The Horizontal Lieutenant

1962
Approved
1h 30m

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

467

YOUR RATING

Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, and Miyoshi Umeki in The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962)

A luckless army intelligence lieutenant finds himself stationed on a remote island army outpost during World War II, where all the action is between the sheets.

Play trailer2:45

1 Video

19 Photos

Comedy Romance War

A luckless army intelligence lieutenant finds himself stationed on a remote island army outpost during World War II, where all the action is between the sheets.A luckless army intelligence lieutenant finds himself stationed on a remote island army outpost during World War II, where all the action is between the sheets.A luckless army intelligence lieutenant finds himself stationed on a remote island army outpost during World War II, where all the action is between the sheets.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

467

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Officer
(uncredited)

Argentina Brunetti

Nun
(uncredited)

John Burnside

Lieutenant
(uncredited)

Gene Coogan

Club Patron
(uncredited)

Bill Cord

Lieutenant
(uncredited)

Ken DuMain

Club Patron
(uncredited)

Edward Faulkner

Officer at Welcome Party
(uncredited)

Director
- Richard Thorpe
Writers
- George Wells
- Gordon Cotler
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
This is believed to be the first of a handful of films shot in the short lived Panacolor system. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer struck the U.S. release prints in their own lab under the Metrocolor label.

Goofs
When Lt. Wye is transferred to the island, the shoulder patch on his uniform changes to one signifying the U.S. Army's Ryukyu Command. This film is set during WWII and this patch did not appear until 1950 (although some references state it was unofficial as early as 1947).

Quotes
Lt. Molly Blue: So I date a lot. I admit it. I'm shopping around. I'm 22, Merle. By the end of this war, I may be 30.
Second Lt. Merle Wye: That's why I say, "Gather ye rosebuds, while ye may."
Lt. Molly Blue: Oh, I wish I had a dollar for every time that's been suggested. You could at least be a little more original.

Connections
Referenced in Password: Kitty Carlisle vs. Jack Carter: evening show (1962)

Soundtracks
The Horizontal Lieutenant
Music by George Stoll
Lyrics by Stella Unger
Performed by The Diamonds
Courtesy of Mercury Records

User reviews16

Review

Featured review

9/10

Jim and Paula together again

This is the final of four consecutive films Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss made together in the early 60's. It is at times a trifle insensitive towards the Japanese, but that's about the worst thing you can say about this otherwise pleasant film. Trivia: Hutton's diminutive Nisei sidekick Sgt Tada, played by Yoshio Yoda, became "Fuji" in McHale's Navy.

Hutton, as usual plays the conniving but good-hearted Hutton character, and Prentiss--though described as "lanky" and "Miss High-Pockets"--is drop-dead gorgeous, even in G.I. Beige. She's just happy that the war transformed her "from a tall girl into a short commodity." This may be the last film which the producers felt compelled to write in some reference to Prentiss' Amazonian proportions.

Hutton, an intelligence officer, is sent to an occupied Pacific Islands to capture an inconsequential Japanese pilferer, and in due time, Prentiss shows up.

A talented collection of familiar character and comedic actors rounds out the cast.