Favorite things about… I Was a Male War Bride (1949)

The favorite film:
I Was a Male War Bride, a 1949 comedy directed by Howard Hawks

The synopsis:
Henri Rochard is a Captain in the French army. He has been assigned to work with Lt. Catherine Gates, a member of the Women’s Army Corps, in post-World War II Europe. The only transportation available for their mission is a motorcycle, and Henri must ride in the sidecar since he’s not an American officer. Though they get off to a rocky start, Henri and Catherine eventually fall for each other. But in order to accompany his new lady-friend back to America, Henri most become a “war bride.”

The cast:

• Cary Grant as Henri Rochard
• Ann Sheridan as Lt. Catherine Gates
• Marion Marshall as Lt. Kitty Law
• Randy Stuart as Lt. Eloise Billings
• William Neff as Capt. Jack Ramsey

Fun facts:

• This was Howard Hawks’ first film to be shot on location in Europe.
• This film is based on a book by the real Henri Rochard, a Belgian officer who married an American nurse.
• The film and its source material do not share a name, and for good reason. The book’s lengthy title is as follows: I Was an Alien Spouse of Female Military Personnel Enroute to the United States Under Public Law 271 of the Congress.

• Though his role is uncredited, this was Edward Platt’s first film.
• Much of the cast and crew, including the film’s two stars, fell ill during production.
• Cast member Eleanor Audley (who plays the assignment officer) is most famous for voicing the Disney villain Maleficent in the original, animated Sleeping Beauty film.

Favorite things:

• Even when speaking languages other than English, and playing a French officer, Cary Grant preserves his trademark transcontinental accent.
• Henri returning Lt. Gates’ laundry in front of everyone in her office. Scaaaandal!
• From their first scene together, Grant and Sheridan’s banter is amazing.
• Henri: “The very idea of any connection is revolting!”
  Catherine: “Oh, no, you don’t. Nevermind…”
  Henri: “I’d be delighted. I’ll explain to them. I think you’re repulsive!”
• Catherine: “May I have my foot?”
• Catherine: “I may as well warn you, bubblemouth. I’m going to carry a revolver and a trench knife. And if you so much as lay a finger on me this trip, you’re going back to France minus a lot of parts you probably value.”
• Catherine cracking up at the idea of Henri being unable to remove the blue paint
• The sidecar coming detached from the motorcycle, starting the pair’s journey off on the wrong foot
• Henri: “It’s a pleasure to get out of this portable bathtub.”
• Henri getting stuck on the railroad crossing gate!

• Catherine: “We must have been driving alongside that road for the last hour.”
  Henri: “Perhaps they just moved it there.”
  Catherine: “Oh, shut up!”
• Henri hiding under a tarp in the sidecar while Catherine drives through a torrential downpour
• Henri trying to get comfortable enough to sleep in a too-small wooden chair
• Henri and the innkeeper knocking on the door at each other
• Innkeeper: “CLIMBING IN THE NICE YOUNG LADY’S ROOM?”
• Catherine telling the German police she’s never seen Henri in her life
• Henri confessing his affection to… an empty motorcycle
• Henri (on when he and Catherine decided to marry): “This afternoon, about 2:30.”
  Catherine: “In a haystack!”
• Catherine’s buddies questioning her decision to marry a “foreigner,” and one friend rebutting them by telling them that they need to get glasses
• Henri: “The American Army better be careful or they’re not going to have any American children very soon!”
• Catherine hitting the man who hid the papers on the head with a baking sheet
• Catherine: “Yes, we know, we know, dear. You can write.”
• Henri: “‘Dear madam’… oh yeah, that’s me.”
• The sergeant asking Henri questions he’d usually ask a female war bride, like whether he’s pregnant
• Everyone and their brother: “And youuuu can’t sleep here.”
• Henri: “Massachu-chu-chu”
• Catherine making Henri a wig out of a horse’s tail
• Kitty (referring to Henri, after seeing him as “Florence” for the first time): “Catherine, he looks awful!”
• Henri tossing his wig (and the room key – SCAAAANDAL!) out the porthole