Americanization of Emily

Flopper

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Mar 23, 2010
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Saw Americanization of Emily a few weeks ago and though it was very good. It's a romantic comedy with James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas, and James Coburn. It takes place at the time of the D-Day invasion. Thanks to a script by Paddy Chayefsky and the direction of Arthur Hiller the movie has something important to say about war and the way it is glorified without getting bogged down in antiwar propaganda. Melvyn Douglas plays the crazy admiral who believes a Navy man should be the first American to die on Omaha Beech. James Garner is the self professed coward who's the perfect man for the job. Julie Andrews is the love interest who is not found of Americans. I found the movie very enjoyable. It's a comedy with just right amount of romance.

It is available for free on TCM for the next week and on Prime for a couple dollars.

 
One of my favourite films, I watch it at least once a year. There is an undeniable chemistry between Garner and Andrews and the rare dramatic performance of one of England's great comic actors, Joyce Grenfell, is worth the price of admission.

 
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One of my favorite movies.

My favorite movie quote of all times:

  • (Julie Andrews) "I believe in honor, service, courage, and fair play, and cricket, and all the other symbols of British character. Which have only civilized half the world."

  • (Lt. Cmdr. Charles E. Madison) "You British plundered half the world for your own profit, let's not pass it off as the age of enlightenment."
 
One of my favourite films, I watch it at least once a year. There is an undeniable chemistry between Garner and Andrews and the rare dramatic performance of one of England's great comic actors, Joyce Grenfell, is worth the price of admission.


What audiences believe is chemistry between two actors is often just good acting. Convincing an audience that an attraction really exist when there is just a professional relationship is not easy. There have been a number of on screen lovers who hated each. Some of them had enough acting ability to convince audience they were lovers but just as often their on screen romance fell fat with audiences.

In this case, you are probably right there was something between these actors as reveal by Julie Andrews in an interview with Diane Sawyer.

When Andrews was in the midst of making "The Sound of Music," her marriage to childhood sweetheart, Tony Walton, was headed towards divorce. Andrews recalled being incredibly naïve and "terrified" when she had to do her first love scene in "The Americanization of Emily."

"I had no idea what -- one [was] supposed to do," she said, "with a kiss and all of that."
"James Garner, who was delicious, made it very easy for me," she said with a laugh. "I began to think, 'It's getting a little hot in here.' And when I got up, I kept thinking, 'I can manage this.' And I got up and my legs buckled, because it really had hit me rather hard."
She continued, "But he was lovely about it. And I think he -- he might have enjoyed it too."
 
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What audiences believe is chemistry between two actors is often just good acting. Convincing an audience that an attraction really exist when there is just a professional relationship is not easy. There have been a number of on screen lovers who hated each. Some of them had enough acting ability to convince audience they were lovers but just as often their on screen romance fell fat with audiences.

In this case, you are probably right there was something between these actors as reveal by Julie Andrews in an interview with Diane Sawyer.

When Andrews was in the midst of making "The Sound of Music," her marriage to childhood sweetheart, Tony Walton, was headed towards divorce. Andrews recalled being incredibly naïve and "terrified" when she had to do her first love scene in "The Americanization of Emily."

"I had no idea what -- one [was] supposed to do," she said, "with a kiss and all of that."
"James Garner, who was delicious, made it very easy for me," she said with a laugh. "I began to think, 'It's getting a little hot in here.' And when I got up, I kept thinking, 'I can manage this.' And I got up and my legs buckled, because it really had hit me rather hard."
She continued, "But he was lovely about it. And I think he -- he might have enjoyed it too."
Have you seen the movie "Random Harvest"
 

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