I Was a Male War Bride (1949)

This is an enemies to lovers rom-com. We have our put upon and grumpy leading man in the form of French Captain Henri Rochard (Cary Grant). We have our leading lady who is convinced she is right and he is always wrong in 1^st Lieutenant Catherine Gates (Ann Sheridan). After working on two previous missions together Captain Rochard believes he finally be paired with someone competent, Lieutenant Eloise Billings (Randy Stuart). After making sure 1^st Lieutenant Catherine Gates and her squad knows exactly how he feels about her and he is shocked to find she isn’t so easy to shake. Duty is duty in the military and you go where you are told regardless of comfort level, but the 1^st Lieutenant paints a dark picture of who Billings is supposed to be assigned with to the point where she is nearly elated to tell them there was a last-minute change and she is no longer accompanying Captain Rochard on his mission. It turns out the 1^st Lieutenant isn’t all that upset that Major Prendergast (Kay Young), has made this change as she tells her roommate Lieutenant Kitty Lawrence (Marion Marshall).

There are several things wrong with this story and I feel this trope in general. I hate when parents tell their daughters that a boy teasing her probably likes her and she should be extra nice to him. This was told to me by my Middle School Principal after I reported a fellow student for inappropriate behavior. No, should never be a discussion. I do feel that Captain Rochard acts as decently as he can in this movie, and he had no nefarious intent at any point. There is a situation involving a door handle falling off in the night, he goes and sleeps in a chair. After hours in the chair he decides, fully clothed, on top of the blankets is safe enough. Honestly, they are only on the second story of the building, Cary Grant was a tall man (6’ 0”), as a later scene shows us, he could’ve gone out the window and quietly back to his own room. Has hate been shown to switch to passion easily. Yes. I believe the medical term most commonly used is Stockholm syndrome. A medical condition that should not be lauded as true love. The fragile nature of their relationship is highlighted several times in the film.

This is never going to be an easy relationship. Both have military backgrounds from different militaries who do things different ways. They are both from different countries who view things differently. Every time they have a fight they threaten to throw in the towel. No actual forgiveness seems to be sought for or given in the film. This could almost be a comedy of errors instead of a rom-com for all the romance you get from it. This movie is worth watching if for no other reason than it shows the WAC’s in a positive light, doing things more then nursing or secretarial work. Discussions can be had if you choose to watch this with your children about why certain behaviors are not tolerated today and why they should not become tolerated again. I give this movie a 3.75. There is too much I have against it to give it a better rating, but it is a film that will make you laugh.