The Americanization of Emily (1964)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Julie Andrews and James Garner star in a black comedy about honor, cowardice and unexpected heroism written by Paddy Chayefsky. Stationed in London during World War II, American Lieutenant Commander Charles E. Madison (Garner) has become an expert in avoiding hazardous duty. But he falls in love with an English widow (Andrews) who has lost her husband and most of her family to the war--and who selflessly believes in duty and country. And then Madison is chosen to be the first Allied soldier to land on the beach at Normandy on D-Day, an honor that no one expects him to survive.
- Actors:
- James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas, James Coburn, Joyce Grenfell, Edward Binns, Liz Fraser, Keenan Wynn, William Windom, John Crawford, Douglas Henderson, Edmon Ryan, Steve Franken, Paul Newlan, Gary Cockrell, Alan Sues, Bill Fraser, Lou Byrne, Alan Howard, Linda Marlowe
- Directors:
- Arthur Hiller
- Producers:
- John Calley, Martin Ransohoff
- Writers:
- Paddy Chayefsky, William Bradford Huie
- Others:
- Henry Grace, Elliot Scott, George W. Davis, Philip H. Lathrop, Hans Peters, Robert R. Benton
- Aka:
- Nunca comprarás mi amor
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Romance
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Reviews (1) of The Americanization of Emily
Practising Coward, Hopeless Romantic - The Americanization of Emily review by griggs
This one came to me on a recommendation and I’m glad it did. On the surface it’s a black-and-white studio romance, but The Americanization of Emily somehow manages to be both head-over-heels and quietly furious – a swoony love story wrapped round a genuinely sharp anti-war rant.
James Garner’s cheerful fixer is a great vessel for Paddy Chayefsky’s barbed speeches. He sells “cowardice” with such easy charm that it starts to sound like common sense: better to live by your own convictions than die to decorate some admiral’s press release. His big “practising coward” monologue to Emily’s mum, played with airy eccentricity by Joyce Grenfell, is an all-timer.
Opposite him, Julie Andrews gives Emily real backbone as well as vulnerability, and their ideological sparring slowly melts into something believably tender. Arthur Hiller keeps it snappy, while Melvyn Douglas and James Coburn bring all the brass and bluster. For a mid-’60s studio picture, it’s far more romantic, and far more ruthless, than it has any right to be.