I must admit there are a few chuckles and a few minor thrills in this labored farce. It takes a long time for the promise inherent in the title to get under way. And when the girls finally appear, it is mostly all good clean fun. In fact, just as much footage is devoted to other comic interludes, such as Curtis scrounging supplies at the casino/supply depot, as to the predictable situations that develop when women are forced to live in cramped quarters. Needless to say, these constricted quarters have allowed the movie to be filmed very economically. Long dialogue scenes can now take place in tiny, economy-sized sets that even Monogram would have been ashamed of. True, there is some welcome exterior filming with real subs and ships that were kindly provided free of charge by the Department of Defense. As might be expected, director Blake Edwards has handled this routine assignment in a totally pedestrian style. He just plonked the actor in front of the camera and said, "Action!". And as for the flat, characterless photography, Russell Harlan hang your head in shame! Cary Grant does little more that just say his lines, allowing Tony Curtis to work all out to exploit his own limited charm/talent. The rest of the players are strictly from hunger. Thanks to an aggressive promotion, this movie was enormously successful at the box=office. Back in 1959, there was an enormous appetite out there for films that promised a raciness that they actually failed to deliver. People just couldn't get it through their heads that no movies could be released without the concurrence of the Roman Catholic church, and racy films were most definitely "Out!"
Review of Operation Petticoat
