Operation Petticoat
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Movie Reviews of Operation Petticoat
Movie Review: Fun Comedy
Summary: 5 Stars
As a retired army officer I am often interested in not only the serious military movie genre films, but also in the comedic military genre films as well. Although war is a serious business, any veteran will tell you that much of their time in the military is punctuated by comedic episodes. To that end, I enjoy the comic side of war immensely depicted in film. Upon hearing the news of Tony Cutis' death I was reminded of one of Hollywood's funniest comedic military films "Operation Petticoat."
Plot Summary:
Blake Edwards' 1959 "Operation Petticoat" starred 2 great Hollywood comedy icons of the era, Cary Grant as Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman, and Tony Curtis as Lt. JG Nicolas Holden. A submarine the "Sea Tiger" newly commissioned is damaged in the opening days of WW II. Cary Grant as Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman, looking for a command insists he can get it to a dockyard where it can be repaired quickly and put into the fight. He relies on Tony Curtis as Lt. JG Nicolas Holden who is his very "effective" but unscrupulous supply officer to get the parts necessary to get the sub underway quickly. While in the dockyard Curtis character, ever on the lookout for a "good time" befriends a group of 5 Army nurses. Just as repairs are about complete, the dockyard comes under a Japanese air attack forcing the nurses, some island natives, and a goat to come aboard while the sub puts out to sea. How funny can it get? Trying to get a primer coat on the sub, the crew had to mix white and red in order to have enough. When forced to flee the dock during the attack, they find themselves with the world's only pink submarine, still with 5 women and a goat aboard in the tight quarters of a submarine you can imagine what high jinks ensue in this great comedy!
Some back story facts about the film are very interesting:
Originally the film was to be a "low budget" back lot shoot in black and white which doesn't make much sense since a major plot device is that this is a comedy about a pink submarine! Once Cary Grant signed on to the film, the studio increased the budget and went with color film stock and did much of the shoot on location in the Florida Keys. Grant decided to own a substantial piece of the film and wound up making a handsome profit, more than he previously did on any other movie, of over 3 million dollars since the film was a huge box office success and popular with the film critics.
Interestingly, Tony Curtis actually served aboard a submarine for three years in WW II. He "caught the acting bug" while attending signalman school. When discharged after the war, he used his GI bill to attend acting school. He lobbied hard to get his part in "Operation Petticoat" because he wanted to work with Cary Grant who he admired immensely and credited Grant with inspiring him to be an actor from watching all his films as a kid.
Movie Review: Operation Petticoat
Summary: 5 Stars
ESSENTIAL MOVIE!!! Though some may disagree that this film is essential I've found it to be one of the most entertaining movies that I've ever seen. Cary Grant was a very versatile actor able to do comedy & drama equally well. His co-star, Tony Curtis was versatile also though he never received the same respect as many of his peers. I've always felt that comedy was the strength of Tony Curtis, most of the films that I enjoy with Curtis fall into comedy. Tony Curtis was also the king of teaming-up with other actors. Curtis normally got second billing in these cases, don't know if teaming up so often with other actors was his choice or the studio. But he had teamed with the likes of Cary Grant (as here), Burt Lancaster (more than once), Kirk Douglas & Frank Sinatra just to name a few. About the only time Curtis got top billing in his pairings were his movies with Jack Lemmon which were also hilarious.
Operation Petticoat is a WWII comedy that involves the submarine Sea Tiger. Curtis in his role isn't really a war zone officer, he's been sitting it out in the rear echelon doing jobs that aren't directly related to the war. It's his misfortune that he's stuck in a place where combat is an everyday occurrence. He volunteers to join the Sea Tiger, his reason, to get back to an area where his talents can do him more good. He ends up being the supply officer because his scavenging skills & initiative are without equal. Many funny situations occur in this movie including where Curtis steals a pig & transports it back to the submarine. Grant, in his role, is somewhat tolerant but doesn't really want all the facts. He just wants to get the Sea Tiger fully shipshape & into the war. The most famous scene in the movie occurs when, due to the lack of gray paint, red & white paint are mixed creating a very brilliant hue of pink with which they paint the submarine.
There's more to the movie but do yourself a favor & get this; it's entertaining from beginning to end.
Movie Review: "We all live in a pink submarine . . ."
