I Was a Male War Bride

Olin mies-sotamorsian / Jag var en manlig krigsbrud / Allez coucher ailleurs / You Can't Sleep Here (GB). US © 1949 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. P: Sol C. Siegel. D: Howard Hawks. SC: Charles Lederer, Leonard Spigelgass, Hagar Wilde – based on the autobiographical account I Was an Alien Spouse of Female Military Personnel Enroute to the United States Under Public Law 271 of the Congress by Henri Rochard. CIN: Osmond Borradaile / O. H. Borradaile (on location in Germany and in London at Shepperton Studios), Norbert Brodine (in Hollywood). AD: Albert Hogsett, Lyle R. Wheeler. Set dec: Thomas Little, Walter M. Scott. Cost: Bonnie Cashin. Makeup: Ben Nye. Hair: Irene Brooks, Linda Cross. M: Cyril J. Mockridge. S: Roger Heman, Sr., George Leverett. ED: James B. Clark.
    C: Cary Grant (Captain Henri Rochard), Ann Sheridan (1st Lt. Catherine Gates), Marion Marshall (Lt. Kitty Lawrence), Randy Stuart (Lt. Eloise Billings), Bill Neff / William Neff (Capt. Jack Ramsey). – Martin Miller (Schindler, lens maker), Eugene Gericke / Gene Garrick (Tony Jowitt), Ruben Wendorf (innkeeper's assistant), Lester Sharpe (waiter), John Whitney (Trumble), Kenneth Tobey (Red, Yeoman First Class), Robert Stevenson (lieutenant), Alfred Linder (bartender), David McMahon (chaplain), Joe Haworth (shore patrolman).
    Loc: Baden-Württemberg (Germany). The base was Heidelberg, and location shooting took place also in the 15th century village Zuzenhausen. The port of Bremerhaven (Bremen). San Pedro docks (California).
    US premieres: 9, 11, 26 Aug, 1949. Helsinki premiere: 17.3.1950 Rea, Ritz, distributor: Oy Fox Films A.B – VET 31112 – S – 2850 m / 105 min

Howard Hawks's comedies have the distinction that their subject-matter is sometimes as deadly earnest as in tragedy, and they are accounts of exceptional ordeals. This is rare enough but not unique in screen comedy. In I Was a Male War Bride there is an affinity with the commedia all'italiana cycle of the 1950s and the 1960s.

Until now Hawks as a comedy director had been a master and co-founder of the screwball trend in Twentieth Century, Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, and Ball of Fire (whose remake A Song Is Born was a stunning success commercially but not artistically).

I Was a Male War Bride was a new opening for Hawks. For the first time in his life he travelled to Europe. Who would have the bright idea to make a comedy in the ruins of post-WWII Germany? Hawks did, but he was not first. The year before Billy Wilder had shot his masterpiece A Foreign Affair in the ruins of Berlin. Hawks went to South Germany, Heidelberg.

The depressing background provides a special bite to this film. The documentary current also serves as a contrast to the lunatic love story, which puzzlingly, is based on reality, the true story of the real Henri Rochard.

At the same time Hawks returns to the masters of the Golden Age of American screen comedy, the classics of the 1920s. I Was a Male War Bride is a hommage to Buster Keaton. The central action is Catherine and Henri's motorcycle ride which brings to mind Sherlock, Jr. It culminates in the sleeping Henri's perilous gag-ridden solo ride ending in a haystack. During their odyssey Catherine and Henri face a roadblock and decide to take the motorcycle onto a rowboat. There is a last minute rescue from a waterfall like in Keaton's Our Hospitality. The Keaton connection makes sense because both Hawks and Keaton shared a passion for machines and the world of technology. I am not aware that this connection is this obvious in other Hawks films or the existence of studies about it. I would be surprised if there weren't.

Equally profoundly I Was a Male War Bride is a hommage to Charles Chaplin, as emphasized by Todd McCarthy: "As in Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday, his inspiration was Chaplin, whose genius made great comedy out of everyday adversity, setbacks and inequities". Following on McCarthy's insight I would add that the Chaplin connection is made explicit in Henri's scene with the baby which brings to mind The Kid. And most prominently the entire final sequence of the film is a reference to The Immigrant. Henri, whose cross-dressing has been exposed, has been confined to a lockup, but when Catherine comes to visit him he throws her key out of the porthole. In the final image The Statue of Liberty emerges in the porthole.

