Main Cast: Janya Brannt, Jack Lemmon, Barbara Harris, Jason Robards, Jr., Herb Edelman, Severn Darden
Release Year: 1972
Country: US
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Loosely based on the life and work of cartoonist and essayist James Thurber, The War Between Men and Women stars Jack Lemmon as cartoonist Peter Wilson, who, while visiting an eye doctor for his failing vision, quite literally stumbles upon Terry Kozlenko (Barbara Harris), an attractive but somewhat volatile divorcee with three children. Peter has a well-documented antipathy for women, children, and dogs, so everyone he knows is rather surprised when he finds himself falling in love with Terry -- and she falls in love with him. Peter and Terry get married, but her affection for him is not shared by her kids, who still idolize their father Stephen (Jason Robards, a successful photojournalist; Terry's dog doesn't care for Peter, either. When Peter's eye condition worsens, leaving him nearly blind, he suggests to Terry that she should go back to Stephen for the sake of her children, only to learn that Stephen has been killed while on assignment. Peter is now the only father the children have, and he's forced to find a way to reach out to them. The War Between Men and Women's interpolation of Thurber's life and work, using both live-action and animation, was inspired by a respected but short-lived television series, My World and Welcome to It, in which William Windom starred as Thurber. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Lisa Eilbacher - Caroline Kozlenko; Joyce Brothers - Herself; Moosie Drier - David Kozlenko; Joey Faye - Florist Delivery Man; Lisa Gerritsen - Linda Kozlenko; Bill Hickman - Large Gentleman; Ruth McDevitt - Elderly Woman; John Zaremba - Minister; Danny Arnold - Manhattan Policeman; Olive Dunbar - Woman At Literary Tea; Lucille Meredith - Mrs. Schenker; Alan DeWitt - Man; Rick Gates - Bernie; Lea Marmer - Old Hag; Margaret Muse - Women at Literary Tea; Janya Brannt - Nurse
Credit
Robert Dranko - Animator, Dale Case - Animator, Lambert Marks - Costume Designer, Mike Moder - First Assistant Director, Melville Shavelson - Director, Frank Bracht - Editor, Marvin Hamlisch - Composer (Music Score), Barbara Harris - Songwriter, Jason Robards, Jr. - Songwriter, Marvin Hamlisch - Songwriter, Howard Liebling - Songwriter, Gary D. Liddiard - Makeup, Harry Ray - Makeup, Stan Jolley - Production Designer, Charles Wheeler - Cinematographer, Danny Arnold - Producer, Robert R. Benton - Set Designer, John V. Speak - Sound/Sound Designer, Robert Dranko - Supervisor/Manager, Danny Arnold - Screenwriter, Melville Shavelson - Screenwriter
The War Between Men and Women is a comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Barbara Harris, and Jason Robards. It is based on the writings of humorist James Thurber, and was released in 1972 by Cinema Center Films. Like many other films in the Cinema Center catalog, it has long been unavailable on home video, with the exception of a brief release on VHS in 2000. Nonetheless, it has been shown on television.
The film was directed by Melville Shavelson, creator of the 1969 Thurber-based television series My World and Welcome to It. The screenplay was by Shavelson and by Danny Arnold, who also worked on the 1969 series. Arnold is best known for his later television series, Barney Miller. Lisa Gerritsen, who plays Linda Kozlenko in the film, previously co-starred in My World and Welcome to It as Lydia Monroe.
The screenplay by Melville Shavelson and Danny Arnold was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen.
