What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?

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{{Short description|1966 film by Blake Edwards}}
{{Infobox film
| name = What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
| image = What Did You Do in the War, Daddy.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Blake Edwards]]
| story = [[Maurice Richlin]] Blake Edwards
| screenplay = [[William Peter Blatty]]
| starring = [[James Coburn]] [[Aldo Ray]] [[Dick Shawn]] [[Sergio Fantoni]] [[Giovanna Ralli]] [[Carroll O'Connor]] [[Harry Morgan]]
| producer = Blake Edwards
| music = [[Ray Evans]] [[Jay Livingston]] [[Henry Mancini]]
| cinematography = [[Philip H. Lathrop]]
| editing = [[Ralph E. Winters]]
| studio = [[The Mirisch Company]]
| distributor = [[United Artists]]
| released = {{Film date|1966|8|31}}
| country = United States
| runtime = 116 minutes
| language = English Italian German
| budget = $7,000,000 USD<ref name="tino">Tino Balio, ''United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry'', University of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p. 185</ref>
| gross = $2,650,000 (est. US/ Canada rentals)<ref>"Big Rental Pictures of 1966", ''Variety'', 4 January 1967 p 8</ref>
}}

'''''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, California|Lake Sherwood]] Ranch in Thousand Oaks, {{Convert|40|mi|km|abbr=out}} northwest of [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|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.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/17840/What-Did-You-Do-in-the-War-Daddy-/articles.html {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2022}}</ref>

==Plot==
During the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]], an outfit of U.S. soldiers is assigned to capture the small town of "Valerno", but upon arrival, they discover that the townsfolk have been expecting them and will willingly turn themselves 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. The Germans mistaking the festival for an attack, after an aerial reconnaissance of the town, a nearby German Panzer unit is ordered 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 (actor)|Johnny Seven]] as Vittorio
* Art Lewis as Needleman
* [[William Bryant (actor)|William Bryant]] as Minow
* [[Kurt Kreuger]] as German Captain

==Production==
The title of the film came to Edwards when he was 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.<ref>Wasson, Sam ''A Splurch in the Kisser: The Movies of Blake Edwards'' Wesleyan University Press, 2009</ref> In his study of Edwards, Myron Meisel stated that Coburn imitated Blake Edwards' mannerisms throughout the film.<ref>Meisel, Myron ''Blake Edwards'' [[Jean-Pierre Coursodon|Coursodon, Jean Pierre]] & [[Pierre Sauvage|Sauvage, Pierre]] editors ''American directors, Volume 2'' McGraw-Hill, 1983</ref>

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 (1968 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.<ref>1994 Blatty Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvKJCj6DM7g</ref>

==Reception==
The film grossed $2,650,000 at the box office.<ref>"Big Rental Pictures of 1966", ''Variety'', 4 January 1967 p 8</ref>

On [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 50% based on 12 reviews, with an average score of 5.80/10.<ref>{{Citation |title=What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/what_did_you_do_in_the_war_daddy |publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |language=en |access-date=2022-03-19}}</ref>

== Music ==
The score is by [[Henry Mancini]]. It includes "The Swing March" and "[[In the Arms of Love]]".

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0061176}}
* {{Amg movie|54005}}
* {{AFI film|id=19557|title=What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?}}

{{Blake Edwards}}
{{Portalbar|Film}}

[[Category:1966 films]]
[[Category:1966 comedy films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Blake Edwards]]
[[Category:Italian Campaign of World War II films]]
[[Category:Military humor in film]]
[[Category:American comedy films]]
[[Category:Films set in Italy]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by William Peter Blatty]]
[[Category:Films scored by Henry Mancini]]
[[Category:1960s American films]]

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What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?