Themes: Military Life, Foibles of Marriage, Gender-Bending
Main Cast: Tom Ewell, Sheree North, Rita Moreno, Rick Jason, Les Tremayne
Release Year: 1956
Country: US
Run Time: 99 minutes
Plot
Frank Tashlin directed this comedy about a man whose marriage hits the skids when his wife gets caught in the draft. Gregory Whitcomb (Tom Ewell) served with distinction in the Army during WWII, but he now makes his living as a television writer. Gregory's wife Katy (Sheree North), several years his junior, was also a member of the military as a WAC. When the armed forces find themselves strapped for qualified personnel, Gregory and Katy are ordered to return to active duty; after his physical, Gregory is reclassified 4-F for health reasons, but Katy is judged 1-A and put back in camouflage. Now poor Gregory finds himself having to look after the home by himself and waiting for his spouse at the base, while both Katy and Gregory try to figure out how to free her from her military obligations. The Lieutenant Wore Skirts also features Rita Moreno and Rick Jason. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Time has not been good to The Lieutenant Wore Skirts, much of the humor of which is dependent upon whether one automatically finds a man cooking for his wife to be intrinsically funny. That said, if one can look beyond its datedness -- and beyond the fact that the husband, no matter how you slice it, is simply behaving selfishly -- Lieutenant offers a moderately good time, especially for those tuned into director Frank Tashlin's determinedly over-the-top style. As has been noted frequently, Tashlin got his start directing cartoons, and he brings the same ferocious energy to his live action projects. Star Tom Ewell works very well with Tashlin, perhaps because his hatch-like hangdog face looks like a refugee from an animated film, and perhaps because his willingness to underplay contrasts with and balances Tashlin's willingness to shoot for the moon. Whatever the reason, Ewell comes off wonderfully in Lieutenant, making even trite situations amusing. Sheree North is, as was usually the case, pretty much wasted in the role of the wife; her work is very good, but she's not given material that shows her off to good advantage. Much better is Rita Moreno, who scores heavily with her supporting part that pays homage to Marilyn Monroe. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Alice Reinheart - Capt. Brigg; Gregory Walcott - Lt. Sweeney; Jean Willes - Joan Sweeney; Sylvia Lewis - Takitoff; Edward Platt - Major Dunning; Jacqueline Fontaine - Buxom Date; Arthur Q. Bryan - Mr. Curtis; Paul Glass - Sam; Kathryn Marlowe - Gloria; Joe Locke - Roger Wilkins; Bette Arlen - WAF Officer; Maury Hill - Officer at Gate; Janice Carroll - WAF Sergeant; Dorothy Gordon - WAF; Ralph Sanford - Gateman; Helene Marshall - Mildred Walkins; Marjorie Stapp - Mother in Laundromat; Michael Ross - MP; Pat McMahon - WAF; Leslie Parrish - Bit Girl; Suzanne Ridgway - Hula Dancer
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts is a 1956 Drama directed by Frank Tashlin, starring Tom Ewell, Sheree North. A comedy about a man, Gregory Whitcomb (Tom Ewell), whose marriage hits the skids when his wife, Katy (Sheree North), gets caught in the draft.
