The Americanization of Emily is a 1964 American comedy-drama
war filmWar films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
directed by
Arthur HillerArthur Hiller, O.C. is a Canadian film director.-Early life:Hiller was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and graduated from University College, University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947, a Master of Arts degree in psychology in 1950 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws in...
and written by
Paddy ChayefskySidney Aaron Chayefski , known as Paddy Chayefsky, was an American dramatist and novelist who made a transition from the golden age of American live television in the 1950s to a successful career as a playwright and screenwriter...
, loosely adapted from the novel of the same name by
William Bradford HuieWilliam Bradford "Bill" Huie was an American journalist, editor, publisher, television interviewer, screenwriter, lecturer, and novelist.-Biography:...
. Set in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
in 1944 during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in the weeks leading up to
D-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, the
black-and-whiteBlack-and-white is a number of monochrome forms in visual arts. Most forms of visual technology start out in black and white, then slowly evolve into color as technology progresses....
film stars
James GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor.He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
,
Julie AndrewsDame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is a British film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honours...
and
Melvyn DouglasMelvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.-Early life:Douglas was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Lena Priscilla , a Protestant Tennessee-born Mayflower descendant, and Edouard Gregory Hesselberg, a Jewish concert pianist and composer from Riga, Latvia...
and features
James CoburnJames Harrison Coburn, Jr. was an American film and television actor who appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances in his 45-year career...
,
Joyce GrenfellJoyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
and
Keenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor and member of a well-known show-business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade as an actor.-Early life and career:...
. Both Garner and Andrews consider it their favorite of the films they appeared in.
Lieutenant Commander Charlie Madison (
James GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor.He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
) is a "dog-robber," a personable but conniving personal assistant to American Admiral William Jessup (
Melvyn DouglasMelvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.-Early life:Douglas was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Lena Priscilla , a Protestant Tennessee-born Mayflower descendant, and Edouard Gregory Hesselberg, a Jewish concert pianist and composer from Riga, Latvia...
).
The Americanization of Emily is a 1964 American comedy-drama
war filmWar films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
directed by
Arthur HillerArthur Hiller, O.C. is a Canadian film director.-Early life:Hiller was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and graduated from University College, University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947, a Master of Arts degree in psychology in 1950 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws in...
and written by
Paddy ChayefskySidney Aaron Chayefski , known as Paddy Chayefsky, was an American dramatist and novelist who made a transition from the golden age of American live television in the 1950s to a successful career as a playwright and screenwriter...
, loosely adapted from the novel of the same name by
William Bradford HuieWilliam Bradford "Bill" Huie was an American journalist, editor, publisher, television interviewer, screenwriter, lecturer, and novelist.-Biography:...
. Set in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
in 1944 during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in the weeks leading up to
D-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, the
black-and-whiteBlack-and-white is a number of monochrome forms in visual arts. Most forms of visual technology start out in black and white, then slowly evolve into color as technology progresses....
film stars
James GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor.He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
,
Julie AndrewsDame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is a British film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honours...
and
Melvyn DouglasMelvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.-Early life:Douglas was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Lena Priscilla , a Protestant Tennessee-born Mayflower descendant, and Edouard Gregory Hesselberg, a Jewish concert pianist and composer from Riga, Latvia...
and features
James CoburnJames Harrison Coburn, Jr. was an American film and television actor who appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances in his 45-year career...
,
Joyce GrenfellJoyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
and
Keenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor and member of a well-known show-business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade as an actor.-Early life and career:...
. Both Garner and Andrews consider it their favorite of the films they appeared in.
Plot
Lieutenant Commander Charlie Madison (
James GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor.He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
) is a "dog-robber," a personable but conniving personal assistant to American Admiral William Jessup (
Melvyn DouglasMelvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.-Early life:Douglas was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Lena Priscilla , a Protestant Tennessee-born Mayflower descendant, and Edouard Gregory Hesselberg, a Jewish concert pianist and composer from Riga, Latvia...
). His job is to keep his boss and other high ranking officers supplied with luxuries and amiable English women.
Under stress since the death of his wife, Jessup cracks up while devising a plan to prevent the Navy from being overshadowed in the D-Day invasion by the
ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
and its Air Corps, which in his mind could lead to a unification of the services and the "scrapping" of the Navy. In his unbalanced state, Jessup comes up with a grand idea: "The first dead man on Omaha Beach must be a sailor." He commissions a film to document that fact. The casualty would then be buried in a "Tomb of the Unknown Sailor."
