'The War Between Men and Women' was originally a suite of drawings by cartoonist/author James Thurber, depicting quite literally an all-out war between the two sexes. Thurber was an embittered misogynist (as well as a philanderer), so it's no surprise that he ended his "War" with the women offering unconditional surrender to the men.
During his boyhood in Ohio, Thurber's older brother bullied him into a stupid game that cost young James an eye and seriously infected his other eye. Thurber's mother, for her own stupid reasons, delayed getting her son medical treatment for his surviving eye. (This may be one reason why he hated women.) For the rest of his life, Thurber experienced increasing blindness in his one eye, eventually requiring an enormous magnifying lens in order to see his own cartoons as he drew them. In addition to hating women, Thurber disliked most men too: one of his favourite tricks at social functions was to goad the most popular man in the room until the man was provoked into hitting Thurber ... thus becoming a social pariah for assaulting a blind man.
The 1972 film 'The War Between Men and Women' is an intriguing comedy-drama, an intelligent attempt to do something different ... that ultimately fails. Part of the problem is this movie's deeply misleading title, which seems to promise sexual come-ons that never arrive.
The central character (played by Jack Lemmon) is clearly inspired by the life and works of James Thurber, yet is significantly different from Thurber. (For one thing, he's a much nicer guy.) It's clear that scriptwriters Danny Arnold and Mel Shavelson have a deep love for Thurber's work. Shortly before this film, they had worked on the brilliant (though unsuccessful) TV series 'My World and Welcome to It', deeply inspired by Thurber's writings and cartoons. Shavelson had tried to dramatise Thurber's work at least as far back as 'Christabel', a 1959 episode of 'Goodyear Theatre'.
Peter Wilson (Lemmon) is a cartoonist/author who is trying not to deal with the fact that he's going blind. An operation might save his sight, or it might accelerate the deterioration of his remaining vision. He has an annoying 'meet cute' with Terry Kozlenko (Barbara Harris), a divorcée with three disaffected children.
A romance develops between Peter and Terry, with Peter attempting to be a surrogate father to her kids. But their father (Jason Robards) isn't completely out of the picture: he's a macho journalist whose book of war photographs is a best-seller. Lemmon brilliantly depicts mounting frustration as Peter realises that he and his twee storybooks can't compete with the derring-do of Terry's first husband.
A fine performance as Terry's son David is given by an extremely talented child actor with the ill-fitting name Moosie Drier. (He doesn't in any way resemble a moose; why this name?) SLIGHT SPOILER COMING. At one point, Peter attempts a father-son talk with David while they stroll along a quay: suddenly David slips and falls into the water ... and he can't swim! The look on Lemmon's face is astonishing, as the nearly blind Peter realises it's up to him to save the drowning boy.
The best performance in this film is given by Lisa Gerritsen, a dynamically talented child actress who was also in 'My World and Welcome to It'. (Gerritsen, now an adult, reportedly has cut all ties to her thespian career.) Terry's daughter Linda (Gerritsen) feels stigmatised by her speech impediment; Peter feels a bond with her because of his own encroaching blindness. In this film's most lyrical scene, Peter attempts to convey the act of creativity to Linda through his picturebook story 'The Last Flower'. This is actually an apocalyptic tale written and drawn by Thurber, brought to life here by splendid animation.
In addition to despising women, James Thurber was a dog-lover. The funniest line in this movie occurs when Peter and Terry take her pregnant dog for a walk. Co-scripter Danny Arnold makes a cameo appearance as a cop, giving himself the chance to speak this line: a line that's not in James Thurber's writings, but which is so bluntly misogynist that Thurber would have howled in glee if he'd heard it. Despite this film's misleading title, the makers of 'The War Between Men and Women' showed real guts in attempting this unusual story. Based solely on my own tastes, I'll rate it 8 out of 10. Now, if someone would make a film version of Thurber's 'The Wonderful O', I could die happy.
During his boyhood in Ohio, Thurber's older brother bullied him into a stupid game that cost young James an eye and seriously infected his other eye. Thurber's mother, for her own stupid reasons, delayed getting her son medical treatment for his surviving eye. (This may be one reason why he hated women.) For the rest of his life, Thurber experienced increasing blindness in his one eye, eventually requiring an enormous magnifying lens in order to see his own cartoons as he drew them. In addition to hating women, Thurber disliked most men too: one of his favourite tricks at social functions was to goad the most popular man in the room until the man was provoked into hitting Thurber ... thus becoming a social pariah for assaulting a blind man.
The 1972 film 'The War Between Men and Women' is an intriguing comedy-drama, an intelligent attempt to do something different ... that ultimately fails. Part of the problem is this movie's deeply misleading title, which seems to promise sexual come-ons that never arrive.
The central character (played by Jack Lemmon) is clearly inspired by the life and works of James Thurber, yet is significantly different from Thurber. (For one thing, he's a much nicer guy.) It's clear that scriptwriters Danny Arnold and Mel Shavelson have a deep love for Thurber's work. Shortly before this film, they had worked on the brilliant (though unsuccessful) TV series 'My World and Welcome to It', deeply inspired by Thurber's writings and cartoons. Shavelson had tried to dramatise Thurber's work at least as far back as 'Christabel', a 1959 episode of 'Goodyear Theatre'.
Peter Wilson (Lemmon) is a cartoonist/author who is trying not to deal with the fact that he's going blind. An operation might save his sight, or it might accelerate the deterioration of his remaining vision. He has an annoying 'meet cute' with Terry Kozlenko (Barbara Harris), a divorcée with three disaffected children.
A romance develops between Peter and Terry, with Peter attempting to be a surrogate father to her kids. But their father (Jason Robards) isn't completely out of the picture: he's a macho journalist whose book of war photographs is a best-seller. Lemmon brilliantly depicts mounting frustration as Peter realises that he and his twee storybooks can't compete with the derring-do of Terry's first husband.
A fine performance as Terry's son David is given by an extremely talented child actor with the ill-fitting name Moosie Drier. (He doesn't in any way resemble a moose; why this name?) SLIGHT SPOILER COMING. At one point, Peter attempts a father-son talk with David while they stroll along a quay: suddenly David slips and falls into the water ... and he can't swim! The look on Lemmon's face is astonishing, as the nearly blind Peter realises it's up to him to save the drowning boy.
The best performance in this film is given by Lisa Gerritsen, a dynamically talented child actress who was also in 'My World and Welcome to It'. (Gerritsen, now an adult, reportedly has cut all ties to her thespian career.) Terry's daughter Linda (Gerritsen) feels stigmatised by her speech impediment; Peter feels a bond with her because of his own encroaching blindness. In this film's most lyrical scene, Peter attempts to convey the act of creativity to Linda through his picturebook story 'The Last Flower'. This is actually an apocalyptic tale written and drawn by Thurber, brought to life here by splendid animation.
In addition to despising women, James Thurber was a dog-lover. The funniest line in this movie occurs when Peter and Terry take her pregnant dog for a walk. Co-scripter Danny Arnold makes a cameo appearance as a cop, giving himself the chance to speak this line: a line that's not in James Thurber's writings, but which is so bluntly misogynist that Thurber would have howled in glee if he'd heard it. Despite this film's misleading title, the makers of 'The War Between Men and Women' showed real guts in attempting this unusual story. Based solely on my own tastes, I'll rate it 8 out of 10. Now, if someone would make a film version of Thurber's 'The Wonderful O', I could die happy.