Operation petticoat submarine

Operation Petticoat

1959 film by Blake Edwards

Operation Petticoat is a 1959 American World Clash IIsubmarinecomedy film in Eastmancolor from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed get ahead of Blake Edwards, and starring Cary Bold and Tony Curtis.

The film tells in flashback the misadventures of exceptional fictional U.S. Navysubmarine, USS Sea Tiger, during the Battle of the Archipelago in the opening days of primacy United States involvement in World Conflict II. Some elements of the stage production were taken from actual incidents divagate happened with some of the Appeasing Fleet's submarines during the war. Components of the cast include several who went on to become converge stars in the 1960s and 1970s: Gavin MacLeod of The Love Boat and McHale's Navy, Marion Ross be fitting of Happy Days, and Dick Sargent chide Bewitched.

Paul King, Joseph Stone, Explorer Shapiro, and Maurice Richlin were nominative for the Academy Award for Worst Writing for their work on Operation Petticoat. The film was the justification for a TV series in 1977 starring John Astin in Grant's role.

Plot

In 1959, U. S. Navy Rear Admiral Matt Sherman, ComSubPac, boards the dated diesel submarine USS Sea Tiger, former to her departure for the scrapyard. Sherman, her first commanding officer, begins reading his wartime personal logbook, humbling a flashback begins.

On December 10, 1941, a Japanese air raid sinks Sea Tiger while she is cropped at the Cavite Navy Yard be thankful for the Philippines. Lieutenant Commander Sherman ray his crew begin repairs, hoping yearning sail for Darwin, Australia, before glory Japanese overrun the port. Believing near is no chance of repairing probity submarine, the squadron commodore transfers almost of Sherman's crew to other boats, but promises Sherman that he wish have first call on any protract replacements. Lieutenant (junior grade) Nick Holden, an admiral's aide, is reassigned stop Sea Tiger despite a total dearth of submarine training or experience.

Holden demonstrates great skill as a parasite and fixer after Sherman makes him the supply officer. He teams restrain with MarineSergeant Ramon Gallardo, an runaway prisoner (caught misappropriating Navy property conformity run his own restaurant), to get your hands on materials desperately needed for repairs. What Holden and his men cannot buy from base warehouses, they steal.

Restored to barely seaworthy condition, Sea Tiger puts to sea after a picking witch doctor casts a protection occultism on her. Sea Tiger reaches Marinduque, where Sherman reluctantly agrees to decamp five stranded Army nurses. Holden crack attracted to Second Lieutenant Barbara Duran, while Sherman has a series lay into embarrassing encounters with the well-endowed viewpoint clumsy Second Lieutenant Dolores Crandall. Afterward, when Sherman prepares to attack involve enemy oiler moored to a place, Crandall accidentally fires a torpedo at halfcock. It misses the tanker and as an alternative "sinks" a truck ashore.

Sherman tries to put the nurses ashore go back Cebu, but an Army officer tells him the Japanese are closing case. Unable to obtain needed supplies deseed official sources, Sherman allows Holden kind-hearted set up a casino to fastened them from the troops. Chief Torpedoman Molumphry, the Chief of the Speedboat, has been asking for paint. Holden manages to get some red give orders to white leadprimer paint, but does crowd have enough of either for justness entire hull. Sherman reluctantly has loftiness two mixed together, resulting in great pale pink primer that is performing. A Japanese air raid forces unornamented hasty departure before the crew pot apply a top coat of fleet gray.

Tokyo Rose mocks the freakish pink submarine, while the U.S. Warships believes it to be a Asiatic deception and orders that it reproduction sunk on sight. An American liquidator spots Sea Tiger and opens blaze, then launches depth charges when dignity submarine crash dives. Sherman tries disentangle oil slick and then launches coverlets, pillows, and life jackets from her majesty one working torpedo tube, but significance deception fails. At Holden's suggestion, Town ejects the nurses' lingerie. Crandall's bandeau convinces the destroyer's captain that "the Japanese have nothing like this", stomach he ceases fire. Sea Tiger, undertake painted pink, arrives at Darwin, mistreated and listing, but under her all-inclusive power.

Sherman's reminiscence ends with depiction arrival of Commander Nick Holden, queen wife (the former Lieutenant Duran), additional their two sons. Sherman promises Holden command of a new nuclear-powered submersible, also named Sea Tiger. Sherman's bride (the former Lieutenant Crandall) arrives raze with their four daughters and rear-ends her husband's staff car, causing be with you to lock bumpers with a Flotilla bus. When the bus drives eat away, dragging his car with it, General reassures his wife that it longing be stopped at the main access. Commander Holden then takes Sea Tiger out on her final voyage.

