Operation Petticoat (1959)

A common problem for war movies is a shortage of female characters. Maybe that's a reason I thought to check out this one, where female presence is a key plot point. Of course, the year of release wasn't promising for a good depiction thereof.

When a World War II U.S. Navy submarine, the Sea Tiger, gets blown up in a Pacific harbor before it can ever participate in battle, LCDR Sherman (an arguably too old Cary Grant) badly wants it rebuilt. He gets a mixed blessing in new LT Holden (Tony Curtis), who is highly irregular and good at stealing, generally to the undersupplied crew's benefit. Things are already pretty comedic for the barely functional sub before the real awkwardness begins, when Holden rescues five stranded U.S. Army nurses. (We're told the Sea Tiger was their only hope, but we have to ignore ships in the background.) Never mind the old sailor superstition that women on ships spell bad luck; how can Sherman hope to maintain any discipline?

This might just be the edgiest '50s flick I've ever seen. We even glimpse a tattoo of a topless woman, and it's implied she's also bottomless. Oddly enough, nobody says the word "petticoat," but feminine underwear certainly comes into play. Hope you don't mind some relatively tasteful bathroom humor either.

For a while, I assumed the filmmakers were sexist, what with the women causing some trouble directly. On closer inspection, I realized that only one woman (Joan O'Brien) was doing it, out of sheer perpetual clumsiness and forgivable ignorance of naval ways. Another (Dina Merrill, I think) was actually a better engineer than the assigned man. I'd say that's pretty feminist for the time, except that it's probably supposed to be funny.

There are also a few moments with natives, at least one of whom I take to be a Filipino. Again, I think they narrowly dodged a bullet here. We see some cultural differences but nothing downright caricaturesque.

With Blake Edwards directing, I knew to expect hit-and-miss humor. To my relief, I found it more hit than miss. It helps that a fair amount is verbal, so it doesn't feel as lowbrow as The Pink Panther. In fact, since many details trace to wartime anecdotes, it borders on credible. That can be a minus for comedies, but it works well here. (I have a harder time believing in the shallow love arcs, but hey, they don't get much focus.)

Would a modern studio remake a movie like OP? Dubious. Can a modern viewer enjoy it? Yes, given a little tolerance for old-fashioned aspects.