Chaplin inspired Hawks to approach tragic real world events as comedy material. Keaton inspired him to a deadpan approach in performances. There is no comedy acting in this film. Even in the brief cross-dressing episode (the first and often only thing that most remember from this film although it only lasts six minutes) Hawks insisted that Cary Grant play it straight.

I Was a Male War Bride may be classified as "romantic comedy", but it is by no means self-evident that it is a romantic film. Typically for Hawks, it is an account of the battle of the sexes, the war of the sexes, sex antagonism. Suspicion, distrust and disappointment is often stronger than attraction. Yet finally the mutual attraction is stronger than the obstacles, and the odyssey of I Was A Male War Bride is a veritable obstacle course for Catherine and Henri.

It is also one of Hawks's strongest achievements in satire, the main target here being bureaucracy. A unique sequence takes us to the three weddings of Catherine and Henri. They need to take into account that they are a Frenchman and an American, members of two military forces, belonging to different churches, and getting married on the soil of Germany. After the three weddings there will, however, be no wedding night, not even a place for Henri to sleep, thanks to the bureaucracy. Not until they lock themselves into the ship cell on their voyage from Bremerhaven to Ellis Island, serving as their honeymoon trip.

The production of the film itself was an ordeal, and all major talents fell ill, most gravely Cary Grant, causing long interruptions to the shooting schedule. There is a curious lack of chemistry between Grant and Ann Sheridan, and Sheridan's harridan approach to the character threatens to put the film off balance. But on the other hand, thanks to the unconventional nature of the relationship this film remains also bizarre and extraordinary. Perhaps to compensate for the missing chemistry there is an emphasis on physical intimacy rare for Hawks. Henri is a good masseur willing to help Catherine when her leg muscles are cramped and when her back is hurting after a rough motorcycle ride across fields and through woods.

It is amazing that this grim and satirical film was a big commercial hit, "Hawks's third most popular film ever, after Sergeant York and Red River" (McCarthy).

A complete print with good visual quality. Sound levels we needed to adjust a few times.

I Was a Male War Bride. Cary Grant (Henri Rochard) and Ann Sheridan (Catherine Gates).

BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: OUR PROGRAM NOTE BASED ON ROBIN WOOD ET AL.:
BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: OUR PROGRAM NOTE BASED ON ROBIN WOOD ET AL.:

Olin mies-sotamorsian tapahtuu sodanjälkeisessä Ranskassa, missä Ranskan ja Yhdysvaltain armeijat ovat yhteistoiminnassa. Vapaan Ranskan armeijan upseeri Henri Rochard joutuu komennukselle Saksaan, mutta hän ei osaa ajaa moottoripyörää ja saa kumppanikseen amerikkalaisen naisupseerin, joka toimii hänen kuljettajanaan. Matkan aikana he joutuvat monenlaisiin kommelluksiin ja huomaavat lopulta rakastavansa toisiaan. Kun he päättävät mennä naimisiin ja muuttaa Amerikkaan, he törmäävät kuitenkin byrokratian sokkeloihin: säännösten mukaan USA:n sotilailla on oikeus viedä mukanaan ns. sotamorsiamia, mutta kuinka on käsitettävä Cary Grantin asema: hän on mies ja hänen vaimonsa haluaa viedä hänet ”sotamorsiamenaan” kotimaahan. Grantin on pukeuduttava hameisiin ja hankittava pitkä tukka selvitäkseen pulmasta.

Sukupuoliroolien sekaannus on yksi Hawksin lempiteemoja. Hänen naishenkilönsä ovat lähes järjestään voimakastahtoisia, aktiivisia, aloitekykyisiä ja päämäärästään tietoisia. Miehiltä taas nämä ominaisuudet usein puuttuvat ja vaikka he olisivatkin ns. toiminnan miehiä, heidän tunne-elämänsä saattaa olla surkastunut. Elokuvassa Olin mies-sotamorsian tämä roolien käänteisyys on viety äärimmilleen, jo heti Cary Grantin ja Ann Sheridanin keskinäisissä suhteissa ja se on jatkuvana ylitsepursuavan komiikan lähteenä huipentuak-seen siihen kun Grant sonnustautuu naisen varusteisiin. Myös aivan teknisenä suorituksena on elokuvan komiikka huippuluokkaa; jo 1930-luvun alussa Hawks kehitti erikoisen nopean replikointitekniikan, jossa sanalliset vaikeudet (ei kieli sinänsä) toimivat ehtymättömänä komedian lähteenä. Samalla Hawks osaa kehitellä kunkin tilanteen siten, että sen kaikki koomiset mahdollisuudet tulevat maksimaalisesti käytetyiksi hyväksi.

