, and they marry. Problem number two: navigating through U.S. Army red tape, which necessitates that Rochard be classified as a war bride and cross-dress to gain entry into the States. Grant makes an even less convincing woman than he does a Frenchman. The alternate title of this movie was You Can't Sleep Here, a phrase Grant hears over and over as he sleeps in all manner of horribly awkward and uncomfortable circumstances. Sheridan is utterly charming, and the many gags are a reminder of Grant's gifts for physical comedy. The film harks back to the screwball comedies of the '30s, only with a somewhat more leisurely pace. Sample lines, with Grant being handed a soggy infant: "Oh, how cute! What is it?" "It's a human fire extinguisher. Want to hold it?" "What's its name?" "Niagara!" --Jerry Renshaw

Description

Stationed to work side-by-side on a mission in post war Germany, French army officer Henry Rochard (Grant) and American WAC Lieutenant Catherine Gates (Ann Sheridan) fall in love. But just when they decide to marry, Catherine is ordered back to the US - alone! The only way for an alien, including her husband, to enter the US with her, is through the congressional act governing war brides. So?the resourceful Catherine does the obvious ---disguises her husband as a sister WAC in this hilarious classic that the whole family will enjoy.

Customer Reviews:

Just wondering..........2007-03-28

... if Howard Hawks was proud of making this. Sure Cary Grant didn't seem happy playing this part. I can't think of any good actor who'd enjoy being lured into such a preposterous plot which should have got Sheridan some Oscar for impersonating one of the most insufferable bitches on the screen (there's no shortage, but very few were less funny) although the responsibility is more Lederer's disappointing script.

This opinion is for the first 15 min. only, since I don't know if it gets better afterwards, but I couldn't stand it any longer : the last 5 min (of the 15) were an ordeal.

I Was a Male War Bride.......2007-03-27

Not one of Cary Grant's better ones. Too goofy and it didn't look as if he enjoyed the part.

My Favorite Movie.......2007-03-09

This movie is by far one of the greatest movies ever made.
You will laugh all the way thru it..and enjoy when things were so much simplier in Hollywood.

105 Minutes of a Sheer Fun!.......2005-12-12

Howard Hawks's "I Was a Male War Bride"(1949) is one of the most funny movies with Cary Grant I've ever seen. As a matter of fact, it is one of the most hilarious movies ever. The story is set in a postwar Germany, with ruins on the background, but the life seemingly coming more or less to normal. Henri Rochard (Cary Grant) is a French Captain from the French Economic mission, who is often supported in his missions by the US Army Lieutenant Catherine Gates (Ann Sheridan), a sharp-tongued female interpreter. From the very first scene in the movie, when Henri finds Catherine in her office to (quite publicly) return her very personal belongings he'd gotten by mistake in their previous trip, one can see a certain level of attraction, masked by a fierce, but very funny bickering on the subject of their previous work together. As fate would have it, for his new mission Henri is slated to go with Catherine again. The news does not seem to bode well with Henri, who seemed to have had a certain share of mishaps during their previous missions together, which he fully attributed to Catherine. However, he does not have much of a choice and off they go on a search for a skilled lens grafter in Bad Neuheim to save the poor man from the clutches of the black market and put his services to the benefit of society. Catherine's no-nonsense attitude does indeed put poor Henri into some very precarious situations from time to time, but it's not intentional, and Henri gradually comes to realize that. What's more, they grow more and more attached to each other during that trip until they realize that they love each other and want to get married. That's where the most oddball part of the movie begins. Since Catherine is still an officer of the US Army, the marriage has to be approved through the Army channels, causing a lot of consternation and anxiety to the two love birds and really testing their intent to marry. With the marriage finally happening (three times!) life should be full of roses for the newlyweds, but the Army had to have a final laugh and Catherine is ordered to go back to the States right away. Henri is an alien and it would be a matter of a long time before he gets all the papers allowing him to join her in the US. They are running around the bureaucratic offices, trying to secure Henri's departure with her, but it's all in vain, until one of the officials gives them an idea to use the congressional Act granting wider opportunities for the war brides to enter the United States. The only problem is Henri's not a woman! They do manage to get him the war bride status, which leads to more hilarious situations - like poor Henri filling in the questionnaire, where one of the standard questions is whether Mrs. So-and So is pregnant and how many months along! All this finally out of the way exhausted Henri and Catherine reach after all the last obstacle on their trip to the States - the Navy guards are not letting Henri on board the ship and the ship is just about to leave. In a sudden stroke of inspiration, Catherine disguises Henri in the uniform of the Army nurse and they sneak on board of the ship past the sailors. They do get caught eventually, after a hysterical episode when Henri is called upon to fulfill the nurse's duty during childbirth, but the ship is already at sea and nothing can be done about it. They do get to see the Statue of Liberty together after all.
The DVD picture quality is not all that great, just tolerable - apparently they could not do much restoration on it. The special features include the usual Still Gallery, the original trailers, Cary Grant Theater feature - about his other famous films - and a couple of short mute documentary reels on the making of the movies and its first release.

Promises much, delivers practically nothing.......2005-10-31

To begin, I am not a big fan of Cary Grant, EXCEPT in his Hitchcock movies, where he was excellent. And I enjoy him much with Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby. He was very good in The Eagle and the Hawk with Fredric March. He was tolerable in The Philadelphia Story and Talk of the Town. A friend of mine loaned me this DVD; she just bought it. I had wanted to see what Cary would do in this film, and I wanted to see him in the dress. From the start, the movie was SLOW and BORING, all the jokes were so lame and not at all funny. I also don't go for films where the man and woman yell at each other and dislike each other, and then at some point realize it is really love they feel for each other. Come on! I just can't understand that sort of romance situation. I felt Cary showed that "mean streak" he can show in some of his films, in the romance situation of this story. I rate this one star because it was one of those films you get bored with right from the beginning and it is sort of torture waiting for it to finally end. All the while I kept saying, "Let's move along, let's end this thing, when does he put on the dress?..." but they dragged it out on and on and on and on with boring,corny jokes. And the part we wanted to see, Cary in the dress, was at the VERY end and not very much at that. Overall, this film was a real disappointment and letdown. The only consolation was that I saw it for free; I didn't have to buy it or rent it. Still, I wasted good time that I could have used in a more profitable and enjoyable way. I would even have enjoyed washing a kitchen full of dirty dishes more than watching this movie! To sum it up, a VERY VERY BORING and DUMB movie, not to waste your time on.

Average customer rating:

Just wondering...
I Was a Male War Bride
My Favorite Movie
105 Minutes of a Sheer Fun!
Promises much, delivers practically nothing

I Was a Male War Bride [Region 2]
Starring: Cary Grant , Ann Sheridan , Marion Marshall , Randy Stuart , and Bill Neff
Director: Howard Hawks
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( I ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0002ADWI0

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Just wondering..........2007-03-28

I Was a Male War Bride.......2007-03-27

Not one of Cary Grant's better ones. Too goofy and it didn't look as if he enjoyed the part.

My Favorite Movie.......2007-03-09

This movie is by far one of the greatest movies ever made.
You will laugh all the way thru it..and enjoy when things were so much simplier in Hollywood.

105 Minutes of a Sheer Fun!.......2005-12-12

Promises much, delivers practically nothing.......2005-10-31

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