''The Lieutenant Wore Skirts'' is a 1956 comedy film directed by

Frank Tashlin Frank Tashlin (born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, February 19, 1913 – May 5, 1972), also known as Tish Tash and Frank Tash, was an American animator, cartoonist, children's writer, illustrator, screenwriter, and film director. He was best kn ...

and starring

Tom Ewell Tom Ewell (born Samuel Yewell Tompkins, April 29, 1909 – September 12, 1994) was an American film, stage and television actor, and producer. His most successful and most identifiable role was that of Richard Sherman in ''The Seven Year Itch'' ...

Sheree North Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang; January 17, 1932 – November 5, 2005) was an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe. Early life North was born Dawn Shirley C ...

, and

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Noted for her work across different areas of the entertainment industry, she has appeared in numerous film, television, and thea ...

. It is a comedy about a man whose marriage begins to fail when his wife enlists.

Plot

TV writer Greg Whitcomb did his military service heroically but now has settled into everyday life with a young wife, Katy. A letter from the war department arrives that Katy believes is calling Greg back to active duty from the Air Force reserve, but she hides it during a party celebrating their wedding anniversary. A captain attending the party, Barney Sloan, casually calls Greg an "old-timer," offending him. Greg gets drunk and passes out. His pride stung, Greg is willing to return to duty once he learns of the letter, so Katy, a former Air Force officer herself, decides to re-enlist so they can stay together. Trouble is, Greg flunks his physical exam due to a bad knee. Katy is shipped to a base in Hawaii without him. Female neighbors keep suggesting Katy will be lonely and surrounded by handsome servicemen, so Greg flies to Honolulu to join her. He ends up spending hours with the wives, a situation their husbands don't appreciate. Greg decides to sabotage Katy's career so she can get a discharge. His stunt backfires, but because Greg's knee has healed, he is now recalled up to duty. Which would be fine, except Katy now needs to be honorably discharged and sent home because she is pregnant.

Cast

as "Gregory Whitcomb" *

as "Lt. Katy Whitcomb" *

as "Sandra Roberts" *

Rick Jason Rick Jason (born Richard Jacobson; May 21, 1923 – October 16, 2000) was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for starring in the ABC television drama ''Combat!'' (1962–1967). Childhood An only child of Jewish parents ...

as "Capt. Barney Sloan" *

Les Tremayne Lester Tremayne (16 April 1913 – 19 December 2003) was an English actor. Early life Born in Balham, London, he moved with his family at the age of four to Chicago, Illinois, where he began in community theater. His mother was Dolly Trema ...

as "Henry 'Hank' Gaxton" * Alice Reinheart as "Capt. Grace Briggs" *

Gregory Walcott Gregory Walcott (born Bernard Wasdon Mattox, January 13, 1928 – March 20, 2015) was an American television and film actor. Although he had roles in many Hollywood films and television series, he is perhaps best known for having appeared in th ...

as "Lt. Sweeney" *

Jean Willes Jean Willes (born Jean Donahue; April 15, 1923 – January 3, 1989) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career. Early years Willes was born Jean Donahue In Los Angeles. She spent pa ...

as "Joan Sweeney" *

Edward Platt Edward Cuthbert Platt (February 14, 1916 – March 19, 1974) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of the Chief in the 1965–70 NBC/CBS television series: ''Get Smart''. With his deep voice and mature appearance, he played an ...

as "Major Dunning" * Jacqueline Fontaine as "Buxom Blonde at Party" * Michael Ross as "Military Policeman" * Arthur Q. Bryan as "Mr. Curtis" * Keith Vincent as "Delivery boy" * Janice Carroll as "WAAF sergeant" *

Ralph Sanford Ralph Dayton Sanford (May 21, 1899 – June 20, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films and in at least 200 episodes on television between 1930 and 1960, mostly bit parts or supporting roles. Sanford frequently ...

as "Gateman"

Background

''The Lieutenant Wore Skirts'' was conceived as a leading vehicle for actress

, who was being promoted by

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

as an alternative to the increasingly difficult

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

. The project originated in the fall of 1955, soon after North's breakthrough in ''

How to Be Very, Very Popular ''How to Be Very, Very Popular'' is a 1955 comedy film written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson. The film starred Betty Grable in her final film role and Sheree North in her first leading role. Johnson later said "I don't much like to ...

'' (1955), a role intended for Monroe, but one she turned down. The studio attached popular director

and comedian

(Monroe's leading man in ''

The Seven Year Itch ''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...

'') to work alongside North, in an effort to ensure the film would be successful. Tashlin had the film's script tailored to fit North's talents, and molded his story along the lines of the popular

romantic comedies Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

of the era. The film was

Buddy Adler E. Maurice "Buddy" Adler (June 22, 1906 – July 12, 1960) was an American film producer and production head for 20th Century Fox studios. In 1954, his production of ''From Here to Eternity'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture and in 1956, hi ...

's first film under his Fox contract. During production, the role of Sandra, the sultry upstairs neighbor, was intended for African-American actress

Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in ''Ca ...

. Two years earlier, Dandridge had achieved fame for her performance in ''

Carmen Jones ''Carmen Jones'' is a 1943 Broadway musical with music by Georges Bizet (orchestrated for Broadway by Robert Russell Bennett) and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II which was performed at The Broadway Theatre. Conceptually, it is Bizet's op ...

'' and her resulting

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination. Fox head

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

was, at the time, in the process of gradually promoting Dandridge into being accepted by contemporary white audiences. Zanuck had assigned her the role in ''The Lieutenant Wore Skirts'' and that of Tuptim in the film version of ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...

'', and was planning to cast her in modernized remakes of ''

The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' (german: Der blaue Engel) is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Lie ...

'' and '' Under Two Flags''. However,

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

, Dandridge's former director and now-lover, convinced her to turn down the supporting roles in ''The Lieutenant Wore Skirts'' and ''The King and I'', insisting she was now above playing smaller roles since she had proven herself a box office star. As a result, Dandridge was replaced by

as Sandra and Tuptim, and her career started its slow, but steady decline.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lieutenant Wore Skirts, The 1956 films 1956 comedy films 20th Century Fox films American comedy films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Frank Tashlin Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge Military humor in film Films with screenplays by Frank Tashlin CinemaScope films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

Background

See also

References

External links