Father Goose (1964) - film review

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...

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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