forgiven for trying to claim an out." He also wrote: "Miss Hepburn's Russian affectations and accent are simply horrible, and Mr. Hope's wistful efforts with feeble gags to hold his franchise as a funny man are downright sad. The notion of these two characters falling rapturously, romantically in love is virtually revolting. If this was meant to be a travesty, it is." In a 1972 interview, Italian actress Rossella Falk said that Garbo was "unhappy with Hepburn because she made a movie called 'The Iron Petticoat'. The film was a parody on 'Ninotchka', and Garbo thought the Hepburn film was the worst film that she had ever seen." Box office According to MGM records, the film was a modest box-office success, earning $1,260,000 in the US and Canada and $125,000 elsewhere. Low production costs resulted in a profit of $109,000. Subsequent history The film's distribution rights were divided between Hope's company, which controlled the Western Hemisphere, and the UK company Romulus Films, which held the Eastern Hemisphere, including the UK. MGM received a 10-year licence for the Western Hemisphere in 1955. After its initial theatrical release, The Iron Petticoat had only two public screenings in the US, at the Museum of Modern Art and the American Film Institute, both sanctioned by Hope Enterprises after MGM's rights expired in 1970. Apparently withheld because of Hope's unhappiness over the public controversy with Hecht, the film was not shown on US television nor had been released on home video there for many years, though it is readily available in the UK, where rights are currently controlled by ITV. Turner Classic Movies indicated in April 2012 that it had entered into an agreement with Hope Enterprises for a 10-year licence for US and Canadian TV rights and negotiated to release The Iron Petticoat on Blu-ray and DVD in North America as part of its TCM Vault Collection video line. TCM aired the film on 29 November 2012, almost a decade after the deaths of both leads. Proposed followup After filming ended, it was announced that Saltzman, Hecht and Thomas would make an adaptation of The Imaginary Invalid starring Robert Helpmann, but this film was never made. See also List of American films of 1956 References Notes Bibliography Berg, A. Scott. Kate Remembered: Katharine Hepburn, a Personal Biography. London: Pocket, 2004, First edition 2003. . Box, Betty E Lifting the Lid, 2001 Chandler, Charlotte. I