The Americanization of Emily
An American Naval Officer's talent for living the good life in wartime is challenged when he falls in love and is sent on a dangerous mission. During the build-up to D-Day in 1944, the British found t…
The Americanization of Emily
An American Naval Officer's talent for living the good life in wartime is challenged when he falls in love and is sent on a dangerous mission. During the build-up to D-Day in 1944, the British found their island hosting many thousands of American soldiers who were "oversexed, overpaid, and over here". That's Lieutenant Commander Charles Edward Madison (James Garner) exactly; he knows all of the angles to make life as smooth and risk-free as possible for himself. But things become complicated when he falls for English woman Emily Barham (Julie Andrews), and his commanding officer's nervous breakdown leads to Charles being sent on a senseless and dangerous mission. In the days leading up to the D-Day invasion, Lieutenant Commander Charles Edward Madison (James Garner) has to admit that he's having a pretty good war. He's the personal aide to Admiral William Jessup (Melvyn Douglas) and Charles is, if anything, making sure the Admiral gets whatever he wants. Liquor, good food, and girls are Charles' specialty, and for Emily Barham (Julie Andrews), a driver who's been assigned to him, he's everything that she dislikes about Americans. Too loud, too rich, and too wasteful. For his part, Charles, a self-proclaimed coward, just wants to stay out of action. When Admiral Jessup suffers a nervous breakdown however, Charles finds himself on a zany assignment to film the arrival in Normandy of combat engineers. Meanwhile, Charlie and Emily have very much fallen in love. —garykmcd London. May, 1944. With the US Navy, Lieutenant Commander Charlie Madison is seen as one of the best of the "Dog-Robbers": an officer who takes care of all the comfort needs of his commanding officer, in his case Admiral William Jessup. Those comfort needs include any luxury goods generally unavailable to the public, especially difficult to get in wartime Britain, and the services of females for whatever purpose. British war widow Emily Barham, who works in the motor pool and has often been Charlie's driver since he's been back in London, is one of the few women who is immune to Charlie's charms as she sees him as being the American stereotype of cowardly, selfish, and ruthless, Charlie admitting he unabashedly so in being proud that he, in his job, will see no combat, a former stint in the Marines which turned him off such. Charlie, in turn, views Emily as a typical upper crust British prude. It is thus somewhat of a surprise that she succumbs to his charms in the two entering into a casual relationship. It is the fact that he is a coward that attracts her to him in knowing that she will not lose yet another loved one in the war. That casual relationship turns to love on both sides as they decide to get married. The situation changes when the Admiral, who is in London to make a case for the value of the Navy in the war and thus the Navy's pure survival as an entity, comes up with the idea that they will make a propaganda movie of the imminent D-Day, specifically of the first person to storm the beaches of France being a Navy man. Further, the Admiral wants a subsequent monument of a Tomb of the Unknown Sailor where the first Navy man killed on D-Day will be buried. While Charlie sees it solely as a useless public relations exercise, it becomes worse for him when the Admiral orders him to make the movie himself, filming such for which Charlie is not willing to die. Making it worse for Charlie is knowing that the order was issued and the impetus of the plan devised as the Admiral was in the middle of a nervous breakdown, something that he would have difficulties exposing in his affection for the Admiral. It further potentially affects what happens between Charlie and Emily as Charlie tries to figure out a scheme to get out of the problem, which may expose in Charlie what Emily truly cannot tolerate in a husband. —Huggo
The Americanization of Emily
Comedy,Drama,Romance
Film Details
An American Naval Officer's talent for living the good life in wartime is challenged when he falls in love and is sent on a dangerous mission. During the build-up to D-Day in 1944, the British found their island hosting many thousands of American soldiers who were "oversexed, overpaid, and over here". That's Lieutenant Commander Charles Edward Madison (James Garner) exactly; he knows all of the angles to make life as smooth and risk-free as possible for himself.
But things become complicated when he falls for English woman Emily Barham (Julie Andrews), and his commanding officer's nervous breakdown leads to Charles being sent on a senseless and dangerous mission. In the days leading up to the D-Day invasion, Lieutenant Commander Charles Edward Madison (James Garner) has to admit that he's having a pretty good war. He's the personal aide to Admiral William Jessup (Melvyn Douglas) and Charles is, if anything, making sure the Admiral gets whatever he wants.
Liquor, good food, and girls are Charles' specialty, and for Emily Barham (Julie Andrews), a driver who's been assigned to him, he's everything that she dislikes about Americans. Too loud, too rich, and too wasteful. For his part, Charles, a self-proclaimed coward, just wants to stay out of action.
When Admiral Jessup suffers a nervous breakdown however, Charles finds himself on a zany assignment to film the arrival in Normandy of combat engineers. Meanwhile, Charlie and Emily have very much fallen in love. —garykmcd London.
May, 1944. With the US Navy, Lieutenant Commander Charlie Madison is seen as one of the best of the "Dog-Robbers": an officer who takes care of all the comfort needs of his commanding officer, in his case Admiral William Jessup. Those comfort needs include any luxury goods generally unavailable to the public, especially difficult to get in wartime Britain, and the services of females for whatever purpose.
British war widow Emily Barham, who works in the motor pool and has often been Charlie's driver since he's been back in London, is one of the few women who is immune to Charlie's charms as she sees him as being the American stereotype of cowardly, selfish, and ruthless, Charlie admitting he unabashedly so in being proud that he, in his job, will see no combat, a former stint in the Marines which turned him off such. Charlie, in turn, views Emily as a typical upper crust British prude. It is thus somewhat of a surprise that she succumbs to his charms in the two entering into a casual relationship.
It is the fact that he is a coward that attracts her to him in knowing that she will not lose yet another loved one in the war. That casual relationship turns to love on both sides as they decide to get married. The situation changes when the Admiral, who is in London to make a case for the value of the Navy in the war and thus the Navy's pure survival as an entity, comes up with the idea that they will make a propaganda movie of the imminent D-Day, specifically of the first person to storm the beaches of France being a Navy man.
Further, the Admiral wants a subsequent monument of a Tomb of the Unknown Sailor where the first Navy man killed on D-Day will be buried. While Charlie sees it solely as a useless public relations exercise, it becomes worse for him when the Admiral orders him to make the movie himself, filming such for which Charlie is not willing to die. Making it worse for Charlie is knowing that the order was issued and the impetus of the plan devised as the Admiral was in the middle of a nervous breakdown, something that he would have difficulties exposing in his affection for the Admiral.
It further potentially affects what happens between Charlie and Emily as Charlie tries to figure out a scheme to get out of the problem, which may expose in Charlie what Emily truly cannot tolerate in a husband. —Huggo.