The Americanization of Emily (1964)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writers:

Paddy Chayefsky (screenplay)
William Bradford Huie (novel)

Release Date:

27 October 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

Why did Emily call Charlie the most immoral man she'd ever met?

Plot:

An American soldier's talent for living the good life in wartime is challenged when he falls in love and is sent on a dangerous mission.

Plot Keywords:

D Day | Beautiful Woman | Monument | Americanization | Cowardice

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 18

4:00 PM

TCM

Cast

James Garner	...	Lt. Cmdr. Charles Edward Madison
Julie Andrews	...	Emily Barham
Melvyn Douglas	...	Adm. William Jessup
James Coburn	...	Lt. Cmdr. Paul 'Bus' Cummings
Joyce Grenfell	...	Mrs. Barham
Edward Binns	...	Adm. Thomas Healy
Liz Fraser	...	Sheila
Keenan Wynn	...	Old Sailor
William Windom	...	Capt. Harry Spaulding
John Crawford	...	Chief Petty Officer Paul Adams
Douglas Henderson	...	Capt. Marvin Ellender
Edmon Ryan	...	Adm. Hoyle
Steve Franken	...	Young Sailor
Paul Newlan	...	Gen. William Hallerton
Gary Cockrell	...	Lt. Victor Wade

Also Known As:

Emily (USA) (reissue title)
La americanización de Emily (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
Amerykanizacja Emily (Poland) [pl]
Amerykanski romans Emily (Poland) [pl]
Du kan ikke købe min kærlighed (Denmark) [da]
Imeres polemou kai erotos (Greece) [el]
Krig och feg eller Förste man på Omaha beach (Sweden) [sv]
Les jeux de l'amour et de la guerre (France) [fr]
Não Podes Comprar o Meu Amor (Brazil) [pt]
Nunca comprarás mi amor (Chile) [es]
Nur für Offiziere (West Germany) [de]
Sodassa ja rakkaudessa (Finland) [fi]
Szerelmi partraszállás (Hungary) [hu]
Tempo di guerra, tempo d'amore (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | Stereo

Certification:

UK:X | Australia:G (TV rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #20611) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Spain:13 | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-7 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Although the DVD cover states that film historian Drew Casper does the audio commentary, it's actually Arthur Hiller. He speaks very fondly of the making of the movie.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The airplane that takes the Admiral back home bears a USAF roundel (i.e., red strip inside the "wings") three years before there was a "USAF".

Quotes:

Emily Barham: I believe in honor, service, courage, and fair play, and cricket, and all the other symbols of British character. Which have only civilized half the world!
Lt. Cmdr. Charles E. Madison: You British plundered half the world for your own profit, let's not pass it off as the age of enlightenment.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Quantum Leap: The Americanization of Machiko - August 4, 1953 (#2.3)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Emily

One of the very best anti-war movies, esp. for Americans

This film is being released on cable again here in the fall of 2002. I guess I hope some liberal Hollywood mogul is doing it on purpose, to give us, especially those of us in the US, another good dose of anti-war. The movie seems especially apt for me, for my countrymen, because it is both funny and serious, and, set in England, it gives a pretty good sense of what a people who know war think and feel about it.

I'm afraid I doubt that it's going to have much effect against the probably coming Iraq action, but I'd like to think it might have a bit.

Both James Garner and Julie Andrews do well in the film, and Melvyn Douglas is real good as an American ranking Naval officer who's sane about the "glories of war". The Brit who plays Julie Andrews mother, whose name I unhappily cannot remember, deserves strong mention, too, especially with her scene about the absurdity and stupidity of memorializing the first Allied death in the invasion at Normandy in WW II.