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Operation Petticoat Overview:

Operation Petticoat (1959) was a Comedy - Romance Film directed by Blake Edwards and produced by Robert Arthur.

Academy Awards 1959 --- Ceremony Number 32 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best WritingStory by Paul King, Joseph Stone; Screenplay by Stanley Shapiro, Maurice RichlinNominated
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Operation Petticoat BlogHub Articles:

Operation Petticoat (1959): Blake Edward’s Cheeky Service Sit-Com

By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 3, 2020 From 4 Star Films

... Read full article

The Funny Papers: Operation Petticoat (1959)

By Kellee Pratt on Sep 15, 2020 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

The Funny Papers: Operation Petticoat (1959) Operation Petticoat (1959) There are classic comedies that capture the perfect blend of superior direction, cast, writing, and appealing aesthetics. You can tell that it works well when we find ourselves forming nostalgic bonds to such films. Even i... Read full article

Operation Petticoat (1959)

By Beatrice on Nov 29, 2016 From Flickers in Time

Operation Petticoat Directed by Blake Edwards Written by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin 1959/USA Universal International Pictures/Granat Company Repeat viewing/Netflix rental This is a light-hearted WWII comedy a la Mr. Roberts, with a bit more naughtiness thrown in. Lt. Commander Matt T. Sh... Read full article

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Operation Petticoat Quotes:

Lt. Nicholas Holden: Let me go shopping, sir, and see what's left at the market.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman: You, Mr. Holden? You'd ruin your manicure.
Lt. Nicholas Holden: Don't let the manicure fool you, sir. I grew up in a neighborhood called 'Noah's Ark'; If you didn't travel in pairs, you just didn't travel.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman: Subject, Toilet paper. One: on 6 June 1941, this vessel submitted a requisition for 150 rolls of toilet paper. On 16 December 1941 the requisition was returned with stamped notation, 'Cannot identify material required.' Two: the commanding officer of the USS SeaTiger cannot help but wonder what is being used at the Caviti Supply Depot as a substitute for this unidentifiable material once so well known to this command.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman: I don't want to bore you with the problems of command, Mr. Holden, because I doubt you'll ever have one. It's inconsistent with that philosophy of yours - every man for himself.
Lt. Nicholas Holden: Dog eat dog.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman: Exactly. The unfortunate thing about command, though, Mr. Holden, is that the responsibilities outweigh the privileges. Now if it was just myself I was concerned with, I'd tell you what to do with that list. But my responsibility is this boat, and to get her out of here I'd even make a pact with the devil.
Lt. Nicholas Holden: That's where I come in.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman: That's right.
Chief Mechanic's Mate Sam Tostin: A woman just shouldn't mess around with a man's machinery.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman: We sunk a truck! Let's get the hell out of here!
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Operation Petticoat Facts
Some of the plot points of the movie were based on real-life incidents. Most notable were scenes set at the opening of WW II, based on the actual sinking of the submarine USS Sealion (SS-195), sunk at the pier at Cavite Navy Yard, the Philippines; Cmdr. 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 by Lt. Cmdr. James Wiggin Coe of the submarine Skipjack (SS-184); and the need to paint a submarine pink, due to the lack of enough red lead or white lead undercoat paint.
'USS Balao' SS-285 was painted pink and was used for exterior shots in and around Key West. 'USS Archerfish' SS-311 (originally 'USS Archer-Fish', renamed at 1952 recommission) wore the standard colors of gray and black, and was used for interior and exterior shots in and around Key West. 'USS Queenfish' SS-393 was used in opening and closing scenes, and was used for the "at sea" shots filmed in and around San Diego.
Nurse Barbara (Dina Merrill), the love interest for Tony Curtis' character, was played in the 1977 remake by Curtis' daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis.
Of the three boats to portray the 'Sea Tiger', one-the 'USS Archer-Fish', SS-311-was present at the Japanese surrender which ended WWII in the Pacific Theater. The 'USS Wren', DD-568, which was shown as the destroyer attacking 'Sea Tiger', was also present.
According to the memoir "Mislaid in Hollywood' by Joe Hyams, referred to in the biography "Cary Grant - A Class Apart" by Graham McCann, " . . . Grant found his burgeoning enthusiasm for his therapeutic use of LSD increasingly hard to contain, and, eventually, while he was shooting the movie "Operation Petticoat", he could hold back no longer. Two reporters - Joe Hyams and Lionel Crane - both prepared for the usual amusing but scrupulously bland Grant interview, were stunned to find him unusually relaxed, open and keen to share with them the extraordinary experiences he had undergone . . . He talked about his desperate desire to change his character so that he could be reunited with Betsy Drake."
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