10 Best Submarine Movies You Probably Haven't Seen
6. Operation Petticoat (1959)
When Carey Grant and Tony Curtis did appear in the same submarine adventure together, it turned out to be riotous fun. Operation Petticoat shirks suspense or gloominess for a full-on comedy caper. The film follows the misadventures of the crew aboard the USS Sea Tiger during the Battle of the Philippines in the early days of US involvement in World War Two.
While the Sea Tiger is a fictional vessel and the story is not in itself true, many of the incidents in the film are based on real documented events - for example, the torpedoing of a bus by the USS Bowfin in 1944. The film went down a storm with critics and audiences, ending up as one of the biggest films of Grant's illustrious career. Even now the humour lands well and the story is perfectly paced for belly laughs at every turn.
Operation Petticoat starred actors who would go on to become household names of the next few decades, such as Gavin McLeod of The Love Boat (1977-1986) and Marion Ross of Happy Days (1974-1984). The film also inspired a TV series of the same name which starred Jamie Lee Curtis - Tony Curtis' daughter.