"Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am"

[Dave Wilton]

> > "Mr. Roberts" was originally a book by Thomas Heggen,
> > published 1946, based on Heggen's experiences on the
> > USS Virgo (how's that for the name of a Navy ship?).
> > In 1948 it became the play of the same name, script
> > by Heggen and Joshua Logan, and in 1955 the movie of
> > the same name, script by Logan and Frank Nugent.  I
> > have seen all three, but not recently, so I can't say
> > how much of the dialogue is carried over from the book
> > to the play and from the play to the movie.
>
> A copy of the 1948 play is sitting on a shelf within arm's
> reach. At the end
> of Act II, Scene I, the character Gerhart says, "Well, there goes the
> liberty. That was sure a wham-bam-thank you ma'am!"

I just checked the DVD. This line doesn't appear in the movie. Presumably,
it was too risque for 1950s Hollywood. The word "cat-house" is also cut from
the same scene.

I don't have the novel at hand and it's been some 20 years since I read it.