Operation Mad Ball
| Operation Mad Ball | |
|---|---|
| 225px | |
| Directed by | Richard Quine |
| Produced by | Jed Harris |
| Written by | Arthur Carter (also play) Blake Edwards Jed Harris |
| Starring | Jack Lemmon Ernie Kovacs Kathryn Grant Mickey Rooney Arthur O'Connell |
| Music by | George Duning |
| Cinematography | Charles Lawton Jr. |
| Edited by | Charles Nelson |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
|
Release dates
|
August 17, 1957 |
|
Running time
|
105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.85 million (US rentals)[1] |
Operation Mad Ball is a 1957 military comedy starring Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, Kathryn Grant, Arthur O'Connell, and Mickey Rooney, and directed by Richard Quine. The screenplay is by Blake Edwards, Jed Harris and Arthur Carter, based on an unproduced play by Carter.[2]
Plot
In a hospital unit in the U.S. Army in Europe after World War II, Private Hogan (Jack Lemmon) does not believe that a blue-stocking can be good-looking, but the first sight of dietetic nurse Lieutenant Betty Bixby (Kathryn Grant) sets him straight. When he picks her cigarette lighter up and puts his weapon aside, he is surprísed by security officer Paul Locke (Ernie Kovacs) who admonishes him for putting down his weapon while on guard duty and confines him to quarters preliminary to a court martial. The Colonel in charge of the unit (Arthur O'Connell), however, would prefer to keep everything "in the family" and avoid a court martial.
Soon, Hogan plans to organise a ball at an off-limits hotel with all the prettiest nurses and his fellow soldiers. Hogan and Cpl. Bohun (Dick York) go through all sorts of mishaps to make sure that the secret Mad Ball goes ahead. Hogan uses a General's X-ray and pretends it belongs to him to win the sympathy of Lt. Bixby, whom he wants to take to the ball. Hogan claims to be suffering from heartburn and an ulcer, and Bixby recommends dietetic changes. When Betty finds out that the X-ray doesn't belong to Hogan, she falls out with him, leaving both Betty and Hogan secretly sad to have lost each other.
On the night of the ball, each soldier has been paired with a pretty nurse, except Hogan. He waits for Bixby, hoping that she has forgiven him, but he ends up going to the ball on his own. When he arrives, he sees Betty with the Colonel. She takes off her long coat to reveal a pretty dress. At the end, she shares the last dance with Hogan.
Cast
|
|
- Cast notes
- This film marks the first time that Jack Lemmon received top billing in a film, and was also the first major screen role for Ernie Kovacs.[2][3]
Awards and honors
- 1958 Golden Laurel Award - 2nd place - Top Male Comedy Performance - Jack Lemmon
- 1958 WGA Award (Screen) - Nominated - Best Written American Comedy - Arthur Carter, Jed Harris, Blake Edwards
See also
References
External links
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). Operation Mad Ball at IMDb
- Operation Mad Ball at the TCM Movie Database
- Operation Mad Ball at AllMovie
- Operation Mad Ball Trailer-1957-Internet Archive
