What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? is a 1966 comedy DeLuxe Color film written by William Peter Blatty and directed by Blake Edwards for the Mirisch Company in Panavision. It stars James Coburn and Dick Shawn. Filming was at Lake Sherwood Ranch in Thousand Oaks, 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Hollywood. In what had been a cow pasture, designer Fernando Carrere fabricated a storybook Sicilian village which added $800,000 to the production's already elevated $5.5 million budget.[3]
| What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Blake Edwards |
| Produced by | Blake Edwards |
| Screenplay by | William Peter Blatty |
| Story by | Maurice Richlin Blake Edwards |
| Starring | James Coburn Aldo Ray Dick Shawn Sergio Fantoni Giovanna Ralli Carroll O'Connor Harry Morgan |
| Music by | Ray Evans Jay Livingston Henry Mancini |
| Cinematography | Philip H. Lathrop |
| Edited by | Ralph E. Winters |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Italian German |
| Budget | $7,000,000 USD[1] |
| Box office | $2,650,000 (est. US/ Canada rentals)[2] |
Plot
An outfit of U.S. soldiers is assigned to capture "Valerno", a village in Sicily, but upon arrival, they discover that the town has been expecting them and will willingly turn itself over to the Americans' rule, provided they are permitted to complete a soccer match and a wine festival.
Romance and frivolity ensue, as a reluctant, by-the-book Capt. Cash (Dick Shawn) is persuaded by easy-going Lt. Christian (James Coburn) to go along with the locals' wishes. Mistaking the festival for an attack, Germans come to the Italians' aid, but the Americans accidentally end up conquering all.
Cast
- James Coburn as Lieutenant Jody Christian
- Dick Shawn as Captain Lionel Cash
- Sergio Fantoni as Captain Fausto Oppo
- Giovanna Ralli as Gina Romano
- Aldo Ray as Sergeant Rizzo
- Harry Morgan as Major Pott
- Carroll O'Connor as General Max Bolt
- Leon Askin as Colonel Kastorp
- Rico Cattani as Benedetto (as Henry Rico Cattani)
- Jay Novello as Mayor Giuseppe Romano
- Ralph Manza as Waiter
- Vito Scotti as Frederico
- Johnny Seven as Vittorio
- Art Lewis as Needleman
- William Bryant as Minow
- Kurt Kreuger as German Captain
Production
The title of the film came to Edwards when asked the question by his son Geoffrey. As Edwards was having marital problems at the time, he did not want to leave the United States, so Mirisch Productions agreed to film the movie in Lake Sherwood, California, for $5 million that included the construction of a large Italian village set.[4] In his study of Edwards, Myron Meisel stated that Coburn imitated Blake Edwards' mannerisms throughout the film.[5]
The film was the first of what was originally intended to be six Mirisch-Geoffrey Productions between Edwards and the Mirisch Company. Only one other film, The Party, was completed.
William Peter Blatty recalled that Edwards and he originally agreed to make the film grim and without comedy for the first 20 minutes. This idea was shelved when, during the scene where Captain Cash visits Charlie Company at their chow line, he holds out his hand and one of the GI mess orderlies ladles beans into the captain's hand.[6]
Music
The score is by Henry Mancini. It includes "The Swing March" and "In the Arms of Love".
References
- Tino Balio, United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, University of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p. 185
- "Big Rental Pictures of 1966", Variety, 4 January 1967 p 8
- http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17840/What-Did-You-Do-in-the-War-Daddy-/articles.html
- Wasson, Sam A Splurch in the Kisser: The Movies of Blake Edwards Wesleyan University Press, 2009
- Meisel, Myron Blake Edwards Coursodon, Jean Pierre & Sauvage, Pierre editors American directors, Volume 2 McGraw-Hill, 1983
- 1994 Blatty Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvKJCj6DM7g