The bemused Charlie, meanwhile, has fallen in love with a driver from the motor pool, war widow Emily Barham (
Julie AndrewsDame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is a British film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honours...
), who has lost her husband, brother and father in the war. No longer being able to bear the thought of losing another loved one, Emily finds the self-admitted coward Charlie irresistible.
Despite his best efforts to get out of it, Charlie and his unexpectedly
gung-hoGung ho is a term used to mean "enthusiastic" or "dedicated", sometimes excessively so.The term was picked up by United States Marine Corps Major Evans Carlson from his New Zealand friend, Rewi Alley, one of the founders of the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives...
friend, Lieutenant Commander "Bus" Cummings (
James CoburnJames Harrison Coburn, Jr. was an American film and television actor who appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances in his 45-year career...
), find themselves and a film crew with the combat engineers hitting the beach in the first wave. When he tries to retreat back to safety, Charlie is chased forward by a disgusted Bus brandishing a pistol. Charlie is killed by a German shell, making HIM the first American to be killed on Omaha Beach. A photograph of Charlie amid exploding artillery shells is plastered across hundreds of newspapers and
Life magazineLife generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
, turning the coward into a hero.
Jessup, having recovered from his breakdown, sincerely regrets his part in Charlie's demise. But he remains ready to use it in support of the Navy before a Senate committee in Washington. Emily is devastated at losing yet another man she loves to the war, but she pulls herself together. Bus is happy and proud to have created a hero.
Then comes unexpected news: Charlie isn't dead, he's in an evacuation hospital in England, having been returned from France. The only wound he received was from Bus's pistol. Charlie is so furious that he threatens to tell the reporters and the entire world the unvarnished truth of what happened on that beach. Emily convinces him to instead stay true to his coward's code.
Cast
- James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor.He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
as Lt. Cmdr. Charles E. "Charlie" Madison
- Julie Andrews
Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is a British film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honours...
as Emily Barham
- Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.-Early life:Douglas was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Lena Priscilla , a Protestant Tennessee-born Mayflower descendant, and Edouard Gregory Hesselberg, a Jewish concert pianist and composer from Riga, Latvia...
as Admiral William Jessup
- James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn, Jr. was an American film and television actor who appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances in his 45-year career...
as Lt. Cmdr. Paul "Bus" Cummings
- Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
as Mrs. Barham
- Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor and member of a well-known show-business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade as an actor.-Early life and career:...
as Old Sailor
- Edward Binns as Admiral Thomas Healy
- Liz Fraser
Liz Fraser is an English actress, mainly in comedy roles.Her birthdate is usually attributed as being 1933 however when she auditioned for her role in I'm All Right Jack she lied about her age, as the Boulting Brothers wanted someone younger for the part...
as Sheila
- William Windom
William Windom is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his work on television, including several episodes of The Twilight Zone; playing the character of Glen Morley, a congressman from Minnesota like his own great-grandfather and namesake in The Farmer's Daughter; the character of John...
as Captain Harry Spaulding
- John Crawford
John Crawford may refer to:* John Crawford , Australian economist* John Crawford , American actor* John Crawford , Canadian hockey player* John Crawford , Manitoba politician...
as Chief Petty Officer Paul Adams
- Douglas Henderson
Douglas Henderson was a Scottish politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for the Scottish National Party , representing the East Aberdeenshire constituency from February 1974 to March 1979, and held virtually every national office in the SNP, short of party leader...
as Captain Marvin Ellender
- Edmon Ryan as Admiral Hoyle
- Steve Franken as Young Sailor
- Alan Sues
Alan Sues is a U.S. comic actor best known for his performances as part of the ensemble on the 1968-1973 television program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In...
as Petty Officer Enright
Cast notes:
- Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...
had an uncredited role as "Beautiful Girl".
Soundtrack
The film introduced the song "Emily", performed by
Julie AndrewsDame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is a British film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honours...
. The song was later recorded by
Barbra Streisand Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, film and theatre actress. She has also achieved note as a composer, liberal political activist, film producer, and film director. She has won two Academy Awards, ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, and a Peabody all by the age of...
for
The Movie AlbumThe Movie Album is the 60th album released by Barbra Streisand. The album is made up of 12 songs newly recorded by Streisand which were previously featured in films.-Track listing:...
(2003).
