This is a classic film and it's a shame it's not better known, so if you get the chance to see it, go for it. Made just after WWII, it's also a fascinating glimpse into the lives of American soldiers in France and a very clever satire on bureaucracy, relationships, and gender.
The plot involves a French soldier (Cary Grant) and an American soldier (Ann Sheridan) stationed in Europe. Grant and Sheridan are wonderful together in the starring roles. They have a hilarious love/hate relationship with great chemistry between them. Initially sworn enemies, they are forced to work together on an assignment - yes, that old chestnut.
They have a number of escapades, with lots of slapstick comedy action, and realise that they are attracted to each other. However, getting Grant back to America turns out to be a complicated task, which leads to the cross-dressing mentioned above.
Sheridan plays a tough, intelligent and independent army officer who rides motorbikes, fixes boats, and is still very attractive. A great female role model - very different from the submissive housewife types of the 1950s.
The script is fast-paced and witty, and the comic timing is perfect, with a good mix of verbal and visual gags to keep you entertained.
As well as being simply entertaining, there is a also a quietly subversive thread running through this film. Especially knowing that Cary Grant was bisexual and something of a maverick, it's very interesting to observe the way that gender roles are parodied in this film. Watch out for the way he eyes up the young male army officer in an early scene!
The difficulties he encounters come from the fact that he is a man in a typically female role a foreign national married to an American army officer and the implications of this are explored in an interesting way, without any sense of being preached to, and without ever being unfunny.
This is a funny and entertaining film with plenty of food for thought.
The plot involves a French soldier (Cary Grant) and an American soldier (Ann Sheridan) stationed in Europe. Grant and Sheridan are wonderful together in the starring roles. They have a hilarious love/hate relationship with great chemistry between them. Initially sworn enemies, they are forced to work together on an assignment - yes, that old chestnut.
They have a number of escapades, with lots of slapstick comedy action, and realise that they are attracted to each other. However, getting Grant back to America turns out to be a complicated task, which leads to the cross-dressing mentioned above.
Sheridan plays a tough, intelligent and independent army officer who rides motorbikes, fixes boats, and is still very attractive. A great female role model - very different from the submissive housewife types of the 1950s.
The script is fast-paced and witty, and the comic timing is perfect, with a good mix of verbal and visual gags to keep you entertained.
As well as being simply entertaining, there is a also a quietly subversive thread running through this film. Especially knowing that Cary Grant was bisexual and something of a maverick, it's very interesting to observe the way that gender roles are parodied in this film. Watch out for the way he eyes up the young male army officer in an early scene!
The difficulties he encounters come from the fact that he is a man in a typically female role a foreign national married to an American army officer and the implications of this are explored in an interesting way, without any sense of being preached to, and without ever being unfunny.
This is a funny and entertaining film with plenty of food for thought.