Operation Mad Ball (1957)

Set in France right after the end of WWII, a private (Jack Lemmon) is assigned to a temporary Army medical base where fraternization between enlisted men and nurses is strictly forbidden. To keep up the morale, he decides to throw a "mad ball" off the base at a chateau where the men and the nurses can whoop it up but first he has to contend with the obnoxious strictly by the book Captain (Ernie Kovacs in his film debut) in charge. Directed by the underrated Richard Quine (BELL BOOK AND CANDLE). Good military comedies are few and far between and this one comes pretty close to being the cream of the crop thanks to the clever screenplay (Blake Edwards was one of the writers and it's easy to see his hand in the mix). It's a freewheeling farce and one would be foolish to resist it. Wonderful fun. Treat yourself. The talented cast are all up for the antics and the large cast features many familiar faces. Among them Mickey Rooney (he's exhausting but fortunately his role is small), Dick York (TV's BEWITCHED), Kathryn Grant as the Lieutenant that catches Lemmon's eye, James Darren, Arthur O'Connell, Roger Smith, Paul Picerni, William Hickey, Mary LaRoche, Ron Kennedy and Betsy Jones Moreland.