This is a cool, quiet comedy that floats just below the radar of what we ordinarily consider comedy to be (actually, this is very similar to the British Ealing comedies of the same era). Cary is a master of subtle comedy. He can say more with a straight face than anyone since Buster Keaton, and he is perfectly cast with Ann Sheridan here, who matches Cary's every nuance of subtlety and intelligence. The movie deftly skewers that oxymoron we all know and loathe: "military intelligence". There are some priceless lines throughout, like the Permission To Immigrate To The US form that Cary must sign, which asks hilariously inane questions like "name your father's gender". The military is so shortsighted and inflexible, poor Cary ultimately has no choice if he wants to get into the US - he not only has to lie about his identity, but his gender as well. I first saw this movie some twenty-plus years ago and was amazed at how ahead of its time it was in terms of being a `gender-bender' comedy. I was also amazed that it had never been as popular as some of the other comedies of the period (the French caught on early, and they still embrace this film as one of Hawks' best). It has gradually been discovered and embraced by newer audiences, and it's about time. It's not as wild or raucous as say, "Some Like it Hot", but it covers as much distance. And I don't care what anybody says, Cary does have sexy gams! [hubba! hubba!]

I am a Cary Grant fan, but I was extremely let down with this one. The storyline itself is funny, but not the antics. To sum it up, I found it slow moving and dull.

Compared to such classics as Bringing Up Baby and Mr. Blandings Build His Dream House, Grant is not in top comedic form here. I agree with a previous reviewer that the pacing of the movie is off and lacks that true screwball energy. But it is still pleasant and fun. Be ready to suspend your disbelief, too, because Grant is about as French as Tony Blair.

They don't make 'em like "I Was a Male War Bride" anymore. Hawks made this wonderfully silly flick when such masters of comedic direction such as Billy Wilder, Preston Sturges and George Cukor were at their peak; the great Ernst Lubitsch had passed on just the year before.

Yet, Hawks had a sense of comic timing that probably died with him as a trade secret: You don't even need to see the titles to a Howard Hawks picture -- his fingerprints are all over the pacing, the quick banter and the editing. Even in such diverse movies as "The Big Sleep" (film noir melodrama) and "El Dorado (Western), Hawks always directed with the light touch: Never imposing, but always keenly felt. "I Was a Male War Bride" is no exception.

The screen chemistry between Cary Grant as the French Army officer Henri Rochard and Ann Sheridan as American Lt. Catherine Gates is electric, even better than Grant and Hepburn in "Bringing Up Baby."

The ridiculous plot was conjured by two of screwball comedy's great screenwriters, Hagar Wilde ("Bringing Up Baby," 1938) and Charles Lederer ("His Girl Friday," 1940), both of which were directed by Hawks. Still, this movie is so deftly made that audiences can't get enough of the attraction masquerading as repulsion sexual tension between the love-struck leads.

This movie is also a real hoot for anyone who's ever served in the Army in Germany: It was shot on location, and watching Cary wade through the military acronyms and red-tape in triplicate rings true.

If you want to forget your troubles for a couple hours and take a fun romp through postwar Europe, this is your ticket. Ann Sheridan is hot, and there's a cute scene where Cary massages her shapely gams for that nice gratuitous touch Hawks always gives. Sure, casting Cary Grant as a Frenchman is even more of a stretch than watching Chuck Heston play a Mexican in Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil," but so what! There never has been any actor who could touch him with a ten foot pole in the screwball movies. He was a great physical comedian and watching him get flustered is always priceless.

This film was destined to be a "classic", after all Howard Hawks had been responsible for both, Cary Grant's masterpiece of the screwball comedy "Bringing Up Baby" (opposite Kate Hepburn) and one the fastest-paced-dialogue-comedies ever, the great "His Girl Friday" starring Grant and Rosalind Russell.

It's a pity that Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan weren't ever teamed up again, because it's such a wonderful and great chemistry that develops between these two stars!; I'm short of words in praising their talent, especially since at the beginning of the picture they have to "work-out" this weird "love & hate relationship".

Grant plays a french captain on duty in Germany, after World War II, who's had shared too many missions and lots of "experiences" together, with American lieutenant (Sheridan), but in this last mission together, they're going to have (unknowingly) one of the greatest adventures of their whole lives, with exhilarating results!!!

It had been a time since I had laughed so loudly with a movie, `cos, especially, the second half of the movie is plain "irresistible", if you don't get a kick out of this film you might be well dead. I cannot praise enough this pic!

The Copy of the dvd is good indeed, at least it looked OK in my 34" TV Set.