World War 2 comedy about a submarine commander (Gary Grant , though Jeff Chandler was originally offered the role that went to Gary) teams with a cocky wheeler-dealer (Tony Curtis, though Bob Hope always said it was his biggest regret that he turned down this character), both of whom to make the sub seaworthy . Captain finds himself stuck with a decrepit (and pink) sub . The sub's commander experiences a certain amount of surprises at the unconventional methods used by his first lieutenant . They are joined by a group of army nurses (such as Nurse Barbara performed by Dina Merrill and Nurse Crandall played by Joan O'Brien , though Tina Louise was offered but turned down the role) whose lingerie is put to some unusual uses and the gags begin .
Agreeable comedy set in Pacific Ocean during WWII with plenty of humor, laughters , tongue-in-cheek and results to be pretty funny , though some jokes may be considered sexist these days . Top-notch performance by two masters of comedy , as Gary Grant was his hero in the genre and likable acting by Tony Curtis as a con-man executive officer . Great teamwork from Grant and Curtis keep things rolling . The whole film is a happy and at times comic vehicle for its wonderful stars . However , Grant himself was at first reluctant to take his role , knowing he was much too old to play a wartime captain . Some of the plot points of the movie were based on real-life incidents . Most notable were scenes set at the opening of WW II, based on the actual sinking of the submarine USS Sealion , sunk at the pier at Cavite Navy Yard, the Philippines ; Cmdr. Sherman's letter to the supply department on the inexplicable lack of toilet paper, based on an actual letter to the supply department by Lt. Cmdr. James Coe of the submarine Skipjack ; and the need to paint a submarine pink, due to the lack of enough red lead or white lead undercoat paint . Later remade , as nurse Barbara interpreted by Dina Merrill, the love interest for Tony Curtis' character, was played in the 1977 remake by Curtis' daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis ; furthermore TV series .
The motion picture was well directed by Blake Edwards , as he directs with good pace and enjoyable sense of humor . Blake is a classic comedy filmmaker and director of his own dialogue , there's no doubt he knows what he's about . His stories are amusing and well-realized though uneven , but thanks to Sellers many movies stand out . He had successes with ¨Pink Panther¨ series who became him a world-wide celebrity as ¨A shot in dark¨ , ¨Return of pink panther , ¨Revenge of pink panther¨ , ¨Curse of Pink Panther¨ , ¨Pink Panther strikes again¨ , ¨Trail of Pink Panther¨ , ¨Son of Pink Panther¨ , among others . Since then , there have been many more hit-and-miss comedies , some wildly unsuitable vehicles for his second wife Julie Andrews as ¨The Tamarind seed¨ , ¨Darling Lili¨, ¨SOB¨ , ¨10¨ , ¨That's life¨ . His greatest hits were ¨The party¨ , the travestite comedy ¨Victor/Victoria¨ and of course the joyously ¨Breakfast at Tiffany's ¨. The flick will appeal to Gary Grant and Tony Curtis fans . This is arguably one of the Blake Edwards' best . This consistently fun comedy deserves 'Two thumbs up' .
