Operation Bullshine
Encyclopedia
Operation Bullshine is a 1959 British
colour comedy film
directed by Gilbert Gunn
and starring Donald Sinden
, Barbara Murray
and Carole Lesley
. The working title
of the film was Girls in Arms that features in the film as a marching song. Gunn had filmed Girls at Sea
the previous year. The new title comes from a the frenzied activity preparing for their Brigadier
's surprise inspection. The film features 1956 Olympic swimmer Judy Grinham
as a Physical Training Instructor
. The film was released in the USA in 1963 by Seven Arts Productions
.
officer is assigned to an anti-aircraft battery
that is filled with female soldiers of the Auxiliary Territorial Service
(ATS). His wife who has enlisted is mistakenly posted to the battery in violation of regulations of husbands and wives serving together in the same formation. She becomes jealous of what she perceives as him paying to much attention to the other ATS women.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
colour comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Gilbert Gunn
Gilbert Gunn
-Selected filmography:Screenwriter* Save a Little Sunshine * Me and My Pal * The Door with Seven Locks Director* Valley of Song * My Wife's Family * Girls at Sea...
and starring Donald Sinden
Donald Sinden
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
, Barbara Murray
Barbara Murray
Barbara Ann Murray is an English actress. She was married to the actor John Justin and had three daughters, but they divorced in 1964....
and Carole Lesley
Carole Lesley
Carole Lesley was a British actor who had a short but significant career as a "blonde bombshell".She starred in What a Whopper, and played Helen of Troy in a television play.She died of a drug overdose.- External links :*...
. The working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
of the film was Girls in Arms that features in the film as a marching song. Gunn had filmed Girls at Sea
Girls at Sea (1958 film)
Girls At Sea is a 1958 British comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Ronald Shiner as Marine Ogg and Warren Mitchell as Arthur. It was based on a play by Ian Hay...
the previous year. The new title comes from a the frenzied activity preparing for their Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
's surprise inspection. The film features 1956 Olympic swimmer Judy Grinham
Judy Grinham
Judy Grinham MBE is a British Olympic swimmer. She was born in the London suburb of Hampstead and grew up in Neasden. She married Pat Rowley in Neasden in 1960, in St...
as a Physical Training Instructor
Physical Training Instructor
Physical Training Instructor is a term used primarily in the British Armed Forces and British police, as well as some other Commonwealth countries, for an instructor in physical fitness.-United Kingdom:...
. The film was released in the USA in 1963 by Seven Arts Productions
Seven Arts Productions
Seven Arts Productions was founded in 1957 by Ray Stark and Eliot Hyman. The company was a frequent producer of movies for other studios, including The Misfits for United Artists, Gigot for Twentieth Century-Fox, Lolita for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Is Paris Burning? for Paramount Pictures.Over...
.
Plot
During World War II, a Royal ArtilleryRoyal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
officer is assigned to an anti-aircraft battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
that is filled with female soldiers of the Auxiliary Territorial Service
Auxiliary Territorial Service
The Auxiliary Territorial Service was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War...
(ATS). His wife who has enlisted is mistakenly posted to the battery in violation of regulations of husbands and wives serving together in the same formation. She becomes jealous of what she perceives as him paying to much attention to the other ATS women.
Cast
- Donald SindenDonald SindenSir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE is an English actor of theatre, film and television.-Personal life:Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes , he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home doubled as the...
- Lieutenant Gordon Brown - Barbara MurrayBarbara MurrayBarbara Ann Murray is an English actress. She was married to the actor John Justin and had three daughters, but they divorced in 1964....
- Private Betty Brown - Carole LesleyCarole LesleyCarole Lesley was a British actor who had a short but significant career as a "blonde bombshell".She starred in What a Whopper, and played Helen of Troy in a television play.She died of a drug overdose.- External links :*...
- Private Marge White - Ronald ShinerRonald ShinerRonald Alfred Shiner was a British stand-up comedian and comedic actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.-Career:...
- Gunner Slocum - Naunton WayneNaunton WayneNaunton Wayne , was a British character actor, born in Llanwonno, South Wales. He was educated at Clifton College....
- Major Pym - Dora BryanDora BryanDora May Bryan OBE is an English actress of stage, film and television.-Early life:Bryan was born as Dora May Broadbent in Southport, Lancashire, England. Her father was a salesman and she attended Hathershaw County Primary School in Oldham, Lancashire...
- Private Cox - John CairneyJohn CairneyJohn Cairney is a Scottish film and television actor.-Partial filmography:* Ill Met by Moonlight * Miracle in Soho * Windom's Way * A Night to Remember * Operation Bullshine...
- Gunner Willie Ross - Fabia DrakeFabia DrakeFabia Drake OBE was an English actress whose professional career spanned almost 73 years during the 20th century.Drake was born in Herne Bay, Kent...
- Junior Commander Maddox A.T.S. - Joan RiceJoan RiceJoan Rice was a British film actress.Rice is best known for her role as Dalabo in the film His Majesty O'Keefe which co-started Burt Lancaster...
- Private Finch - Daniel MasseyDaniel Massey (actor)Daniel Raymond Massey was an English actor and performer. He is possibly best known for his starring role in the British TV drama The Roads to Freedom, as Daniel, alongside Michael Bryant...
- Bombardier Peter Palmer - Peter JonesPeter Jones (actor)Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
- Gunner Perkins - Barbara Hicks - Sergeant Merrifield
- John WelshJohn Welsh (actor)John Welsh was an Irish actor.After an early stage career in Dublin, Welsh moved into British film and television in the 1950s. His roles included James Forsyte in the 1967 BBC dramatisation of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, as well as the butler Merriman in The Duchess of Duke Street, Sgt...
- Brigadier - Judy GrinhamJudy GrinhamJudy Grinham MBE is a British Olympic swimmer. She was born in the London suburb of Hampstead and grew up in Neasden. She married Pat Rowley in Neasden in 1960, in St...
- P.T. Instructress - Cyril ChamberlainCyril ChamberlainCyril Chamberlain was an English film and television actor. He appeared in a number of the early Carry On, Doctor in the House and St. Trinian's films....
- Orderly Sergeant - Ambrosine PhillpottsAmbrosine Phillpotts-Selected filmography:* This Man Is Mine * The Chiltern Hundreds * The Franchise Affair * Happy Go Lovely * Mr...
- Reporter - Naomi ChanceNaomi ChanceNaomi Chance was a British film and television actress. She was married to the film director Guy Hamilton.-Selected filmography:* The Gambler and the Lady * Blood Orange * A Touch of the Sun...
as Subaltern Godfrey A.T.S. - Marianne StoneMarianne StoneMarianne Stone was a British character actress. She appeared in many films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s...
as Sergeant Cook