Operation Petticoat
Encyclopedia
Operation Petticoat is a 1959 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...

, and starring Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...

 and Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...

. It was the basis for a television series in 1977 starring John Astin
John Astin
John Allen Astin is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.-Early years:...

 in Grant's role. The film tells in flashback form the misadventures of a fictional American submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

, the USS Sea Tiger
USS Sea Tiger
USS Sea Tiger was a fictional submarine presumably named for the barracuda. No vessel of the United States Navy has been given that name, but the 1959 movie Operation Petticoat, starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis, and the short-lived 1977-1978 television series of the same name, were set aboard...

, during the opening days of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Other members of the cast include several actors who went on to become television stars in the 1960s and 1970s: Gavin MacLeod
Gavin MacLeod
Gavin MacLeod is an American actor most notable for playing Happy Haines on McHale's Navy, Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat...

 of The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...

and McHale's Navy
McHale's Navy
McHale's Navy is an American television sitcom series which ran for 138 half-hour episodes from October 11,1962, to August 31, 1966, on the ABC network. The series was filmed in black and white and originated in a one-hour drama called Seven Against the Sea, broadcast on April 3, 1962...

, Marion Ross
Marion Ross
Marion Ross is an American actress best known for her role as Marion Cunningham on the television series Happy Days from 1974 to 1984.-Early life:...

 of Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....

, and Dick Sargent
Dick Sargent
Richard Stanford Cox , known professionally as Dick Sargent, was an American actor, notable as the second actor to portray Darrin Stephens on the television series Bewitched...

 of Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...

.

Paul King, Joseph Stone, Stanley Shapiro
Stanley Shapiro
Stanley Shapiro was an American screenwriter and producer responsible for three of Doris Day's most successful films.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shapiro earned his first screen credit for South Sea Woman in 1953...

, and Maurice Richlin
Maurice Richlin
Maurice Richlin was an American screenwriter.-External links:...

 were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing
Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material. Before 1940, there was an Academy Award for Best Story for writing. For 1940, it and the award in this article were separated into two awards. Beginning with the...

.

Plot

United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...

 (RADM) Matt Sherman (Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...

), ComSubPac
ComSubPac
Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet is the principal advisor to the Commander, United States Pacific Fleet for submarine matters. The Pacific Submarine Force includes attack, ballistic missile and auxiliary submarines, submarine tenders, floating submarine docks, deep submergence...

 in 1959, boards the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

-era American submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 USS Sea Tiger
USS Sea Tiger
USS Sea Tiger was a fictional submarine presumably named for the barracuda. No vessel of the United States Navy has been given that name, but the 1959 movie Operation Petticoat, starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis, and the short-lived 1977-1978 television series of the same name, were set aboard...

 prior to its departure for the scrapyard
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

. The first commanding officer of the Sea Tiger, Sherman sits in his former stateroom and begins reading his personal logbook
Logbook
A logbook was originally a book for recording readings from the chip log, and is used to determine the distance a ship traveled within a certain amount of time...

, starting a flashback.

A Japanese air raid
Air raid
Air raid refers to an attack by aircraft. See strategic bombing or the smaller-scale airstrike.Air raid may also refer to:*Air Raid , by the improvisational collective Air...

 sinks the Sea Tiger while it is docked at the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines on 10 December 1941. Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...

 (LCDR) Sherman and his crew begin repairs, hoping to sail for Darwin, Australia before the Japanese overrun the port. Lieutenant (junior grade) (LTJG) Nick Holden (Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...

) is reassigned to the Sea Tiger despite lacking any submarine training or experience. He and Sherman clash over Holden's attitude toward the Navy; Holden became a naval officer not out of patriotism but to escape poverty and find a wealthy spouse, and is engaged to such a woman. Holden demonstrates great skill as a scavenger and con artist to obtain materials for repairs, however, and becomes the ship's supply officer.

The unpainted Sea Tiger—its backfiring #1 engine still producing black smoke—reaches Marinduque
Marinduque
In 1945, combined American and Philippine Commonwealth troops attacked from the Japanese Troops liberated to the Battle of Marinduque in the Second World War.-Archaeology:...

