Whisky, vodka et jupon de fer

Catching up with two or three Bob Hope movies recently on TV, this, the 3rd in a month, didn't really excite me, even as a prospect before I started watching it. Let me make it clear, for me, Bob Hope was the most charismatic comedy actor ever, but the subject matter of 'The Iron Petticoat' just sounded dull. Katharine Hepburn plays a Russian pilot who has an ex lover (Robert Helpmann) who she meets up with in West Germany at an American air base. It's a bit unclear why she flies there but anyway, after landing she is persuaded by Capt Chuck Lockwood (Bob Hope) to pursue Western values and the pair eventually fall in love after a series of mishaps. That's about it as a story but Hepburn is just irritating as the Russian pilot. I'm normally something of a fan of Kate but in this movie she has such a terrible, harsh, mock Russian accent it just grated on me, rather destroying any chemistry between the two stars and is the worst performance I've seen her give. Hope on the other hand saves the movie with his non stop quips which always keeps me glued to his presence. Apparently Hope's production company was involved which allowed him to alter Ben Hechts' original script as he wasn't satisfied with it and Hecht and Hope fell out over it. The Cold War is a rather unfunny premise for a comedy which is why it didn't really appeal to me but if you love just watching Bob Hope, then it's worth a watch. Supporting actors don't really add anything as they are rather dull and giving their worst performances and the list included great character actors like James Robertson Justice, Sid James and Richard Wattis who normally bring a boost to their pictures, but alas, not here. Apparently the picture has only recently become available on TV as Hope prevented it in his lifetime so you may find it interesting as a curiosity. Only five stars and they're for Hope and his gags and timing.

Very minor reworking of Ninotchka with Hope and Kate, whose accent is all over the place, sharing little to no chemistry. The script is weak but if Cary Grant, her best costar, had appeared in this as originally planned it might not have been a classic but because of their rapport a much better film than it is.

A product of much backstage enmity. Hope and Hepburn disdained each other and Hope and the film's writer Ben Hecht fought to the point they took the battle public in printed ads denouncing each other, the resulting picture hardly seems worth it. A flat, inert misfire necessary only to completist of the starring duos work.

I wouldn't know how to describe either of the lead performances in "The Iron Petticoat". Supposedly the unofficial remake of the 1939 Greta Garbo classic "Ninotchka", it was either something intended to be confusingly bizarre or not up to standard remake of a great Hollywood movie.

This was the fifteenth Katharine Hepburn movie I have seen, and the first of Bob Hope's. I cannot judge Hope's performance, but I have to admit this was one of Hepburn's movies which did disappoint partially. It has been some time since I viewed the movie but I don't think her Russian accent was convincing. Generally, the supporting cast was rather forgettable, and the film contained many aspects previously unknown to me of any good Kate Hepburn.

The script had noticeable flaws, and got a little dull in parts. On a higher note, there were a few moments that did please and even a few laughs.

Overall, the film is not as terrible as I may make it out to be. But the grass is greener elsewhere for better Katharine Hepburn comedies. Unless you're out to see as much of her excellent work as possible like myself, give "The Iron Petticoat" a miss.

Rating: 6/10

I was born too late to appreciate Bob Hope, since his talent showed mostly in presenting and stand-up. He has mostly left behind a less-than-stellar movie career, as evidenced by his highest rated movie (in IMDb) being The Muppet Movie, and even that's not nearly high enough to be in the Top 250. I enjoyed his Fancy Pants, but I have to say that was largely due to the presence of Lucille Ball.

I am, however, a mad fan of Katharine Hepburn and eagerly devour all of her movies. But great as she is, she still has some clunkers in her repertoire, and unfortunately this is one of them.

Egads, the Russian accent. I think that once she realized how bad it sounded (not for lack of trying), she just went all out to ham up the performance. There's chemistry between the two legends that are Hepburn and Hope, but the script lets them down, and the lines mostly fall flat. It doesn't even venture into camp, in which the movie's worth a watch just because you want to see Hepburn play Chinese (Dragon Seed) or a mountain girl (Spitfire). I would pretty much only recommend this for die-hard Hope or Hepburn enthusiasts (like me).

The Iron Petticoat (1956)

BOMB (out of 4)

Every once in a while I'll watch a film with a bad reputation and find it not nearly as bad as you'd have believed. When I heard that the Bob Hope Estate pretty much removed this film from circulation I figured it was just a movie not up to his standards but that's nowhere near the truth. I don't often say this but I think everyone would have been better served had this turkey remained in a vault and not seen by the public. The story centers around a Russian refugee (Katharine Hepburn) who learns her country and gets involved with an American (Bob Hope) ordered to watch after her. This is a minor re-working of NINOTCHKA but who knows what the original story was since there were so many production problems including Hope bringing along his own writers to change everything up. I rarely use a BOMB rating for any older movie but man was this thing here horrible. It was really very painful to watch because it's just so unfunny, so bad and it's just hard to believe that two legends would be involved in something this bad. As soon as we see and hear Hepburn with that Russian accent you're brain pretty much shuts off. Hepburn was one of our greatest actresses but I think it's safe to say this here is one of her worst performances. Hope is equally bad and his one-liners, written by his own writing team, are horrendous. The lack of chemistry between the two stars is incredibly bad as well. THE IRON PETTICOAT is about as bad as any movie can get and sadly for the viewer it never reaches a level of camp or a "so bad it's good" level. When I said this film was painful to get through that's the absolute truth and no one should sit through this unless they want to see how bad it actually is.