The Lieutenant Wore Skirts

The one bright scene with Rita Moreno replicating Marilyn Monroe's role in THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH with Tom Ewell is not enough to salvage this leaden farce about a man (Ewell) trying to get his wife (Sheree North) released from the military.

To be fair, this is not the fault of Ewell, North, or Moreno, but lies with writer/director Frank Tashlin, whose fetish with big breasts and cleavage wears thin fast. Most of the women in his films sport hiked-up gigantic breasts they could rest their chins on. They tend to resemble the back ends of Chryslers and Cadillacs.

Plot has Ewell recalled to military service (really?) so wifey (North) races out to re-enlist. He flunks his medical exam but she's already signed up and assigned to Hawaii. Ewell goes to Hawaii to try to spring her from the military by, heavens to MASH's Klinger, getting a "section 8" by proving she's nuts.

Supporting characters are mostly annoying. Rick Jason plays a leering hunk who Ewell sees as a rival. Then there's the mannish female captain (Alice Reinheart) and the leering best friend (Les Tremayne). Edward Platt plays a dumb psychiatrist. Rita Moreno plays Tremayne's girlfriend. Sylvia Lewis provides a bright spot as a stripper named Henrietta Hipslider.

The only reason to watch this film is for the brief homage to THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH. This scene with Ewell and Moreno is funny and even the music is borrowed from the Monroe classic.