, where Sherman reluctantly agrees to evacuate five female Army nurses
Army Nurse Corps (United States)
The United States Army Nurse Corps was formally established by the U.S. Congress in 1901. It is one of the six medical Special Branches of officers which – along with medical enlisted soldiers – comprise the Army Medical Department ....

 stranded there. Holden is attracted to Second Lieutenant (2LT) Duran (Dina Merrill
Dina Merrill
-Early life:Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton in New York City, New York, the only child of Post Cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her second husband, Wall Street stockbroker Edward Francis Hutton...

), while Sherman has a series of embarrassing encounters with the well-endowed but clumsy 2LT Crandall (Joan O'Brien
Joan O'Brien
Joan O'Brien is an American actress and singer. She made a name for herself acting in television shows in the 1950's and 1960's, and as a film co-star with Cary Grant, Elvis Presley, John Wayne and Jerry Lewis....

). When Sherman prepares to attack an enemy oiler, Crandall accidentally launches the torpedo prematurely, blowing up a truck on the beach.

Sherman tries to leave the nurses at Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...

 but the Army refuses to accept them, as it is preparing for guerrilla warfare to oppose the coming Japanese occupation
Japanese occupation of the Philippines
The Japanese occupation of the Philippines was the period in the history of the Philippines between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan occupied the previously American-controlled Philippines during World War II....

. When Sherman is unable to obtain needed supplies officially, he allows Holden to set up a casino to get them. The crew does not have enough red lead
Red lead
Lead tetroxide, also called minium, red lead or triplumbic tetroxide, is a bright red or orange crystalline or amorphous pigment. Chemically, red lead is lead tetroxide, Pb3O4, or 2PbO·PbO2....

 or white lead
White lead
White lead is the chemical compound 2·Pb2. It was formerly used as an ingredient for lead paint and a cosmetic called Venetian Ceruse, because its opaque quality made it a good pigment. However, it tended to cause lead poisoning, and its use has been banned in most countries.White lead has been...

 primer paint
Primer (paint)
A primer is a preparatory coating put on materials before painting. Priming ensures better adhesion of paint to the surface, increases paint durability, and provides additional protection for the material being painted.-When primers are used:...

 to coat the entire submarine in a single color, so the two have to be mixed together, resulting in a bright pink. The plan is to apply a second, gray coat after a New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...

 celebration, but a Japanese aerial attack forces a hasty departure.

Tokyo Rose
Tokyo Rose
Tokyo Rose was a generic name given by Allied forces in the South Pacific during World War II to any of approximately a dozen English-speaking female broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The intent of these broadcasts was to disrupt the morale of Allied forces listening to the broadcast...

 mocks the mystery pink submarine in the Celebes Sea
Celebes Sea
The Celebes Sea of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Kalimantan in Indonesia...

, while the Navy believes the submarine's color is a Japanese trick and orders that it be sunk on sight. An American destroyer fires depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...

s at the Sea Tiger, but Sherman shoots the nurses' underwear out a torpedo tube. The destroyer's crew finds Crandall's bra and takes it to the captain, who concludes that it cannot be Japanese and stops the attack.

The arrival of Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...

 (CDR) Holden, his wife (Duran), and their sons in present day-1959 interrupts Sherman's reminiscences. As its current commanding officer, Holden asks if there are any "last minute reprieves" to save Sea Tiger from the scrapyard. Reluctantly, the admiral replies no, but at the same time promises Holden command of a new nuclear-powered submarine, also to be named Sea Tiger. Sherman's wife (Crandall) arrives late and rear-end
Rear-end collision
A rear-end collision is a traffic accident wherein a vehicle crashes into the vehicle in front of it, usually caused by tailgating or panic stops...

s her husband's staff car, bumping it into the rear bumper of a Navy bus, which then drives away, dragging the admiral's staff car in tow and the admiral's driver chasing after it. As Holden sails the submarine out of the port for scrapping, her #1 engine again backfires and emits black smoke one last time.

