Movies Made in Key West II

IT HAPPENED HERE

February, 1959: With Wisteria Island (also known as Christmas Tree Island) in the background, Cary Grant performs a scene from the movie, Operation Petticoat which was being filmed in the Key West harbor. If ever there was an Oscar awarded for "best performance by a friendly US harbor pretending to be in the South Pacific during WWII," Key West would surely beat out all other nominees.

In this early 1960's aerial photo we can see the lower end of Duval Street. During filming the sub was tied up to the solid horizontal pier now known as Sunset Pier, which is part of todays Ocean Key Resort & Spa (where you see the oil tanks are on the left edge of the photo.) To the left of the pier, at the end of the pilings, note the round end cap..

In a scene from Operation Petticoat, Dina Merrill climbs up the side of the submarine, the Sea Tiger, with Tony Curtis behind her in the water. The sub is tied up to Sunset Pier for filming, and the same end cap can be seen in the background just off the end of the pier.

With Wisteria Island in the background, this contemporary photo shows todays Sunset Pier and a cast of daily sunset revelers who don't know they're celebrating the end of a perfect Key West day on a Cary Grant movie set.