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  • Post last modified:June 17, 2020

Americanization of Emily: How to Sell D-Day

SWINGING’S THEIR GAME AND LONDON WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. 

americanizationemilyI couldn’t help but notice that Johnny Mandel wrote this film’s score, the guy behind the famous theme for MASH (1970). Now there’s a coincidence, I thought, because as I was watching The Americanization of Emily and saw how comically cynical and realistic its attitude toward war and propaganda is, my thoughts sometimes drifted to MASH. There were critics who complained about the amount of dialogue and Halliwell’s Film Guide labels the movie “bizarre”… but it’s almost as if they blindly trusted the misleading marketing campaign. This is a different animal.

Waiting for the right date
London, late spring, 1944. Everyone is waiting for the Supreme Allied Commander to find the right date for D-Day. Lieutenant Commander Charlie Madison (James Garner) is an adjutant to Rear Admiral William Jessup (Melvyn Douglas); his job involves securing luxury items for the Allied leadership, as well as attractive Englishwomen to serve as dinner dates (or more). One night when he desperately needs to find a new date for one of his superiors, he asks Emily Barham (Julie Andrews), one of the drivers. Harboring nothing but contempt for Americans, Emily initially refuses but then agrees to do it; her job is simply to attend a party and she finds the experience enjoyable.

It doesn’t take long for Emily to fall for Charlie. As they embark on a romance, they’re frank about what sets them apart. But the affair is complicated when Admiral Jessup shows signs of mental imbalance and comes up with a crazed movie plan for D-Day…

A master at dialogue
Take a look at the original poster and you’ll see why I’m calling the marketing campaign misleading. The PR folks were trying to sell this movie with sex and the poster has Garner kissing Andrews. In fact, the least interesting aspect of the film is the romance, and when the two stars say that The Americanization of Emily ranks among the achievements they are the most proud of, as they have, I don’t think sex is on their minds. I believe that what they take pride in is their performances. Both stars’ careers are filled with great, wonderful moments, but they’re not known for films and TV shows that are particularly thoughtful; this one, on the other hand, has gravitas. What comes out of their mouths is sheer brilliance – and that’s another part of the film I believe they take pride in.

The original novel was adapted by the outstanding playwright Paddy Chayefsky who was a master at dialogue. Just listen to what Garner has to say throughout the film; pay attention to what he says about Americans and Europeans when he’s quarreling with Andrews, and how he argues in favor of cowardice and how it prevents war. It’s not just entertaining, it’s worth pondering. I also believe that the two stars take pride in Arthur Hiller’s direction; how he skillfully swerves from one sentiment to another without ever losing credibility.

It starts out as a simplistic comedy, but then suddenly there’s a surprisingly moving scene where Garner meets Andrews’s mother who’s lost every man in her family to the war… and in the end, some of D-Day’s Omaha Beach horrors are conveyed. Hiller holds it all together without losing grip, the humor, romance, cynicism, political criticism and utter darkness of war. No wonder that Garner and Andrews are proud.

Today, Chayefsky is primarily remembered for his stinging satire of television in Network (1976). This is a worthy predecessor, a movie where we half expect Garner’s character to rise up and say “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” That sentiment deserves respect, even during a “good” war.

The Americanization of Emily 1964-U.S. 117 min. B/W. Produced by Martin Ransohoff. Directed by Arthur Hiller. Screenplay: Paddy Chayefsky. Novel: William Bradford Huie. Cinematography: Philip Lathrop. Cast: James Garner (Charlie Madison), Julie Andrews (Emily Barham), Melvyn Douglas (William Jessup), James Coburn, Joyce Grenfell, Keenan Wynn.

Trivia: William Holden was allegedly considered for the lead.

Quote: “We over-tip, we talk too loud, we think we can buy anything with a Hershey bar. I’ve had Germans and Italians tell me how politically ingenuous we are, and perhaps so. But we haven’t managed a Hitler or a Mussolini yet. I’ve had Frenchmen call me a savage because I only took half an hour for lunch. Hell, Ms. Barham, the only reason the French take two hours for lunch is because the service in their restaurants is lousy. The most tedious lot are you British. We crass Americans didn’t introduce war into your little island. This war, Ms. Barham to which we Americans are so insensitive, is the result of 2,000 years of European greed, barbarism, superstition, and stupidity. Don’t blame it on our Coca-Cola bottles. Europe was a going brothel long before we came to town.” (Garner to Andrews)

Last word:  “I was at a loss without songs. At least in ‘Mary Poppins’ I would always take comfort in the knowledge that I would be doing a song and would feel secure eventually. But in ‘Emily’ there were no songs to hang on to. […] I’d have to act. It would also give me the chance to prove to myself and the public that I could do something besides musical comedy.” (Andrews, JulieAndrewsonline.com)

 

IMDb

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  1. Edward Sullivan

    For folks who may be in the San Francisco Bay Area during May (2013), the Mechanics Institute Library will be screening 5 Chayefsky films, one each Friday evening, beginning with ‘The Americanization of Emily’ this Friday May 3rd:

    Cinemalit – Paddy Chayefsky: Scenes from American Lives:

    http://www.milibrary.org/events

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