Summary: 5 Stars
Blake Edwards, who gave us The Pink Panther gives us, in OPERATION PETTICOAT, a pink submarine.
The "USS Sea Tiger" commanded by Cary Grant, is sunk at its Manila mooring on December 7, 1941. With sheer willpower, sweat, and the aid of the best scrounger in the Pacific Theater (Tony Curtis), the crew of the "Sea Tiger" is able to raise her and get her under weigh, albeit on one engine that gurgles like a clogged drain.
Making repairs even as she sails for Pearl Harbor, the "Sea Tiger" puts in for supplies at Cebu. In need of antifouling paint, Curtis wheels and deals a short supply of red and a short supply of white. The result is a lovely shade of pink. Fortunately, there's a plentiful supply of battleship gray topcoat; unfortunately, the Japanese are so close that the crew never gets a chance to apply it.
The "Sea Tiger" also acquires passengers in Cebu, a bevy of stranded American nurses, who quickly turn the spartan submarine domestic. The crew works among washed-and-drying ladies unmentionables, and has plenty of close contact in the narrow passageways, leading to some riotously funny sexual tension.
Grant tries hard to be the stern Captain, but even he can't occasionally restrain a silly grin as the "Sea Tiger" sails on. The odd vessel is spotted by the Japanese. They scratch their heads. The Americans, jumpy after being attacked, are less tolerant. They attack the "Sea Tiger," which, submerged and depth-charged, saves itself by sending up a very unusual signal flag.
Made only fourteen years after the war's end, OPERATION PETTICOAT is just far enough removed from the war years to find its own humor, but yet not so far removed that it forgets the seriousness and sacrifice of war.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Movie Review: If you love to laugh, you will love this DVD.
Summary: 5 Stars
Tony Curtis and Cary Grant are perfect in this movie.
Cary Grant is the Commander of the Sea Tiger, a submarine with more problems than crew members.
His troubles begin when the sub sinks before even leaving the harbor during a Japanese raid. Commander Sherman (Grant) and his men begin working to repair and bring up their beloved sub despite the fact that their requisition orders rarely are filled.
Due to the fact that some of his men were reassigned to other duties after the raid, Sherman is granted some "replacement's"--enter Lt. Nicholas Holden (Tony Curtis).
Holden is in the Navy not for the purpose of country but for the uniform so he can impress his rich girlfriend back home. Since he is no longer winning the rumba championships with the Admiral's wife he must settle into a role on the Sea Tiger--scavenging for items to repair the sub.
With new and inventive ways of obtaining supplies (taking the wall from headquarters and stealing supplies from beneath the noses of MP's) the Sea Tiger once again becomes sea worthy--barely.
None of the scavenging trouble Nick Holden causes Commander Sherman can even compare to the new passengers he brings aboard: a crew of female doctors, pregnant women and goats.
Cary Grant is charming as ever and deals with the many, many problems and situations thrown at him in such funny ways. Tony Curtis is equally charming and lends very much to this film.
The supporting cast can be likened to the "Down Periscope" crew of 1959. Each character brings something new and unusual to the storyline.
You definitely will not be disappointed if you buy this DVD. I recommend it highly.
Movie Review: They painted their submarine pink!
Summary: 5 Stars
A hilarious Cary Grant comedy that works on a variety of levels. Grant plays the beleagured captain of a Navy submarine that gets sandbagged at the raid on Pearl Harbor, hit so badly that the military brass want to want to turn it into scrap metal before it ever has a chance to see combat. He pleads with his commanding officer for a chance to patch the sub up and get it back into the war... They agree, but the task seems impossible, given that no supplies are forthcoming, as the United States scrambles to respond to the Japanese attack. Enter Tony Curtis, in one of his choicest comedic roles, playing the effete and newly-assigned Lt. Nick Holden, a shameless scam artist who steals everything that isn't nailed down in order to fill the ship's want list. But the *_real_* trouble starts when the boat is forced to take on a gaggle of (gasp!) *_ women _* onboard, causing great confusion and consternation among the all-male crew. The script is zippy and full of great sexual entendres, dealing both with the genial sexism towards the wimmin, and an unexplicit -- but very blatant -- streak of gay humor. It's a genuinely funny movie, both for the intentional laughs, and for the semi-unintentional ones that modern audiences will enjoy, looking back at late-'Fifties America.