The Iron Petticoat (1956)

Director:

Ralph Thomas

Writer:

Ben Hecht (screenplay)
(more)

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:

Russian | Capitalism | American | Aviatrix | Army

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
Martin Boddey	...	Grisha
Richard Leech
Eugene Deckers
Stanley Zevic
Alexis Chesnakov
André Mikhelson		(as Andre Mikhelson)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maria Antippas	...	Sklarnoff's Secretary (uncredited)
Cyril Chamberlain	...	Hotel doorman (uncredited)
Alf Dean	...	Russian Strongarm Man (uncredited)
Doris Goddard	...	Maria (uncredited)

Directed by
Ralph Thomas

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ben Hecht		screenplay
Harry Saltzman		story (uncredited)

Produced by
Betty E. Box	....	producer
Harry Saltzman	....	producer

Original Music by
Benjamin Frankel

Cinematography by
Ernest Steward		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Frederick Wilson

Art Direction by
Carmen Dillon

Makeup Department
W.T. Partleton	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Denis Holt	....	production manager (as R. Denis Holt)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James H. Ware	....	assistant director

Art Department
Vernon Dixon	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Roger Cherrill	....	sound editor
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound recordist
John W. Mitchell	....	sound recordist
Danny Daniel	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
H.A.R. Thomson	....	camera operator
Norman Gryspeerdt	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Yvonne Caffin	....	costume supervisor

Music Department
Benjamin Frankel	....	musical director

Other crew
Arthur Alcott	....	production controller: Pinewood Studios
Joan Davis	....	continuity

Production Companies

• London Film Productions
• Remus (as A Remus Film)
• Romulus Films

Distributors

• Independent Film Distributors (IFD) (1956) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1957) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1957) (France) (theatrical)
• Carlton Video (2001) (UK) (VHS)
• Fabulous Films (1994) (UK) (VHS)
• PolyGram Video (1998) (UK) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Not for Money
Ballade i luften (Denmark) [da]
Der eiserne Unterrock (West Germany) [de]
Faldas de acero (Spain) [es]
Faldilles d'acer (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Kamrat i svarta spetsar (Sweden) [sv]
La sottana di ferro (Italy) [it]
Ouisky, vodka kai siderenia fousta (Greece) [el]
Rautainen alushame (Finland) [fi]
Whisky en vodka (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Whisky et vodka (Belgium: French title) [fr]
Whisky, vodka et jupon de fer (France) [fr]

Runtime:

87 min | UK:106 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:

Vinka Kovelenko: It's too dangerous!
Major Chuck Lockwood: Marriage?
Vinka Kovelenko: Moscow! We're going to live in Indianapolis, Indiana!

Movie Connections:

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

Bob&Kate Put The Cold War In Deep Freeze

Until ironically both stars of The Iron Petticoat died within a month of each other in 2003, this film may have had until June 29 of that year of holding the record for having its two co-stars survive the longest. That was the day Katharine Hepburn died and Bob Hope died on July 27 and between them they had 196 years on earth. That's the only distinction The Iron Petticoat has.

Ben Hecht got on Bob Hope's case for allowing his gag writers to intrude in on his screenplay and story. Personally I can't believe they could have loused it up as bad as what his idea originally was. Katharine Hepburn is a female Russian jet ace who defects from the Soviet Union, not because of any disagreement with Communism, but because she was passed over for promotion in the Russian Air Force.

But the Americans still think they can convert her for propaganda purposes and who do they assign to the task? Not real life American air war hero James Stewart, but Bob Hope who plays the jet pilot who forced Kate's jet down. Who here really believes Bob Hope as a war hero pilot?

It's obvious Hope did interfere and it probably cost Hepburn some of her scenes, but the premise was so ridiculous I can understand why he thought the film needed help. As for Hepburn she throws on an accent that might be described as Maria Ouspenskaya on crystal meth.

Even such fine players as James Robertson Justice as the KGB man assigned to kidnap Hepburn back are wasted here.

The Iron Petticoat was a terrible idea made even worse in the execution. No wonder it's never shown in revivals of either Hope or Hepburn.