Cast

  • Cary Grant
    Cary Grant
    Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...

     as LCDR (later RADM) Matthew T. "Matt" Sherman, USN
  • Tony Curtis
    Tony Curtis
    Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...

     as LTJG (later CDR USN) Nicholas "Nick" Holden, USNR
  • Joan O'Brien
    Joan O'Brien
    Joan O'Brien is an American actress and singer. She made a name for herself acting in television shows in the 1950's and 1960's, and as a film co-star with Cary Grant, Elvis Presley, John Wayne and Jerry Lewis....

     as 2LT Dolores Crandall, NC, USA
  • Dina Merrill
    Dina Merrill
    -Early life:Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton in New York City, New York, the only child of Post Cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her second husband, Wall Street stockbroker Edward Francis Hutton...

     as 2LT Barbara Duran, NC, USA
  • Gene Evans
    Gene Evans
    Gene Evans was an American actor.He was born in Holbrook, Arizona, but reared in Colton, California. His acting career began while he was serving in World War II. He performed with a theatrical troupe of GIs in Europe. Evans made his film debut in 1947 and appeared in dozens of movies and...

     as Chief Petty Officer Molumphry
  • Dick Sargent
    Dick Sargent
    Richard Stanford Cox , known professionally as Dick Sargent, was an American actor, notable as the second actor to portray Darrin Stephens on the television series Bewitched...

     as ENS Stovall, USN (listed as Richard Sargent)
  • Arthur O'Connell
    Arthur O'Connell
    Arthur O'Connell was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films in 1941 and television programs...

     as Chief Machinist's Mate Sam Tostin
  • Virginia Gregg
    Virginia Gregg
    Virginia Gregg Burket was an American actress best known for her many roles in radio dramas.Born in Harrisburg, Illinois, Virginia Gregg was the daughter of musician Dewey Alphaleta and businessman Edward William Gregg.-Radio:Gregg was a prolific radio actor, heard on such programs as The...

     as MAJ Edna Heywood NC, USA, the nurses' commander
  • Robert F. Simon
    Robert F. Simon
    Robert F. Simon was an American character actor, often portraying military or authority figure roles. Though his face was recognized by audiences, he was mostly unknown by name...

     as CAPT J.B. Henderson, USN
  • Robert Gist
    Robert Gist
    Robert Gist was an American actor and film director. He was married to actress Agnes Moorehead from 1954 to 1958, although they separated in 1955. They met during the filming of The Stratton Story .- Biography :...

     as LT Watson, USN
  • Gavin MacLeod
    Gavin MacLeod
    Gavin MacLeod is an American actor most notable for playing Happy Haines on McHale's Navy, Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat...

     as Seaman Ernest Hunkle, USN
  • George Dunn as The Prophet (of Doom)
  • Dick Crockett
    Dick Crockett
    Dick Crockett , born Richard DeHart Crockett, was an American television and film actor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, producer, and director....

     as Petty Officer Harmon
  • Madlyn Rhue
    Madlyn Rhue
    Madlyn Soloman Rhue was an American character actress.Rhue was born in Washington, D.C. From the 1950s to the 1990s, Rhue appeared in some twenty films, including Operation Petticoat and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World...

     as 2LT Reid, NC, USA
  • Marion Ross
    Marion Ross
    Marion Ross is an American actress best known for her role as Marion Cunningham on the television series Happy Days from 1974 to 1984.-Early life:...

     as 2LT Colfax, NC, USA
  • Clarence Lung as Sgt Ramon Gillardo, USMC (as Clarence E. Lung)
  • Frankie Darro
    Frankie Darro
    Frankie Darro was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles in adventure, western, dramatic, and comedy films, and later became a character actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Darro...

     as Pharmacist Mate 3rd Class Dooley
  • Tony Pastor Jr. as Fox
  • Robert F. Hoy as Reiner
  • Nicky Blair as Seaman Kraus
  • John W. Morley as Williams
  • Ray Austin as Seaman Austin
  • Dick Crockett, Robert Hoy, Ray Austin(Stunt Performers)

