Between the Pages

This 1949 film stars Cary Grant as French(!) army Captain Henri Rochard in post-war Germany, who is sent on a mission with American Lieutenant Catherine Gates (Ann Sheridan).  Although the relationship is initially antagonistic, they eventually fall for each other and decide to get married.  Afterwards however, they realise that if Henri wants to accompany Catherine back to the United States, he will have to effectively become a war bride!

This is one of film films directed by Howard Hawks, and starring Cary Grant, and is probably the weakest of all five (I strongly recommend fans of either Hawks or Grant, to watch another of their collaborations, Monkey Business, which made me cry with laughter).  That’s not to say that there isn’t lots to enjoy here.  It’s billed as a screwball comedy, but while it had some hilarious physical comedy pieces, courtesy of Grant, it also tended to drag in parts.  When Cary Grant has real chemistry with his co-stars (such as with Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman and Rosalind Russell), the dialogue between them pops and fizzes.  Unfortunately there wasn’t that chemistry with Ann Sheridan, although she certainly gave a good performance.  Grant as a French man is also interesting, given that he doesn’t make even the slightest attempt at a French accent!  If you can accept that fact from the outset, it probably won’t bother you though.  And besides, it’s Cary Grant, and even the worst Cary Grant film (which this isn’t) is usually better than many other films.  Promos for the film show Grant dressed up as a woman, but don’t assume that he looks like this for long – the scene actually lasts for a few minutes, but it IS funny.

So would I watch it again?  Possibly, if it happened to be on tv, but I’m not sure I’d make the effort to specifically sit down and see it.  That’s not to say that I didn’t like it – just that if you’re going to watch a Grant movie, you might as well pick from the myriad of excellent films he made, rather than one of the less interesting ones.

Year of release: 1949

Director: Howard Hawks

Writers: Henri Rochard (book), Charles Lederer, Leonard Spigelgass, Hagar Wilde

Main cast: Cary Grant, Ann Sheridan