light grey that was standard for the Navy's Measure 32 paint scheme. Reception Operation Petticoat was a hit with audiences and critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 21 reviews, with an average score of 6.60/10. The review in Variety was typical: "Operation Petticoat has no more weight than a sackful of feathers, but it has a lot of laughs. Cary Grant and Tony Curtis are excellent, and the film is directed by Blake Edwards with a slam-bang pace". A much more restrained commentary came from Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, who noted in his December 8, 1959 review that the plot device of women aboard a wartime submarine was strained. "And that is the obvious complication upon which are pointedly based at least 60 per cent of the witticisms and sight gags in the film. How to berth the nurses in the exceedingly limited space, how to explain to them the functioning of the bathroom facilities, how to compel the sailors to keep their well-diverted minds on their work — these are the endless petty problems that vex Commander Grant". Box office performance Operation Petticoat was a huge box office hit, earning over $9.3 million in theatrical rentals in the United States and Canada, which made it the third highest-grossing film of 1959, the highest-grossing comedy of all-time, as well as the most financially successful film of Cary Grant's career. For Grant, through his contract, his residuals topped $3 million, making Operation Petticoat his most profitable film to date. 1977 television series Operation Petticoat was adapted as an ABC-TV series which ran from September 17, 1977 to August 10, 1979. Initially starring John Astin in Grant's role of Lieutenant Commander Sherman, the TV series cast Tony Curtis' daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, as Lieutenant Duran. Most of the cast was replaced for the show's second season, a decision that led to low ratings and cancellation. Only 32 episodes of the series (22 in season 1, 10 in season 2) were produced in total. References Notes Citations Bibliography Blair, Clay Jr. Silent Victory: The US Submarine War Against Japan.. New York: J.B. Lippincott, 1975. . Brooks, Tim and Earle Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present (Sixth ed.). New York: Ballantine Books, a Division of Random House, Inc., 1995, first edition 1979. . Grider,