The Iron Petticoat (1957)

Saw this movie for the first and I hope the last time today. It was presented on TCM movie channel for the first time in 40 years, so we were told. It was hidden in England all these years. And no wonder. This has got to be the worst film ever Kate. Her accent of a Russian was terrible. Bob,s performance was his normal stupidity. And using classic English actors as Russians does not help the film. The story line has been used many times in films. Some with success. It just does not work in this one. Maybe they made the film just for the money. It,s missing the artistic talent that is available with these stars. This is truly a "bomb".

Hard to believe this was written by Ben Hecht but he gets sole screenplay credit on screen though IMDb throws in a nod to Harry Saltzman, not previously known to me as a writer but had he written the whole thing it would be quite believably. Neither is Hecht celebrated as a gag-writer and it's crystal clear that Hope used his clout to insert typical Hope-type one-liners from his stable of writers. The film was shot in 1956 and perhaps significantly Silk Stockings (Cole Porter's last Broadway musical), a musical version of 'Ninotchka', opened on Broadway in 1955. Whilst it's true the main plot has been jettisoned there are still links notably a strong Russian female venturing into the West and being 'Westernised' via an item of clothing, in Garbo's case a hat, in Hepburn's a negligee. Apart from the two leads the film is fleshed out with a B-team of British journeymen, Sid James, Richard Wattis, etc with the seriously wooden Canadian Paul Carpenter in a hefty supporting role. More value as a novelty entry than anything else.

This is the notorious forgotten movie that Bob Hope and his gagwriters imposed many rewrites and ad-libs.So many that not only did Hepburn's get horribly reduced, but writer Ben Hecht demanded that his name be removed from the credits.He apparently took an ad out denouncing Hope's inappropriate take over.The movie seems to have disappeared from the face of the world making it certainly Hepburn's most obscure released movie.It's a shame since it's a reworking of Billy Wilder's screenplay "Ninotchka".I'd love to see it, but it's apparently one helluva stinker. Ooofta!

The late Hepburn and Hope were an odd coupling, but they did manage to generate a certain amount of chemistry.Hepburn's interpretation of a Russian aviatrix is nothing more than a caricature, and the script presents a view of Russia and its people in line with the anti-Soviet sentiments of the McCarthy fifties. However, Kate does look great in her military uniform, and she is also woman enough to make you believe that Hope would fall for her. There was always something about the way Hepburn looked at a man that led you to believe he was in for a truly joyous experience.This isn't a great film, but it passes the time.