Operation Petticoat (1959)

During World War II, a commander finds himself stuck with a decrepit (and pink) submarine, a con man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Stanley Shapiro (screenplay), Maurice Richlin (screenplay)

Stars:

Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O'Brien

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cary Grant	...	Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman
Tony Curtis	...	Lt. JG Nicholas Holden
Joan O'Brien	...	Lt. Dolores Crandall RN
Dina Merrill	...	Lt. Barbara Duran RN
Gene Evans	...	Chief Molumphry
Dick Sargent	...	Ens. Stovall (as Richard Sargent)
Virginia Gregg	...	Maj. Edna Heywood RN
Robert F. Simon	...	Capt. J.B. Henderson
Robert Gist	...	Lt. Watson
Gavin MacLeod	...	Ernest Hunkle
George Dunn	...	The Prophet
Dick Crockett	...	Harmon
Madlyn Rhue	...	Lt. Reid RN
Marion Ross	...	Lt. Colfax RN
Clarence Lung	...	Sgt. Ramon Gillardo (as Clarence E. Lung)

Storyline

A submarine newly commissioned is damaged in the opening days of WW II. A captain, looking for a command insists he can get it to a dockyard and captain it. Going slowly to this site, they find a stranded group of Army nurses and must take them aboard. How bad can it get? Trying to get a primer coat on the sub, they have to mix white and red in order to have enough. When forced to flee the dock during an air attack, they find themselves with the world's only Pink submarine, still with 5 women in the tight quarters of a submarine.

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Plot Keywords:

submarine | nurse | woman in military | pacific war | u.s. navy | 

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Taglines:

20,000 Laughs Under The Sea!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tony Curtis based his playboy character's voice on Cary Grant in the Billy Wilder directed comedy classic 'Some Like it Hot' (1959), which was released 9 months before this film. This was meant as a homage to Grant, whom Curtis idolized as a teenager. It is therefore ironic that Curtis should find himself acting alongside his hero in his very next production. However it is not known if Grant was aware of the parody at the time of filming and how he reacted to Curtis during production.

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Goofs

When Major Heywood is talking to Lt Commder Sherman on her arrival on the submarine, several ships can be seen in the background. If real, these would have been more appropriate transport for the nurses.

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Quotes

Lt. Nicholas Holden: As a kid, I was victim of the most vicious propaganda ever. People kept telling me that money wasn't everything, and I believed it. Until I found out that the people who were saying that "money wasn't everything," were the people that had all the money. So I figured they were trying to hide a good thing.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman: Mm-hmm.
Lt. Nicholas Holden: Sir, please sit down.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman: Yeah.
Lt. Nicholas Holden: Now there are two simple ways that you can get money. You can steal it, or you can marry it.

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Crazy Credits

Opening sequences as viewed through a periscope with cast and crew as various sea creatures.

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Alternate Versions

Original German version was edited by ca. 22 minutes. Kinowelt DVD release incorporates ca. 5 minutes back into the film (all non-dialogue) and has the uncut English version as a bonus feature.

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Connections

Featured in The 42nd Annual Academy Awards (1970)

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Soundtracks

By the Old Mill Stream
(uncredited)
Written by Tell Taylor
Performed by Arthur O'Connell and the Crew
Sung at the New Year's Eve party

User Reviews

Good Laughs, Interesting Cast

As with most movies from a different era, the attitudes are quite different. Feminists would hate this movie, if they saw it today. Hollywood would never make it now in first place, unless roles were reversed and men were made to look like sex objects. That would meet PC double standards.

Nonetheless, agendas aside, there is a lot of good humor in here; the story is interesting, and you get a well-known cast with Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Dina Merrill, Arthur O'Connell, Gavin MacLeod and Marian Ross. The latter went on to be big names on television more than movies, MacLeod on "Mary Tyler Moore" and Ross on "Happy Days."

This was Happy Days on a ship, at least when some attractive women board the vessel. Grant has the best lines in the film - speaking lines, that is. Good entertainment. Lots of laughs before the PC made it impossible to laugh at anything, including ourselves.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 December 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Operation Petticoat

Filming Locations:

Naval Base San Diego, San Diego, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$23,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granart Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min 120 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1