Familiar faces (at least for those who watched insipid 1970s-1980s television shows) include future "Bewitched" husband Dick Sargent, future "Love Boat" captain Gavin MacLeod, and future "Happy Days" mom Marion Ross. Aging tomboy Virginia Gregg strikes up a romance with crusty mechanic Arthur O'Connell, while Tony Curtis dates Dina Merrill and Grant is reluctantly paired with clumsy big-breasted Joan O'Brien.
How others will see it. This is among the better Blake Edwards comedies, helped of course by the casting of Cary Grant as the lead. Grant's comic timing, facial expressions, and sarcastic utterances provide continual charm, topped by his famous line, "We sunk a truck!" The only moment that doesn't work occurs when Grant sits on a sharp object and makes a frozen funny face. Outright anger is the normal reaction.
Tony Curtis is less to my liking, but this is one of his better roles. The familiar supporting cast helps, with Arthur O'Connell particularly engaging. The script elicits laughs, along with the occasional groaner, such as a scene where a pig is successfully passed off as a drunken seaman.
How I felt about it. There are other improbable outcomes. Curtis would surely be arrested following his theft of military supplies. Not all nurses are young and pretty, and in any event are unlikely to play along with such games as "the sick crew" and "the narrow passageway body rub." Still, those scenes are winning, as are the ones where the outcome is easily predicted, such as Grant's unwanted shower, the unmasking of the witch doctor, and the happy endings for the various ship romances.
Operation Petticoat is a war movie, but in the Mister Roberts mode. The crew prove capable during emergencies, resourceful despite deprivations, and gallant throughout cohabitation. Since no one plays a Japanese, we are spared offensive depictions. The Philippine islanders are also reasonably portrayed, although we suspect that their women in labor aren't as relaxed and cheerful as if about to receive a facial. It is also doubtful that captain's logs would record non-essential events embarrassing to the Navy. And Joan O'Brien should be kept out of any part of the sub that has buttons or levers.