Production

Curtis took credit for the film's inception. He had joined the Navy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 with the intent of entering the Submarine Service, in part because Grant, his hero, appeared in Destination Tokyo
Destination Tokyo
Destination Tokyo is a 1943 submarine war film. It was directed by Delmer Daves and written by Daves, Steve Fisher and Albert Maltz, and stars Cary Grant and John Garfield with featured performances by Dane Clark, Robert Hutton and Warner Anderson. Production began on June 21, 1943 and continued...

(1943
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....

). After he became a star, Curtis suggested making a film in which Grant would stare into a periscope as he did in Tokyo, and very much enjoyed working with him.

The film was produced with extensive support of the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

 and the Navy. Most of the filming was done in and around the since deactivated Naval Station Key West
Truman Annex
Truman Annex is both a neighborhood and military installation in Key West, Florida, United States. It is the part of the island that is west of Whitehead Street, with the exception of Bahama Village. It is where the winter White House for President Harry S. Truman is located from its days as part...

, Florida, which substituted for the Philippines, and Naval Station San Diego
Naval Station San Diego
Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...

, California.

The Sea Tiger was portrayed by three different American World War II-era submarines:
  • Queenfish (SS-393)
    USS Queenfish (SS-393)
    USS Queenfish , a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the queenfish, a small food fish found off the Pacific coast of North America....

    , in the opening and closing scenes (circa 1959), in which the "393" on the conning tower is visible,
  • Archerfish (SS-311)
    USS Archerfish (SS-311)
    USS Archer-Fish was a Balao-class submarine. She was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the archerfish, a family of fish notable for its ability to project a powerful spout of water at its insect prey...

    , for all the World War II scenes where the boat was painted the standard gray and black,
  • Balao (SS-285)
    USS Balao (SS-285)
    USS Balao , was the lead ship of the United States Navy's Balao-class submarines during World War II; Balao is the name of any of several halfbeak fish....

    , for all the scenes in which Sea Tiger was painted pink.

Historical basis

Some of the plot points of the movie were based on real-life incidents, such as the sinking of the submarine USS Sealion (SS-195)
USS Sealion (SS-195)
USS Sealion , a Sargo-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sea lion, any of several large, eared seals native to the Pacific....

 at the pier at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines, Commander Sherman's letter to the supply department on the inexplicable lack of toilet paper (based on an actual letter to the supply department of Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...

 by Lieutenant Commander James Wiggin Coe of the submarine Skipjack (SS-184)
USS Skipjack (SS-184)
USS Skipjack , a Salmon-class submarine, wasthe second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the fish. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, on 22 July 1936...

), and the need to paint a submarine pink due to the lack of enough red or white lead undercoat paint. The heat from the burning of the Sealion also scorched off the black paint of the nearby USS Seadragon
USS Seadragon
Two ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Seadragon, named in honor of the seadragon, a small fish more commonly called the dragonet....

and for a time this boat fought with only its red lead undercoat visible. This led Tokyo Rose
Tokyo Rose
Tokyo Rose was a generic name given by Allied forces in the South Pacific during World War II to any of approximately a dozen English-speaking female broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The intent of these broadcasts was to disrupt the morale of Allied forces listening to the broadcast...

 to disparage American "red pirate submarines."

Box office performance

This film was a huge box office hit, making it the #3 moneymaker of 1960, earning $6,800,000.

1977 television series

The movie was adapted as an ABC-TV
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 series which ran from September 17, 1977 to August 10, 1979. Initially starring John Astin in Grant's role of Lieutenant Commander Sherman, the TV series was probably most notable for the casting of Tony Curtis' daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...

as Lieutenant Duran. Most of the cast was replaced for the show's second season, a decision that led to low ratings and cancellation. Only 32 episodes of the series (22 in season 1, 10 in season 2) were produced in total.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075551/episodes

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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