Operation Mad Ball

Lemmon received his first starring role in this military comedy which also served as the screen debut of the brilliant television comedian Ernie Kovacs. Based on a play, OPERATION MAD BALL centers on a group of bored WWII GIs stationed at an Army medical unit in France who try to improve morale by throwing a "Mad Ball" for the nurses. Unfortunately, all the nurses are officers and the enlisted men are forbidden to fraternize with them. The mastermind behind this plan is Lemmon, a fast-talking private who sneaks around behind the back of his by-the-book captain, Kovacs. Lemmon arranges for the party to be held at a hotel run by Jeanne Manet, a shifty French local ou...