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The Iron Petticoat

1956 · 87 min

A frothy Cold War comedy that coasts on star chemistry and gentle ideological banter, more charming than laugh-out-loud.

Tagline
Bob and Kate...Simply Great
Overview
Captain Vinka Kovalenko defects from Russia, but not for political reasons. She defects because she feels discriminated against as a woman. Captain Chuck Lockwood gets the order to show her the bright side of capitalism, while she tries to convince him of the superiority of communism. Naturally, they fall in love, but there's still the KGB, which doesn't like the idea of having a defected Russian officer running around in London.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • lightstrength 2 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 2 of 3
  • whimsicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
easy-watch, 2 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • politics
  • love
  • identity
  • gender
  • freedom
Places
  • big city
  • military
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language none
  • Violence none
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror0
Humour6
Realism5
Romance5
Tension3
Darkness2
Complexity3
Emotional weight3

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy
Directed by
Ralph Thomas
Written by
Ben Hecht
Starring
Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, Noelle Middleton, James Robertson Justice, Robert Helpmann, David Kossoff, Alan Gifford, Nicholas Phipps
Cinematography
Ernest Steward
Runtime
87 min
Country
United Kingdom, United States of America
Languages
Italian, English

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