Operation Petticoat

The Philippines in the Second World War. Commander Sherman is trying to get the USS Sea Tiger, badly damaged in a Japanese attack, back into the water. His supply officer, Lieutenant Holden, finds what is needed through official channels and unofficial ones. When it comes time to paint, the only stock is red and white primer, and mixed together they turn the submarine pink. On top of that five nurses come aboard to be evacuated. At the end, with an American destroyer about to sink the pink submarine, the nurses' underwear is put out into the water and the firing stops. Blake Edwards directed. Cary Grant plays Sherman and Tony Curtis plays Holden. The cast includes names who would later be known from television, among them Marion Ross and Dick Sargent. It took more than 9.3 million dollars in theatrical rentals and was the third highest-grossing film of 1959. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 81 percent, with reviews praising its slam-bang pace. The screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award. It was adapted into an ABC series starring John Astin that ran from 1977 to 1979, for two seasons and 32 episodes in total. Who it is for: viewers who like war comedies of the late fifties and the Grant and Curtis pairing. Who it is not for: anyone bothered by how the women are handled. The nurses are the material of the joke from beginning to end.