Elokuva käyttää satiiria sotilaskoneiston byrokratiasta hyökätäkseen tiettyjä modernin Amerikan tyypillisiä suuntauksia vastaan. Jo alussa eurooppalainen sekasotku saa liikkeelle amerikkalaisen supertehokkuuden: kun saksalainen kuski ja muutamat siviilit eivät näytä pääsevän yksimielisyyteen tiestä Heidelbergiin, Henri nojautuu ulos vaunusta ja kysyy amerikkalaiselta sotilaalta, joka kertoo oikean reitin rauhallisesti ja täsmällisesti. Tämä kuva Amerikasta säilyy läpi koko elokuvan, etenkin Ann Sheridanin naisluutnantin hahmossa. Elokuva käsittelee pääasiassa tämän tehokkuuden seurauksia: häikäilemättömyyttä, täydellistä joustavuuden puutetta, taipumusta käsitellä ihmisiä stereotyyppeinä. Elokuva jakaantuu kahteen puoliskoon, joista ensimmäisessä Henrillä on vastassaan amerikkalainen nainen, toisessa koko byrokraattinen koneisto, ja molemmat on kuvattu saman kansallisen taipumuksen tuotteeksi. Luutnantti Catherine Gates on Hawksin äärimmäinen ja jyrkin muotokuva modernista amerikkalaisesta naisesta, aggressiivisesta ja hallitsevasta, päättäväisesti miehen valtaansa alistavasta naisesta. Rinnan tämän kanssa kulkee äärimmäinen seksuaalinen kursailu: vain vastahakoisesti Catherine antaa Henrin hieroa edes niskaansa.

Henrin kokemat nöyryytykset huipentuvat loogisesti paitsi siihen että hän joutuu pukeutumaan naisen vaatteisiin, myös siihen että hänet teljetään lukkojen taakse laivan hyttiin. Elokuvan edetessä ilmaantuu yhä vain lisää rajoittavia byrokraattisia sääntöjä, joilla amerikkalainen ”tehokkuus” ilmentää itseään ja liikkumatila kapenee koko ajan. Viimeisen kuvan ironia – Vapauden patsas nähtynä Henrin vankilahytistä – on kehittelyn viimeinen silaus ja kenties avoimin kommentti nyky-yhteiskunnasta mitä Hawks on tehnyt.

– Robin Woodin Hawks-teoksen (1968) ja muiden lähteiden mukaan

PLOT SUMMARY FROM WIKIPEDIA:

In post-World War II Germany, French Army Captain Henri Rochard (Cary Grant) is given the task of recruiting a highly skilled lens maker, Schindler (Martin Miller). He is assigned American Lieutenant Catherine Gates (Ann Sheridan) as his chauffeur, much to their mutual discomfort (arising from several prior clashes). The only available transportation is a motorcycle, which due to Army regulations, only Catherine is allowed to drive; Henri has to ride in the sidecar. After several mishaps, the constantly quarreling couple arrive at their destination, Bad Nauheim.

At the hotel, bothered by back pain, Catherine warily accepts Henri's offer of a back rub. When she falls asleep, he tries to leave her room, but discovers that the door handle has fallen off, trapping him inside. He spends an uncomfortable night in a chair. In the morning, she refuses to believe his story. Unknown to him, the innkeeper's wife has replaced the knob, so, when he tries to demonstrate that the door will not open, it does. Eventually, the innkeeper's wife comes to the room (forcing Henri to hide on the ledge outside the window) and explains everything to Catherine, but not before Henri falls off the ledge.

Later, Henri goes undercover to search for Schindler, now working in the black market. He refuses to let Catherine help him and tells her that if she sees him to pretend she doesn't know him. The black market is raided by the authorities, and he is rounded up with the rest. When he asks her to vouch for his identity, she obeys his earlier orders not to reveal that she knows him. While he is in jail, she finds Schindler, who is happy 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.

Red tape forces Henri and Catherine to get married in three different ceremonies: civil, Army, and church. Before they can consummate the marriage, Catherine is given orders 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 the spouse of a member of the expeditionary forces. After many misunderstandings, he is granted permission to accompany her, but circumstances and Army regulations conspire to keep them from spending the night together.

When they try to board the transport ship, U.S. Navy sailors do not believe that Henri is a war "bride." He is forced to dress as a female Army nurse to get aboard. The deception works, but once underway, his disguise is discovered, and he is arrested. Catherine manages to straighten out the situation, and they finally have some privacy - in the ship's brig.