Awards nominations
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards:
- Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
- (George W. DavisGeorge Davis was a celebrated art director.-Career:Davis began his career at 20th Century Fox, his first film was Joseph L. Mankiewicz's fantasy The Ghost and Mrs...
, Hans PetersHans Peters was an English art director. He was nominated for five Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:Peters was nominated for five Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:...
, Elliot ScottElliot Scott was an English art director. He was nominated for three Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:Scott was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:...
, Henry GraceHenry Grace was an American set decorator. He won an Academy Award and was nominated for twelve more in the category Best Art Direction.As an actor he had an uncredited role as Dwight D...
, Robert R. BentonRobert R. Benton was an American set decorator. He was nominated for four Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:Benton was nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:...
)
- Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture....
– (Philip H. LathropPhilip H. Lathrop, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer for such films as Portnoy's Complaint , The Driver , Earthquake , The Cincinnati Kid , The Americanization of Emily , Swashbuckler , A Change of Seasons , The Traveling Executioner and Loving Couples...
)
- BAFTA Award for Best Actress – (Julie Andrews
Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is a British film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honours...
)
Comparison with the novel
The movie is based on
William Bradford HuieWilliam Bradford "Bill" Huie was an American journalist, editor, publisher, television interviewer, screenwriter, lecturer, and novelist.-Biography:...
's
1959The year 1959 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*April 30 - Theatrical première of Bertolt Brecht's Saint Joan of the Stockyards, originally performed on radio in 1932....
book of the same name.
The New York Times ran a brief news item mention of William Bradford Huie's novel prior to its publication, but never reviewed the novel, although in 1963
Paddy ChayefskySidney Aaron Chayefski , known as Paddy Chayefsky, was an American dramatist and novelist who made a transition from the golden age of American live television in the 1950s to a successful career as a playwright and screenwriter...
's development of the novel into a screenplay was found worthy of note.
Chayefsky's adaptation, while retaining the title, characters, situation, background and many specific plot incidents, nevertheless told a very different story. "I found the book, which is serious in tone, essentially a funny satire, and that's how I'm treating it."
The screenplay's theme of cowardice as a virtue has no parallel in the novel; in fact, the novel does not mention cowardice at all.
The screenplay implies, but never explicitly explains what is meant by the term "Americanization." The novel uses "Americanized" to refer to a woman who accepts, as a normal condition of wartime, the exchange of her sexual favors for gifts of rare wartime commodities. Thus, in reply to the question "has Pat been Americanized," a character answers:
"Thoroughly. She carries a diaphragm in her kitbag. She has seen the ceilings of half the rooms in the Dorchester [hotel]. She asks that it be after dinner: she doesn't like it on an empty stomach. She admits she's better after steak than after fish. She requires that it be in a bed, and that the bed be in Claridge's, the Savoy, or the Dorchester."
This theme runs throughout the novel. Another character says "We operate just like a whorehouse... except we don't sell it for cash. We swap it for Camels and nylons and steak and eggs and lipstick... this dress... came from Saks Fifth Avenue in the diplomatic pouch." Emily asks Jimmy "am I behaving like a whore?" Jimmy's reply is: "Whoring is a peacetime activity."
The screenplay uses Hershey bars to symbolize the luxuries enjoyed by Americans and their "Americanized' companions; the novel uses strawberries rather than chocolate bars, in a parallel way. In his first dinner with Emily, he orders the waiter to bring strawberries. "She protested that they were too forbidden, too expensive." Jimmy convinces her to accept them by arguing that "If you don't eat them, they'll be eaten by one of these expense-account correspondents." Later, she asks Jimmy, "If I fall in love with you, how can I know whether I love you for yourself or for the strawberries?"
The novel briefly mentions that Emily's mother, Mrs. Barham, has been mentally affected by wartime stress, but she is not a major character. There is no mention of her self-deception or pretense that her husband and son are still alive. The movie contains a long scene between Charlie and Mrs. Barham, full of eloquent antiwar rhetoric, in which Charlie breaks down Mrs. Barham's denial and reduces her to tears while nevertheless insisting that he has performed an act of kindness. The novel has no parallel to this scene.
In the movie, Charlie is comically unprepared to make the documentary movie demanded by Admiral Jessup, and is assisted only a bumbling and drunken serviceman played by Keenan Wynn. In the book, Charlie has, in fact, been a PR professional in civilian life, takes the assignment seriously, and leads a team of competent cinematographers.
External links