Operation Mad Ball
Encyclopedia
Operation Mad Ball is a 1957 military
comedy
starring Jack Lemmon
, Kathryn Grant
, Ernie Kovacs
, Dick York
, Arthur O'Connell
, and Mickey Rooney
and directed by Richard Quine
. The screenplay by Blake Edwards
and Jed Harris
is based on an unproduced play by Arthur Carter.
, 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 to 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 notes
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
starring Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, Kathryn Grant
Kathryn Crosby
Kathryn Crosby is an American actress and singer who also performed under the stage-name Kathryn Grant.-Early life and career:...
, Ernie Kovacs
Ernie Kovacs
Ernie Kovacs was a Hungarian American comedian and actor.Kovacs' uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident...
, Dick York
Dick York
Richard Allen "Dick" York was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as the first Darrin Stephens on the ABC television fantasy sitcom Bewitched...
, Arthur O'Connell
Arthur O'Connell
Arthur O'Connell was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films in 1941 and television programs...
, and Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
and directed by Richard Quine
Richard Quine
Richard Quine was an American stage, film, and radio actor and film director.Quine was born in Detroit. He made his Broadway debut in the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Very Warm for May in 1939 and appeared in My Sister Eileen the following year...
. The screenplay by Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
and Jed Harris
Jed Harris
Jed Harris was a renowned Austrian-American theater producer and director, and writer of film.-Personal history:...
is based on an unproduced play by Arthur Carter.
Plot
In a hospital unit in the U.S. Army in Europe after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Private Hogan (Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
) does not believe that a blue-stocking can be good-looking, but the first sight of dietetic nurse Lieutenant Betty Bixby (Kathryn Grant
Kathryn Crosby
Kathryn Crosby is an American actress and singer who also performed under the stage-name Kathryn Grant.-Early life and career:...
) 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
Ernie Kovacs
Ernie Kovacs was a Hungarian American comedian and actor.Kovacs' uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident...
) 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
Arthur O'Connell
Arthur O'Connell was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films in 1941 and television programs...
), 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
Dick York
Richard Allen "Dick" York was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as the first Darrin Stephens on the ABC television fantasy sitcom Bewitched...
) go to through all sorts of mishaps to make sure that the secret Mad Ball goes ahead. Hogan uses a General's X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
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
- Jack LemmonJack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
as Private Hogan - Kathryn GrantKathryn CrosbyKathryn Crosby is an American actress and singer who also performed under the stage-name Kathryn Grant.-Early life and career:...
as Lt. Betty Bixby - Ernie KovacsErnie KovacsErnie Kovacs was a Hungarian American comedian and actor.Kovacs' uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident...
as Captain Locke - Dick YorkDick YorkRichard Allen "Dick" York was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as the first Darrin Stephens on the ABC television fantasy sitcom Bewitched...
as Cpl. Bohun - Arthur O'ConnellArthur O'ConnellArthur O'Connell was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films in 1941 and television programs...
as Col. Rousch - Mickey RooneyMickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
as Sergeant Yancy Skibo - Jeanne Manet as Madame LaFour
- James DarrenJames DarrenJames William Ercolani , known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer.-Career:...
as Private Widowskas - Roger SmithRoger Smith (actor)Roger LaVerne Smith is an American television and film actor and screenwriter. He starred in the television detective series 77 Sunset Strip. He is married to the actress Ann-Margret.-Early life:...
as Corporal Berryman - Marilyn HanoldMarilyn HanoldMarilyn Hanold is an American model and actress. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its June 1959 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Bruno Bernard....
as Lieutenant Tweedy
- L.Q. Jones as Ozark
- William Leslie as Private Grimes
- David McMahon as Sgt. Pringle
- William HickeyWilliam Hickey (actor)William Edward Hickey was an American actor. He was best known for his Oscar-nominated role as Don Corrado Prizzi in the John Huston 1985 film Prizzi's Honor, as well as the voice of Dr...
as Private Sampson - Stacy Graham as Lt. Rosedale
- Bebe Allen as Lt. Johnson
- Sheridan Comerate as Sergeant Wilson
- Dick CrockettDick CrockettDick Crockett , born Richard DeHart Crockett, was an American television and film actor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, producer, and director....
as Sgt. McCloskey - Betsy Jones-MorelandBetsy Jones-MorelandBetsy Jones-Moreland was an American actress.She was born as Mary Elizabeth Jones in Brooklyn, New York, and began her career in small roles in the mid-1950s, appearing in several Roger Corman films, including a lead role in Last Woman on Earth...
as Lt. Bushey
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.
Awards and honors
- 1958 Golden Laurel AwardLaurel AwardsThe Laurel Awards were cinema awards to honor pictures, actors, actresses, directors and composers. This award was created by Motion Picture Exhibitor magazine, and ran from 1958 to 1968, then 1970 and 1971....
- 2nd place - Top Male Comedy Performance - Jack Lemmon - 1958 WGA Award (Screen) - Nominated - Best Written American Comedy - Arthur Carter, Jed Harris, Blake Edwards