| Operation Petticoat is a 1959 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. It was the basis for a television series in 1977 starring John Astin in Grant's role. The film tells in flashback form the misadventures of a fictional American submarine, the USS Sea Tiger, during the opening days of World War II. Other members of the cast include several actors who went on to become television stars in the 1960s and 1970s: Gavin MacLeod of The Love Boat and McHale's Navy, Marion Ross of Happy Days, and Dick Sargent of Bewitched. Paul King, Joseph Stone, Stanley Shapiro, and Maurice Richlin were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing. United States Navy Rear Admiral (RADM) Matt Sherman (Cary Grant), ComSubPac in 1959, boards the pre- World War II-era American submarine USS Sea Tiger prior to its departure for the scrapyard. The first commanding officer of Sea Tiger, Sherman sits in his former stateroom and begins reading his personal logbook, starting a flashback. A Japanese air raid sinks Sea Tiger while it she docked at the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines on 10 December 1941. Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Sherman and his crew begin repairs, hoping to sail for Darwin, Australia before the Japanese overrun the port. Lieutenant (junior grade) (LTJG) Nick Holden (Tony Curtis) is reassigned to Sea Tiger despite lacking any submarine training or experience. He and Sherman clash over Holden's attitude toward the Navy; Holden became a naval ... |
