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 | Newsreel | London England | Self Sacrifice | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

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
Ed Binns	...	Adm. Thomas Healy (as Edward Binns)
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
Alan Sues	...	Petty Officer Enright
Bill Fraser	...	Port Commander
Lou Byrne	...	Nurse Captain
Alan Howard	...	Port Ensign
Linda Marlowe	...	Pat
Janine Gray	...	1st 'Nameless Broad'
Judy Carne	...	2nd 'Nameless Broad'
Kathy Kersh	...	3rd 'Nameless Broad'
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Larry Billman	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Paul Genge	...	Officer (uncredited)
Bob Johnson	...	Documentary narration (uncredited)
Kent McCord	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Jack Raine	...	Hotel Waiter (uncredited)
Sharon Tate	...	Beautiful girl (uncredited)
Red West	...	Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
Arthur Hiller

Writing credits
Paddy Chayefsky		(screenplay)
William Bradford Huie		(novel)

Produced by
John Calley	....	associate producer
Martin Ransohoff	....	producer

Original Music by
Johnny Mandel

Cinematography by
Philip H. Lathrop		(director of photography) (as Philip Lathrop)

Film Editing by
Tom McAdoo

Casting by
Irene Howard		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
George W. Davis
Hans Peters
Elliot Scott

Set Decoration by
Robert R. Benton
Henry Grace

Costume Design by
Bill Thomas

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Shenberg	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Franklin Milton	....	recording supervisor
Van Allen James	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
J. McMillan Johnson	....	special visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Christopher Challis	....	additional photographer (as Chris Challis)
Travers Hill	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Robert Armbruster	....	conductor
Robert Armbruster	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Alain Delalande	....	subtitles: original version with French subtitles

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents)
• Filmways Pictures

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Filmipaja (1965) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1966) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1969) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (????) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Swashbuckler Films (2008) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Turner Network Television (TNT) (????) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Titra Film Paris  subtitles: French version

Also Known As:

Emily (USA) (reissue title)

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:

According to screenwriter Joe Eszterhas's 2004 autobiography "American Animal", producer Martin Ransohoff removed director William Wyler from the picture as Wyler wanted to change Paddy Chayefsky's script. It was a rare instance in which a producer supported a screenwriter over a director, particularly one of Wyler's caliber. As Chayefsky was known to have guarantees written into his contracts protecting his scripts, Ransohoff may have had no choice but to replace Wyler with Arthur Hiller.

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:

Lt. Cmdr. Charles E. Madison: You American haters bore me to tears, Ms. Barham. I've dealt with Europeans all my life. I know all about us parvenus from the States who come over here and race around your old Cathedral towns with our cameras and Coca-cola bottles... Brawl in your pubs...

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Emily

Overlooked Gem Looks Angrily and Wittily at the American Military Propaganda Machine

Masterfully scripted by Paddy Chayefsky, this 1964 anti-war film is not quite a classic but nonetheless an unexpected treat and one that deserves resurrection by a new generation of viewers. Set in WWII London, the dark hearted plot focuses on Navy Lieutenant Commander Charles Madison, an especially notorious personal assistant to the mentally unstable Admiral William Jessup. Madison's job is to make sure Jessup gets anything he wants, and he has a warehouse full of contraband to back him up. Smug in his self-awareness about his cowardice, he meets Emily Barham, an English war widow who has lost her father and brother as well as her husband to the war. She is repulsed by Madison's manipulative agenda and cavalier materialism, and he finds her priggish and self-righteous. Needless to say, they fall in love. Complicating matters is Jessup's hare-brained scheme to ensure the first casualty of the D-Day invasion on Omaha Beach be a naval man. Without a glimmer of irony recognized, the admiral assigns Madison and his colleague "Buzz" Cummings to find the appropriate sailor and film his heroic death.

The sheer audacity of this task is a hallmark of Chayefsky's vitriolic style, and the film is full of his brittle, observant dialogue and sharply articulate soliloquies. You need an actor of consummate charm and cunning to play Madison effectively, and Garner responds by turning in one of the best performances of his long career. He shows not only his deft comedic touch but also a piercing insight into the integrity that can come from an acknowledged lack of courage. Squeezed in between her twin juggernauts of sugar, "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music", Julie Andrews gives an intelligent, passionate performance as Emily that actually eclipses her acting in either mega-hit. The movie's title comes from her character's resistance to what she sees as cheapening her values by becoming more American. Together, they not only spark romantically but also trade speeches of barbed cynicism making Chayefsky's words fly off the page with supple dexterity.

Screen stalwart Melvyn Douglas is a terrifically befuddled blowhard as Jessup, while an especially energetic James Coburn aggressively turns "Buzz" into a monomaniacal yes-man. Joyce Grenfell is superb in her few scenes as Emily's no-nonsense mother. For interested baby boomers, you can even see future "Laugh-In" regulars Alan Sues and Judy Carne in bit parts, as well as the late Sharon Tate. If there is a weakness to the film, it comes from Arthur Hiller's pedestrian direction making the film more episodic than it should. The 2005 DVD package has a sharp print of the film and includes Hiller's informative commentary on an alternate track. He is understandably proud of the film since his subsequent work ("Love Story", "Making Love") has not even come close to the quality of this production. There is also a short, "Action on the Beach", which shows how the realistic filming of the D-Day scene was executed. It would be interesting to see this film in a double bill with Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" to get alternative perspectives on the same event.