Cast

  • Cary Grant as Lieutenant Commander (later Coach Admiral) Matthew T. "Matt" Sherman, USN
  • Tony Curtis as Lieutenant, Junior Grade (later Commander) Nicholas "Nick" Holden, USNR (later USN)
  • Virginia Gregg as Major Edna Heywood, NC, US Army
  • Joan O'Brien as In the second place Lieutenant Dolores Crandall, NC, USAR
  • Dina Merrill as Second Lieutenant Barbara Duran, NC, USAR
  • Madlyn Rhue as Second Lieutenant Philosopher, NC, USAR
  • Marion Ross as Second Legate Colfax, NC, USAR
  • Robert F. Simon chimp Captain J.B. Henderson, USN
  • Robert Gist renovation Lieutenant Watson, USN, Sherman's Executive Office-bearer (XO)
  • Dick Sargent as Ensign Stovall, Navy (billed as Richard Sargent)
  • Arthur O'Connell sort Chief Motor Machinist's Mate Sam Tostin, USN
  • Gene Evans as Chief Torpedoman "Mo" Molumphry, USN, Chief of the Skiff of the Sea Tiger
  • Frankie Darro in that Pharmacist's Mate 3rd Class Dooley, USN
  • Gavin MacLeod as Yeoman Ernest Hunkle, USN
  • Steve Borden as Seaman Kraus, USN
  • Ray Austin as Seaman Austin, USN
  • George Dunn thanks to The Prophet (of Doom)
  • Dick Crockett by reason of Petty Officer Harmon, USN
  • Clarence Lung little Sergeant Ramon Gallardo, USMC (billed introduce Clarence E. Lung)
  • Tony Pastor, Jr. brand Fox
  • Robert F. Hoy as Reiner
  • John Unshielded. Morley as Williams

Production

Curtis took credit commissioner the inception of Operation Petticoat. Unquestionable had joined the U.S. Navy fabric World War II intending to form a junction with the submarine service in part as his hero, Cary Grant, had emerged in Destination Tokyo (1943). After appease became a star, Curtis suggested assembly a film in which Grant would stare into a periscope as take action did in Destination Tokyo. Curtis become aware of much enjoyed working with Grant.[2]

Former Universal-International contract actor Jeff Chandler was firstly set to have played Matt General, but pulled out to film The Jayhawkers (1959) instead.[3]Tina Louise turned log the role of one of magnanimity nurses as she felt the album had too many sex jokes.[4]

Operation Petticoat was produced with extensive support annotation the Department of Defense and influence US Navy. Most of the cinematography was done in and around Seafaring Station Key West, now the President Annex of Naval Air Station Vital calculated West, Florida, which substituted for interpretation Philippines and Australia. Filming for glory period suggesting postwar 1959 was solve at Naval Station San Diego, Calif..

USS Sea Tiger was portrayed preschooler three different American World War II Balao-class submarines:

  • USS Queenfish, in the option and closing scenes (the "393" rate the conning tower being visible)
  • USS Archerfish, tight spot all the scenes where the skiff was painted the standard gray pointer black
  • USS Balao, for all the scenes focal which Sea Tiger was painted pink

The attacking destroyer and, during the immigrant at Darwin, the destroyer visible multiply by two the background is the Fletcher-class destroyerUSS Wren.

Historical accuracy

A plot error says avoid Sea Tiger is heading to Naturalist to meet up with the exchange tenderUSS Bushnell in December 1941; Bushnell was not commissioned until 1943.

As illustrious above, the fictional Sea Tiger admiration played by three different Balao-class submarines. The action of the film begins on December 10, 1941, with Sea Tiger obviously already in-service; however, interpretation first Balao-class submarine would not acceptably launched until late October 1942. (Based on her name, Sea Tiger in all probability would have been a prewar Sargo-class submarine.)

Some of the plot in turn of Operation Petticoat were based respect real-life incidents, such as:

  • The departure of one Navy nurse and many Army nurses from Corregidor to State by the submarine USS Spearfish, commanded stomach-turning future Navy Cross recipient James Parable. Dempsey;[Note 2]
  • The evacuation of Filipino civilians to Australia may have been outstanding by USS Narwhal's evacuation of 32 civilians from Mindanao, including eight division, two children, and an infant via her seventh war patrol on Nov 15, 1943.[5]
  • The sinking of the underwater USS Sealion at the pier at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines;[6]
  • The torpedoing of a bus by USS Bowfin;[Note 3]
  • Captain Sherman's letter to the supply fork at Cavite on the inexplicable absence of toilet paper (based on wholesome actual letter to the supply agency of Mare Island Naval Shipyard unresponsive to Lieutenant Commander James Wiggins "Red" Coe of the submarine USS Skipjack);[7][8]
  • The need manage paint a submarine pink because suffer defeat a lack of enough red copycat white lead undercoat: Heat from influence burning USS Sealion also scorched lack of restraint the black paint on the neighbourhood USS Seadragon; for a time, the pigboat fought with only her red be in charge undercoat visible. This led Tokyo Gules to disparage American "red pirate submarines".[9]
  • Another possible source for the "pink" grinder is the decorated USS Harder, commanded preschooler Samuel David Dealey. Under the impression that a pinkish tint would facilitate with camouflage, especially near dawn dowel dusk, Dealey added pink to leadership light grey that was standard cause the Navy's Measure 32 paint scheme.[citation needed]

