Main Cast: Cary Grant, Ann Sheridan, Randy Stuart, William Neff
Release Year: 1949
Country: US
Run Time: 105 minutes
Plot
Howard Hawks directed this classic farce about how love attempts to triumph over military red tape after the close of World War II. Capt. Henri Rochard (Cary Grant) is a French officer who is assigned to put a stop to a black market operation in occupied Germany with the help of Lt. Catherine Gates (Ann Sheridan), an American WAC. While their initial meetings are hardly harmonious, in time Rochard and Gates find that opposites really do attract, and they fall in love. The two decide to get married, which seems simple enough, but the moment Gates receives orders to return to the United States and Rochard wants to join her, they soon discover just how complicated the U.S. Army can make things. While the Army has a strict protocol for dealing with "war brides," there is no similar routine for men who marry female Army personnel, so in order to follow his new wife into the States, Rochard has to disguise himself as a WAC. From this moment on, nearly everything that happens to Rochard is an affront to his dignity and/or his patience, from his inability to share a bunk with his new bride to his discovery that Army regulations prevent him from driving a motorcycle (Gates has to take the handlebars, while her husband is forced to ride in a sidecar). As more than one writer has pointed out, while Grant gives a deft comic performance, it's a bit of a stretch to imagine that he's French (but probably no more than to imagine that anyone would really believe that he's a woman). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
I Was a Male War Bride doesn't reach the zany heights of earlier Cary Grant-Howard Hawks entries such as His Girl Friday, but that's hardly cause for complaint -- hardly anything is quite as good as the classic Friday. Bride is a thoroughly enjoyable, sometimes hilarious romantic comedy; it's just that the laughs don't come non-stop as they do in the very best of Hawks' work. Bride is a bit gentler -- and, it must be admitted, in the first half ever so slightly dull, as the film concentrates a bit too much on the on-location scenery and not on shifting the comedy into high gear. Once Bride gets going, though, the earlier bumps are easily forgiven. For his part, Grant is in top form, demonstrating once again what an invaluable farceur he was, and how irreplaceable he is in so many of his films. His co-star, Ann Sheridan, doesn't quite rise to his level, but she does do much more than adequately and in a number of moments truly shines. One does wish that there was a tiny bit more chemistry between the stars; it's definitely there, but it just falls a little short of being as natural and unforced as one desires. It's also a bit of a drawback that Hawks and his writers didn't set some of Sheridan's material up in a more sympathetic light, as Gates comes across as slightly mean toward Rochard at times -- and unnecessarily so. Still, these are small complaints and they don't keep Bride from being breezy, enjoyable and appealing. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Eugene Gericke - Tony Jewitt; Kenneth Tobey - Seaman; Ruben Wendorf - Innkeeper's Assistant; Lester Sharpe - Waiter; John Whitney - Trumble; Robert Stevenson - Lieutenant; Alfred Linder - Bartender; David McMahon - Chaplain; Joe Haworth - Shore Patrol; André Charlot - French Minister; Russ Conway - Cmdr. Willis; Alex Gerry - Waiter; Paul Hardtmuth - Burgomeister; Gil Herman - Naval Officer; Arthur Hill; Carl Jaffe - Jail Officer; Lily Kann - Innkeeper's Wife; Harry Lauter - Lieutenant; Mike Mahoney - Sailor; William McLean - Expectant GI; Martin Miller - Schindler; William Murphy - Sergeant; Barbara Perry - Tall WAC; William Pullen - Sergeant; Otto Reichow; Bill Self - Sergeant; John Serret - French Notary; William Yetter, Jr. - German Policeman; John Zilly - Shore Patrol; Kay Young - Maj. Prendergast
I Was a Male War Bride is a 1949 comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan. This film was based upon the true account of the real Henri Rochard, a Belgian who married an American nurse; the experience was told in his story entitled I was an Alien Spouse of Female Military Personnel Enroute to the United States Under Public Law 271 of the Congress.[1] The film is the story of French Army officer Henri Rochard (Grant) who must pass as a war bride in order to go back to the United States with Women's Army Corps officer Catherine Gates (Sheridan). The film is noted as being a low key screwball comedy with a famous final sequence featuring Cary Grant impersonating a female army nurse.
In Heidelberg, Germany, Captain Henri Rochard (Cary Grant) of the French Army, and WAC lieutenant Catherine Gates (Ann Sheridan), an American, are assigned a mission together to stop a German high-level scientist, Schindler (Martin Miller), in postwar Germany. The only available transport is a motorcycle with a side car and because only Cathy has been cleared to operate the machine, Henri will have to ride in the sidecar. After several mishaps, including a road block, a near plunge over a waterfall and losing their way, Cathy and Henri arrive at their destination, Bad Nauheim.
At the hotel, Cathy complains of back pain, and Henri offers to give her a back rub. After she falls asleep, Henri tries to leave her room, but discovers that the door handle has fallen off, trapping him inside. Henri spends an uncomfortable night in a chair, and in the morning, Cathy refuses to believe his story. Unknown to Henri, the innkeeper's wife has replaced the knob, and so, when he again tries the door, it opens easily. Eventually, the innkeeper's wife explains everything to Cathy, but not before Henri falls off the roof while trying to keep his presence in Cathy's room a secret.
Later, Henri disguises himself to search for Schindler, a black market lens grinder. He refuses to let Cathy help him, so she has breakfast with a fellow officer. From him, she learns that the black market is about to be raided, and when Henri asks her to vouch for his identity, she follows his earlier orders not to reveal that she knows him, and allows the police to arrest him. While Henri is in jail, Cathy finds Schindler, who happily agrees to leave Germany and ply his trade in France. Later, she apologizes to a furious Henri, and by the time they return to Heidelberg, they have fallen in love.[2]
After a great deal of red tape and interference by well-meaning friends, Cathy and Henri are married in three different ceremonies in Heidelberg, civil, Army and church. Before they can consummate the marriage that night, Cathy is given orders by Lt. Kitty Lawrence to report back to headquarters to be shipped back to the United States in the morning. They subsequently learn that the only way Henri can get a visa to emigrate with her is under the War Bride Act, as a spouse of a member of the expeditionary forces. After many misunderstandings, Henri is granted permission to sail for America with Cathy, but before they leave, circumstances and Army regulations conspire to keep them from spending the night together. Finally, in order to get past unbelieving Navy officers, Henri must dress as a woman. The deception works, but once underway, Henri's disguise is penetrated, and he is arrested. Cathy manages to straighten out the situation, and although he is free to leave the room where he has been imprisoned, Henri invites Cathy in. After he locks the door on the inside and throws away the key, Henri and Cathy finally have their wedding night.
Production problems
During production, however, the cast and crew suffered from an assortment of maladies: Marion Marshall (director Hawks girlfriend) was the only principal to emerge unscathed from the experience. Sheridan contracted pleurisy that developed into pneumonia, suspending shooting for two weeks. Hawks broke out in mystery hives. The worst off was Grant: he fell seriously ill with a case of hepatitis complicated by jaundice. Production was shut down for three months while the actor convalesced and resumed only after Grant was able to regain around thirty pounds.
