For his penultimate film, Cary Grant discards his smooth screen persona
and dapper appearance to play a slovenly misanthropic beach bum (a role
he seems to revel in), although he still manages to retain his
irresistible charm and flair for comedy. Here he is partnered
with Leslie Caron, the elegant French actress who is best
known for playing the lead in the 1958 production of Gigi.
Father Goose won an Oscar for
its screenplay and is an enjoyable, albeit not particularly
sophisticated, family-friendly comedy. The film is attractively
shot (in Jamaica) and includes some well choreographed action scenes
which beef up the drama and prevent the whole thing from descending
into low grade schmaltz.
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Film Synopsis
Walter Eckland has turned his back on the world and plans to sit out
WWII in peace in the South Pacific. Unfortunately, Fate has other
ideas. Naval commander Frank Houghton coerces Walter into working
as a coast watcher for the Allies, which involves reporting any
sightings of Japanese aircraft from the deserted island which will now
be his home. As an incentive, Commander Houghton tells Walter
where he has hidden a bottle of whisky on the island every time one of
Frank's sightings is confirmed by another coast watcher. A while
later, Frank is instructed to collect his replacement from another
island. When he arrives, the man who was to have replaced him is
dead, killed in a Japanese raid; in his place he finds an attractive
French woman, Catherine Frenau, and seven school girls. The
latter were forced to disembark on the island when the plane they were
flying in was requisitioned by the military. Frank has no choice
but to take the girls and Mademoiselle Frenau back to his island.
He immediately radios Commander Houghton and is horrified when he is
told that it will be a month before the girls can be picked up from the
island...
Script: Peter Stone, Frank Tarloff,
S.H. Barnett (story)
Cinematographer: Charles Lang
Music: Cy Coleman
Cast:Cary Grant (Walter),
Leslie Caron (Catherine),
Trevor Howard (Houghton),
Jack Good (Stebbings),
Sharyl Locke (Jenny),
Pip Sparke (Anne),
Verina Greenlaw (Christine),
Stephanie Berrington (Elizabeth),
Jennifer Berrington (Harriet),
Laurelle Felsette (Angelique),
Nicole Felsette (Dominique),
Alex Finlayson (Doctor Bigrave),
Peter Forster (Chaplain),
Richard Lupino (Radioman),
John Napier (Lt. Cartwright),
Simon Scott (Captain of Submarine),
Don Spruance (Navigator),
Ken Swofford (Helmsman)
Country: USA
Language: English / French / Japanese
Support: Color
Runtime: 118 min
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