The Iron Petticoat (1956)

Director:

Ralph Thomas

Writer:

Ben Hecht (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 January 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Bob and Kate...Simply Great

Plot:

Captain Vinka Kovelenko defects from Russia, but not for political reasons. She defects because she feels discriminated against as a woman...

Plot Keywords:

Soviet Union | Forbidden Love | Aviatrix | Cold War | Airforce

Cast

Bob Hope	...	Major Charles "Chuck" Lockwood
Katharine Hepburn	...	Captain Vinka Kovelenko
Noelle Middleton	...	Lady Connie Warburton-Watts
James Robertson Justice	...	Colonel Sklarnoff
Robert Helpmann	...	Ivan Kropotkin
David Kossoff	...	Dr. Anton Dubratz
Alan Gifford	...	Colonel Newt Tarbell
Nicholas Phipps	...	Tony Mallard
Paul Carpenter	...	Major Lewis
Sid James	...	Paul (as Sidney James)
Alexander Gauge	...	Senator Howley
Sandra Dorne	...	Tityana
Richard Wattis	...	Lingerie Clerk
Tutte Lemkow	...	Sutsiyawa
Olaf Pooley

Also Known As:

Not for Money

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:U | Italy:T | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Buckingham Palace, Westminster, London, England, UK

Company:

London Film Productions

Quotes:

Colonel Tarbell: What do you think of her?
Major Chuck Lockwood: Well, women in uniform bother me. I don't know whether to kiss em' or salute em'!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Harry Saltzman: Showman (2000) (V)

An interesting oddity

This film had the potential to be much better. The charm and talent of Hepburn and Hope, the conflict of attitudes between East/West, Democracy/Communism, male/female. However, none of these elements work quite as well as they might have done.

Despite being rather over the top at the start, Hepburn is very good sporadically (the Russian accents and characters in general are stereotypical caricatures). Her androgynous persona is well cast, although used rather crudely at times - the film has a nervously defencive and jokey treatment of burgeoning feminist ideas, probably typical of the era.

Unfortunately, Hepburn's character is often relegated to be the foil for Hope's one liners. These are sometimes funny, but tend to predominate over characterisation, narrative, and the film in general, giving the whole piece an oddly disjointed, flat feel.

With a more pacey and intelligent script, the likable charm of Hope and the feisty emotion of Hepburn could have made a quirky, witty film. Instead, this rather dated film remains an interesting, although sometimes uncomfortable watch, as a snapshot of attitudes in the 1950s, and the unusual pairing of these two stars.