Product Details

• Actors: Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O'Brien, Dina Merrill, Gene Evans
• Directors: Blake Edwards
• Writers: Joseph Stone, Maurice Richlin, Paul King, Stanley Shapiro
• Producers: Robert Arthur
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Letterboxed, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Republic Pictures
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1998
• Run Time: 124 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302990076
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,037 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This lightweight World War II comedy is an amiable wade through the South Pacific buoyed largely by Cary Grant's effortless leadership as the commander of a crippled submarine and by Tony Curtis's blue-eyed wiles as his street-hustler of a supply officer. The crew dodges the enemy in a barely seaworthy vessel held together with chewing gum and baling wire (and, in one instance, a woman's girdle!) and painted a blushing bright pink. The close quarters get even tighter when the sub takes on five young army nurses, a couple of Filipino families, and a goat. Though it has little of the zany knockabout humor that marks later Blake Edwards hits like The Pink Panther and 10 and it almost wears out its premise at two hours, this easy-sailing comedy rolls along the gentle wakes from one fine mess to another with good humor and a bevy of coy close-quarters sex gags. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Operation Petticoat, April 5, 2008

By 

Kelly "Reviewer for The Sinfully Sensuous" (Littleton, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Operation Petticoat (DVD)

Cary Grant is cast as the commander of the Sea Tiger, a sub held together by a lick and a promise. Tony Curtis is cast as Lt Nick Holden. He was assigned sea duty as a punishment, and is very outside of his element. Since the country is at war, supplies are very scarce, and Holden discovers that he does have a talent in being a thief. If they can't get a requisition filled, Mr. Holden can find it. This crew has one catastrophe after another, and then they get stuck with team of nurses that are stranded. This is a hilarious movie that will make you laugh out loud. The cast is superb, and not just the talent of Grant and Curtis, but all the supporting players.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, June 3, 2002

By 

David Rasquinha (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Operation Petticoat (DVD)

Operation Petticoat is one of those movies that makes you laugh no matter how many times you see it. The cast is led by none other than Cary Grant as the commander of a decrepit submarine, caught behind the Japanese advance in the Pacific, trying hard to sail her back to safety and repair at a US base. Grant makes a fine picture as a tough yet sentimental commanding officer. In counterpoint is Tony Curtis as a totally amoral rascal with a talent for getting things done, usually by breaking all rules. Despite their mutual dislike, the two have to work together to get the sub home and the result is a truly bizarre voyage. Curtis' expertise in scrounging supplies for the damaged sub extends to a group of stranded army nurses, who predictably create havoc on the submarine. And as the sub approaches safety, it improbably ends up as a maternity ward to the consternation of Grant and the delight of the crew. I would hate to spoil the surprises but let me say the manner of the sub reaching safety is simply hilarious. Of course, all ends well - this is a movie after all - and the right lessons are learned by all. A great movie to laugh over with some superb dialog lines for Grant in particular and a string of great one-liners all around. Highly recommended.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love to laugh, you will love this DVD., July 13, 2001

By 

J. Gibson (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Operation Petticoat (DVD)

Tony Curtis and Cary Grant are perfect in this movie.

Cary Grant is the Commander of the Sea Tiger, a submarine with more problems than crew members.

His troubles begin when the sub sinks before even leaving the harbor during a Japanese raid. Commander Sherman (Grant) and his men begin working to repair and bring up their beloved sub despite the fact that their requisition orders rarely are filled.

Due to the fact that some of his men were reassigned to other duties after the raid, Sherman is granted some "replacement's"--enter Lt. Nicholas Holden (Tony Curtis).

Holden is in the Navy not for the purpose of country but for the uniform so he can impress his rich girlfriend back home. Since he is no longer winning the rumba championships with the Admiral's wife he must settle into a role on the Sea Tiger--scavenging for items to repair the sub.

With new and inventive ways of obtaining supplies (taking the wall from headquarters and stealing supplies from beneath the noses of MP's) the Sea Tiger once again becomes sea worthy--barely.

None of the scavenging trouble Nick Holden causes Commander Sherman can even compare to the new passengers he brings aboard: a crew of female doctors, pregnant women and goats.

Cary Grant is charming as ever and deals with the many, many problems and situations thrown at him in such funny ways. Tony Curtis is equally charming and lends very much to this film.

The supporting cast can be likened to the "Down Periscope" crew of 1959. Each character brings something new and unusual to the storyline.

You definitely will not be disappointed if you buy this DVD. I recommend it highly.