Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Inadvands Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

jotix100 A postwar Germany is the setting for this delightful comedy. Capt. Henri Rochard, a French officer, had been involved in the Allies effort to stop counterfeit products that were a big problem to control. He was a good collaborator who worked closely with the American forces trying to put an end to the practice. Henri had teamed up with Catherine Gates, an American officer a no nonsense woman who got things done, as expected.It was no wonder Henri and Catherine fell in love. They saw in one another a perfect match. At the time a lot of European women had met and fell in love with G.I.s who fought in WWII. As a result, there was a massive movement to bring those newlywed brides, many with children, to America. Henri, having married Catherine, finds himself in a quandary. Being married to an American soldier, he did not stand a chance to ever come to live in America with Catherine. But laws are meant to be broken because a loophole allows a male spouse to have the same privileges as women.This was a hilarious comedy in its day. Seeing today it might not have the same effect as when it originally released. Howard Hawks, perhaps one of the most original film directors of his generation, was one of the first Americans to take his film to a devastated Germany. The screenplay was written by Leonard Spigelgass, Charles Lederer and Hagar Wilde, a distinguished triad veterans from Hollywood. Osmond Borradale and Norbert Brodine are credited as the cinematographers. Their black and white photography shows what Germany looked like after the conflict.A lively and sassy Ann Sheridan made a perfect Catherine Gates. Evidently she was having a good time in the film, and it comes across in one of her best screen appearances. Paired with a Howard Hawks favorite, Cary Grant, the combination was powerful indeed. And yet, this was not one of Mr. Grant's best screen appearances. His Henri Rochard comes across as a bit uncomfortable, perhaps due to the fact he had to dress as a woman to get on board the ship bringing the newly wed wives to America.It is a tribute to Howard Hawks enormous talent this film has survived the passing of time.

jc-osms Amusing, if not hilarious post-war "screwball" comedy reuniting Howard Hawks and Cary Grant in a farce which suffers from over-stretching its thin premise over the length of a whole movie.It starts with a great sight gag as Grant gets confused by a succession of acronym signs in a military building, but while there are a few more laughs and grins down the line, it never really crackles to life and stay in the memory like "Bringing Up Baby" or "His Girl Friday".The two leads, Grant and Sheridan are pleasant enough and have a decent rapport, but it doesn't help that the great man doesn't even deign to speak a word of his French character's language at any point, far less adopt a French accent. He of course looks as handsome as ever, although giving truth to the old maxim about the handsome brother having an ugly sister (which usually works both ways!), when we see him "dragged up" at the end. Sheridan is natural and feisty, although she gets less to do than obvious leading man Grant.Unusually for Hawks, the direction lacks pace and for every amusing scene or turn of phrase, there are about two that don't work and thus hold back the comedy. As you'd expect from the title, there's a fair bit of pre-Python nudge-nudge, wink-wink innuendo, put across in knowing style by all, but the same "battle of the sexes" motif palls a little as the film wears on. Of some historic interest, however, is the opportunity the film confers in allowing us to to see our frustrated couple motorbiking their way round actual battle-scarred locations in Europe.There are some decent laughs here but they're hardly thick and fast and certainly the movie lacks the razor-sharp banter of the two wonderful predecessors noted above. Other directors than Hawks would serve Cary better in post-war Hollywood, notably Hitchcock, but this amusing romp is still worth watching to see the master at work, albeit in cruise control only.

writers_reign Though I didn't see it until today I think I'm fairly safe in saying that this entry hasn't worn well. Without researching the reviews at the time I'm prepared to believe it was well received and the fact that it relied solely on the two stars to sell it - there is not one single 'name' in the supporting cast - speaks volumes for the box office clout of Grant and Sheridan. Apparently based on real events in the life of a French soldier in World War II Cary Grant, despite bearing a French name, Henri Rochard, and clearly a member of the French armed forces, makes no attempt at a French accent and Hawks wastes half the running time on the Beatrice and Benedek aspect of the relationship before getting to the meat, the fact that Grant, in order to enter the United States, has to be classified as a 'war bride' and when one of the biggest jokes is this 'bride' forced to sleep in a bath, we lose hope of much better. I found it just about watchable.

Spikeopath 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