Cary Grant is one picture away from wrapping up his career with Father Goose. Grant was probably in his middle to late 60's when he made this film and Father Goose is a good example of how his comedy timing and sensibilities can enhance a rather routine comedy.
Grant plays a coast watcher stuck on a Pacific island during World War II his job is to report the movements of the Japanese fleet. Grant plays an antisocial beach bum. He's not dressed impeccably and it looks like he hasn't shaved in a couple of days, but he's still Cary Grant. With the usual plot twists, Grant ends up saving the lives of a French school teacher and her students played by Leslie Caron. You can probably figure out the rest of the story from this point.
Cary Grant was so good at these kind of light comedy performances that he can easily overwhelm a bunch of scene stealing kids. The writers don't work very hard to whip up a relationship between Caron and Grant. I would venture to say that Grant's best partner in this film is Trevor Howard as the navy commander he reports to.
The film is credited to three writers one of them being Peter Stone who was a clever writer but in this case inspiration in the story department seems a little lacking. The film is certainly a pleasant enough entertainment. Ralph Nelson directed and he was usually good working with actors when he had a decent script
Written by Peter Stone and Frank Tarloff, the running time is 118 minutes.
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