The Americanization of Emily (1964)

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.

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writers:

Paddy Chayefsky (screenplay), William Bradford Huie (novel)

Stars:

James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Garner	...	Lt. Commander Charles Edward Madison
Julie Andrews	...	Emily Barham
Melvyn Douglas	...	Admiral William Jessup
James Coburn	...	Lt. Commander Paul 'Bus' Cummings
Joyce Grenfell	...	Mrs. Barham
Edward Binns	...	Admiral Thomas Healy
Liz Fraser	...	Sheila
Keenan Wynn	...	Old Sailor
William Windom	...	Captain Harry Spaulding
John Crawford	...	Chief Petty Officer Paul Adams
Douglas Henderson	...	Captain Marvin Ellender
Edmon Ryan	...	Admiral Hoyle
Steve Franken	...	Young Sailor
Paul Newlan	...	General William Hallerton
Gary Cockrell	...	Lieutenant Victor Wade

Storyline

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 Charlie Madison exactly; he knows all the angles to make life as smooth and risk-free as possible for himself. But things become complicated when he falls for an English woman, and his commanding officer's nervous breakdown leads to Charlie being sent on a senseless and dangerous mission.

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Plot Keywords:

world war two | military | naval officer | london england | based on novel | 

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Taglines:

Julie's back- and look who's with her!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Emily

Filming Locations:

Dukes Avenue, Muswell Hill, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$2,700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmways Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The D-Day landing scenes were filmed on Mandalay Beach in Oxnard, California. In the behind-the-scenes documentary "Action on the Beach" (1964), the Mandalay power generating station, then operated by Southern California Edison can be seen in several shots. The plant, still operating in 2010, opened in 1959.

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Goofs

One of the admirals says "it has to be a neap tide so we can unload... with a minimum of open beach to cross... D-Day has to be June 5th or 6th... won't repeat these tidal conditions for half a year, at least with a moon". Apparently the script writers did not understand the meaning of "neap" (low tide), because they describe a spring tide (which has the most extreme high and low water marks) in terms of beach conditions but call it a neap tide (which has the least difference between high and low water marks). The reason given is historically incorrect as well, as avoiding defensive obstacles placed by the Germans was the main reason. (See the Wikipedia article "Normandy landings".) Also, the tide cycle is linked to the moon, so the next full moon would have been accompanied by another spring (high) tide, no half-year wait needed.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lt. Cmdr. Charles E. Madison: Hi, Harry. It'll only be a few moments, sir. Put that hand luggage in the automobile. Paul? Paul!
Chief Petty Officer Paul Adams: Yeah.
Lt. Cmdr. Charles E. Madison: Put the footlocker in the jeep. Everything else goes in the two-and-a-half. Unloading shouldn't take long, so you won't be more than a few minutes behind us. I'll see you back at the hotel. Harry. Is everything set at the hotel?
[Slaps driver on butt]
Female driver, unidentified: Hiya, Charlie.

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Crazy Credits

The three women that James Coburn sleeps with are collectively credited as "The Three Nameless Broads (in order of appearance)".

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Connections

Featured in MGM Is on the Move! (1964)

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Soundtracks

Emily
Music composed by Johnny Mandel
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

User Reviews

Great film. I watch it regularly.

This is one of my favorite films of all time. Garner and Andrews are tremendous. Coburn adds the perfect finishing touch to an ensemble cast. Touchingly romantic and funny. Garner delivers a very powerful monologue in the middle of the film that adds perspective not often seen in the WWII genre.