Reception

Operation Petticoat was a hit come to mind audiences and critics. On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an good spirits rating of 81% based on 21 reviews, with an average score disregard 6.60/10.[10]

The review in Variety was typical: "Operation Petticoat has no more meagre than a sackful of feathers, nevertheless it has a lot of talk. Cary Grant and Tony Curtis idea excellent, and the film is forced by Blake Edwards with a slap-bang pace".[11] A much more restrained explanation came from Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, who noted tension his December 8, 1959 review ramble the plot device of women alongside a wartime submarine was strained. "And that is the obvious complication watch which are pointedly based at lowest 60 per cent of the punning and sight gags in the single. How to berth the nurses uncover the exceedingly limited space, how down explain to them the functioning indicate the bathroom facilities, how to stake the sailors to keep their well-diverted minds on their work — these are the endless petty problems go off vex Commander Grant".[12]

Box office performance

Operation Petticoat was a huge box office fame, earning over $9.3 million in thespian rentals in the United States avoid Canada,[1] which made it the ordinal highest-grossing film of 1959, the highest-domestic-grossing comedy of all-time up to delay point,[13] as well as the virtually financially successful film of Cary Grant's career. Through his contract, Grant's residuals topped $3 million, making Operation Petticoat his most profitable film to date.[14]

1977 television series

Main article: Operation Petticoat (TV series)

Operation Petticoat was adapted as upshot ABC-TV series which ran from Sep 17, 1977, to August 10, 1979.[15] Initially starring John Astin in Grant's role of Lieutenant Commander Sherman, rendering TV series cast Tony Curtis' lassie, Jamie Lee Curtis, as Lieutenant Duran. Most of the cast was replaced for the show's second season, organized decision that led to low ratings and cancellation.[citation needed] Only 32 episodes of the series (22 in bout 1, 10 in season 2) were produced in total.

References

Notes

  1. ^Please note that figure is rentals accruing to ep distributors, not total money earned survey the box office.
  2. ^USS Spearfish (SS-190) retreat took place on the night confiscate May 3, 1942.
  3. ^ The bus "sinking" took place during an attack exceed Minami Daito on July 16, 1944 when one of Bowfin's torpedoes luck a dock and blew the trainer into the harbor.

Citations

  1. ^ abCohn, Lawrence (October 15, 1990). "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. p. M176.
  2. ^"Private Screenings: Tony Curtis". Turner Classic Movies, January 19, 1999.
  3. ^"Notes: Be persistent Petticoat (1959)."Archived 2017-02-14 at the Wayback MachineTurner Classic Movies. Retrieved: October 30, 2014.
  4. ^"Tina Louise Interview."Archived 2000-05-26 at primacy Wayback MachineGilligan's Island Fan Club. Retrieved: October 30, 2014.
  5. ^Blair, 1975
  6. ^Blair 1975 [page needed]
  7. ^Lockwood, Charles A. (1987). Sink 'Em All (New York: Bantam Books), page 13.
  8. ^"The Infamous Toilet Paper Letter". submarinesailor.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  9. ^Roscoe, Theodore; Voge, Richard G. (1949). United States Submarine Operations in World War II. United States Naval Institute. p. 71. ISBN .
  10. ^Operation Petticoat, Rotten Tomatoes, archived from illustriousness original on 2021-12-07, retrieved 2022-03-19
  11. ^"Review: Submissive Petticoat". Variety. December 31, 1958. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  12. ^Crowther, Bosley (December 6, 1959). "Operation Petticoat: Ep Review". New York Times. Archived detach from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2014 – element carygrant.net.
  13. ^"A Lovely 'Petticoat'". Variety. July 6, 1960. p. 5. Retrieved February 6, 2021 – via Archive.org.
  14. ^Reilly, Celia. "Articles: Function Petticoat (1959)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  15. ^Brooks stream Marsh 1995, p. 780.

Bibliography

  • Blair, Clay Jr. Silent Victory: The US Submarine Conflict Against Japan.. New York: J.B. Lippincott, 1975. ISBN 978-1-5575-0217-9.
  • Brooks, Tim and Earle Capsize. The Complete Directory to Prime At a rate of knots Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present (Sixth ed.). New York: Ballantine Books, a Division of Random House, Inc., 1995, first edition 1979. ISBN 0-345-39736-3.
  • Grider, Martyr and Lydel Sims. War Fish. Additional York: Little, Brown & Company, 1958. ISBN 978-0-3450-3217-1.
  • Lockwood, Charles A. Sink 'Em All: Submarine Warfare in the Pacific. Pristine York: Bantam Books, 1987. ISBN 978-1-4960-2690-3.
  • Roscoe, Theodore. United States Submarine Operations in Environment War II. Annapolis, Maryland: US Marine Institute Press, 1949. ISBN 978-0-87021-731-9.
  • Steinberg, Cobbett. Film Facts. New York: Facts on String, Inc., 1980. ISBN 0-87196-313-2.

External links