War and comedy are not the most common bedfellows, and it often takes a very special kind of artist to craft something that looks at both of them with an equal amount of attention and manages to still put together something interesting. As one of the most versatile filmmakers of his generation, Howard Hawks seemed like the perfect candidate to do it – and it helps that he had an abundance of experience in both genres, having directed numerous terrific comedies, as well as a few films set in times of war. This culminated in I Was a Male War Bride, based on the real-life misadventures of a recruit during the Second World War, which tells the story of a pernickety French soldier sent on an important mission, accompanied by a more easygoing (and certainly far more level-headed) American officer, who he can’t help falling in love with after a while, especially when he finally allows his preconceived notions of the fact that a woman cannot possibly be a good soldier to abate. There are so many reasons to adore I Was a Male War Bride, which is a much more endearing comedy than it appears to be on the surface – Hawks as a distinct style, one that we can recognize through a number of factors, whether it be his character-based storytelling or unique narrative structure that is as visually interesting as it is theoretically riveting. A major entry into the career of one of Hollywood’s most established filmmakers, I Was a Male War Bride is a tremendously satisfying, and incredibly funny, leap into the world of war, told from a perspective that is undeniably less realistic, but makes up for this through being effortlessly funny, and proves to be one of the director’s more underpraised efforts.

In talking about I Was a Male War Bride, we have to mention the most prominent them, which is that this is a film produced in the late 1940s, constructed on the idea of gender disparity. It’s a premise that would not be out of place in a more contemporary space, so looking at it from the perspective of the years immediately succeeding the end of the Second World War, which brought up many conversations around the role as women as more than just domestic goddesses, was at its highest. Undeniably, Hawks had a very narrow line to navigate when making this film – the boundary between satire and ridicule is notoriously razor-thin, and there were many comedies produced around this time that could be considered flippant, especially on something as widespread and pressing as the growing role of women in the media, and their portrayal being much more complex than being the butt of male-oriented humour. Hawks was someone who often refused to play it safe, as evident by the fact that he worked with some of the most formidable actresses in the industry – and much of this is clear in how he constructed I Was a Male War Bride, constantly rejecting the idea of going for the low-hanging fruit, since while this likely would’ve elicited a quick laugh, it doesn’t ultimately add much to the narrative, and would serve very little purpose. Instead, he frequently manages to find the humour in situations that most would consider to be infertile when it comes to comedy, extracting genuine laughter from moments that don’t normally seem to have much mileage when it comes to hilarity, using the odd-couple dynamic of the premise as the starting point for a thrilling comedy with a lot of heart.

Hawks had a tendency to cast actors who he knew would play well across from each other, whether they’re regular collaborators or simply performers that he admired from afar. Reuniting with Cary Grant (who had previously turned in career-best work in a range of Hawks’ previous films, especially comedies like Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday, which established him as someone who is as funny as he is charismatic and handsome, which is really an accomplishment), and directing Ann Sheridan for the first time, after having conceived of the story one of the actress’ star vehicles Indianapolis Speedway a decade earlier, Hawks definitely did not need to struggle when it came to bringing out the best in his actors. Both of them were at their peak, making the director’s responsibility essentially just capturing their extraordinary chemistry and shaping it into something even more dynamic. They’re both effortlessly great, which comes from the fact that they are both on the same level – neither one is passive, and they play to each other’s inherent strengths, which becomes increasingly clear the more we discover about the characters. It’s a traditional scenario – a male who takes himself too seriously being placed in direct opposition to a woman who is more qualified and worthy to take on the responsibilities than him, resulting in an abundance of hilarious scenarios as they work through their differences. The chemistry between the two leads is so palpable, one would struggle to realize this was their first official collaboration (after both having appeared in a few Pre-Code films, where their roles were too small to vague if they were compatible as performers, or if they even appeared on screen together in the first place), since they feel so at ease with each other, which propels so much of I Was a Male War Bride and makes it such a wonderfully unique piece of comedic filmmaking.

The key to understanding the appeal of I Was a Male War Bride comes in how this is not a film that purports to reinventing the genre or doing anything we haven’t seen dozens of times before and since it was made. It’s not Hawks’ finest directorial achievement (although with a career as extensive as his, being able to pinpoint his best work is nearly impossible), nor is it the most complex performances given by the actors, who are consistently great, but playing people well within their capabilities. Instead, it is a film built on the feeling of reliability. the kind of sensation that emerges when we have a great filmmaker at the helm, and a steady investment in tackling the material in a way that is constructive and interesting. It leads to excellent comedy, but even more insightful social commentary, with the gender disparity that serves as the foundation of the film being multifaceted, acting as both the source of the comedy and underpinning the more downbeat elements of the story – after all, this film was produced only a few years prior to the end of the war depicted, which meant that it was made not solely for the sake of entertainment, but also as a form of catharsis. I’ve always held such strong admiration for artists that dare to work through difficult periods of history through comedy, since laughter is the uniting language – and while I Was a Male War Bride doesn’t contain anything that could be considered directly impactful in terms of scathing commentary, there’s a general playfulness that goes against the darker aspects of war that makes it such an unexpectedly buoyant work of cinema that has an abundance of depth lurking just below the hilarious exterior.

Only someone like Hawks could take war and somehow find comedy in it, without being disrespectful or irreverent in ways that were not necessary – and it shows in every frame of this delightfully bizarre curio of a film. It takes a common scenario and a setting that was still very fresh in the viewer’s minds (albeit not in a way that was particularly pleasant) and turned it into a riveting comedy with a lot of heart. It is anchored by tremendous performances from the two leads, who carry the film almost entirely on their very capable shoulders, proving that even when placed in a more intense socio-cultural context, the lustre of true movie stars can still result in something truly compelling and entertaining. Hawks is not considered one of the finest directors to ever work in the Golden Age of Hollywood without good reason, with the combination of sharp writing from the team of screenwriters tasked with bringing Rochard’s entertaining testimony to the screen, the crisp directing or the genuine fondness he has for these characters, which are brought to life with such incredible honesty and lovable playfulness from a director who could command any genre in which he decided to work. It may be considered relatively minor in terms of some of his other masterpieces, but I Was a Male War Bride is far from inferior, being one of the most fresh and invigorating comedies Hawks ever made, and a film that is certainly in dire need of a critical re-evaluation, especially when looking at the niche genre of postwar comedies that don’t only exist to entertain, but also inform and educate, which this film does consistently.