Written by Paddy Chayefsky, the famed screenwriter best known for 1976’s frighteningly prophetic Network, 1964’s The Americanization of Emily features a similarly satirical edge. Although the overall tone is far lighter, the film takes a certain joy in revealing the hypocritical nature of its characters when they are faced with a choice between morality and self-preservation.
Loosely adapted from William Bradford’s novel of the same name, The Americanization of Emily takes place in 1944 London, during the weeks leading up to D-Day. James Garner plays Lieutenant Commander Charlie Mason, a “dog robber” in the Navy whose job is to provide his boss and other high-ranking officers with plenty of luxurious comforts. From hotels, to cigars, food, and even women, Charlie stays focused on keeping his superiors happy, and keeping himself out of the way of any actual combat. While in London Charlie meets Emily Barham (Julie Andrews), an attractive young driver and widow who lost not only her husband in the war, but father and brother as well. Since the loss of her husband, Emily confesses to having spent many nights with doomed soldiers about to ship out, though she finds Charlie’s way of getting girls to sleep with officers by paying them with dresses and chocolates disgusting. Despite their differences, Charlie and Emily are almost instantly attracted to one another, and both Garner and Andrews have excellent chemistry together. Even when Chayefsky has them arguing with each other over moral and intellectual differences they each manage to bring out the physical allure that draws them back together.
Although Emily finds the joy he takes in avoiding combat distasteful, Charlie reveals himself to be smart, thoughtful, and caring during a short scene between him, Emily, and her mother. The scene is a prime example of how Chayefsky’s screenplay balances between satire and honest drama; Charlie gives a little speech on cowardice that works as a sharp piece of anti-war satire, but the impact it has on Emily’s mother makes for the film’s most moving moment. Before she introduces him, Emily explains that with the shock of losing both her husband and son to the war, her mother still acts as if they’re alive. After her conversation with Charlie however, Mrs. Barham starts to realize that she can’t go on pretending the men in her life are alive, or even that their deaths were noble. Chayefsky’s screenplay does an exceptional job of balancing satire and honest emotion throughout, though this scene stands out not only for the dialog, but the different levels at which it works, both in character development and the film’s overall anti-war theme.
The film’s satirical elements are perhaps most obvious (and least successful) during the film’s most madcap sequence; when Charlie is forced at gunpoint by James Coburn’s Lt. Cmdr. ‘Bus’ Cummings to storm Omaha Beach, only to be – presumably – the first man to die during the invasion. While good for a few mild laughs, the scene works better in theory than on the screen. Not only does the combat feel non-existent (though this isn’t striving for Saving Private Ryan levels of realism), but also the idea of this character in this situation is far funnier when other characters are discussing it later. The moment may be necessary in order to make sense of the characters’ later discussions, meaning perhaps the film wouldn’t be any better without it, but the scene does come off as the most slapdash moment in an otherwise skillfully executed work.
The Americanization of Emily is out now in a new Blu-ray release via The Warner Archive. The picture quality is excellent, and does a fine job of recreating a film aesthetic. Philip Lathrop’s Oscar-nominated black-and-white cinematography is quite outstanding in HD, with crisp, deep blacks and a level of grain that will please film fans. The disc also features a commentary track by Hiller, a short featurette on the staging of the Omaha Beach scene, and a theatrical trailer.
An expert piece of satire with enough drama to keep it emotionally grounded, The Americanization of Emily is an absolute treat for anyone looking for smart filmmaking. Every aspect seeks to compliment the other: from screenplay, to direction, acting, and photography, this is a film that knows what it is doing at nearly every step, and even when it stumbles during the beach scene, it manages to make use of it later. In his commentary, Hiller mentions that it isn’t only his favorite of the films he made, but Garner, Andrews, and producer Martin Ransohoff considered it their favorite as well. It isn’t hard to tell why.
