Father Goose (film)

Father Goose
Directed by	Ralph Nelson
Produced by	Robert Arthur
Written by	Peter Stone Frank Tarloff
Based on	A Place of Dragons short story by S. H. Barnett
Starring	Cary Grant Leslie Caron
Music by	Cy Coleman
Cinematography	Charles Lang
Edited by	Ted J. Kent
Production company	Granox Productions
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	December 10, 1964 (1964-12-10)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$12.5 million

Father Goose is a 1964 American romantic comedy film set in World War II, starring Cary Grant, Leslie Caron and Trevor Howard. The title derives from "Mother Goose", the codename assigned to Grant's character. The film won an Academy Award for its screenplay. It introduced the song "Pass Me By" by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, later recorded by Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra and others.

This was the penultimate film of Cary Grant's long career.

While the Royal Australian Navy evacuates Salamaua in February 1942 ahead of a Japanese invasion, Commander Frank Houghton (Trevor Howard) coerces an old friend, American beachcomber Walter Eckland (Cary Grant), into becoming a coast-watcher for the Allies. Houghton escorts Eckland to deserted Matalava Island to watch for Japanese airplanes. To ensure Eckland stays put, Houghton sees to it that his ship "accidentally" knocks a hole in Ecklund's launch while departing. Houghton rewards Eckland's sightings (once they are confirmed) with directions to one of the whisky bottles hidden around the island.

Houghton finds a replacement watcher, but Eckland has to retrieve him from nearby Bundy Island. He unexpectedly finds Frenchwoman Catherine Freneau (Leslie Caron) and seven young schoolgirls under her care stranded there. She informs him that the man he came for was killed in an air raid. Eckland reluctantly takes them back to Matalava with him.

There is no way to evacuate them safely. At first, Houghton promises them a parachute drop with more supplies, but there is too much enemy activity in the area to accomplish it safely. The fastidious Freneau and the slovenly and uncouth Eckland's personalities clash; they call each other "Miss Goody Two Shoes" and "a rude, foul-mouthed, drunken, filthy beast", respectively. He adjusts to her and her girls, however, and cares for her through what they mistakenly believe is a deadly snakebite. Freneau learns that Eckland had been a history professor before he fled civilization to the South Pacific.