Father Goose

"They're sharing a South Sea island with 7 little chaperones...and the Pacific as their battleground!"

1964 1h 58m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 206

AdventureComedyRomance

Synopsis

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During World War II, South Sea beachcomber Walter Eckland is persuaded to spy on planes passing over his island. He gets more than he bargained for as schoolteacher Catherine Frenau arrives on the run from the Japanese with her pupils in tow!

“They're sharing a South Sea island with 7 little chaperones...and the Pacific as their battleground!”

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Cast

Cary Grant
Walter Christopher Eckland
Leslie Caron
Catherine Freneau
Trevor Howard
Commander Frank Houghton
Jack Good
Lieutenant Stebbings
Sharyl Locke
Jenny
Pip Sparke
Anne
Verina Greenlaw
Christine
Stephanie Berrington
Elizabeth Anderson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ralph Nelson
Writers: S. H. Barnett, Frank Tarloff, Peter Stone
Languages: French, English, Italian, Japanese
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

62 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: French, English, Italian, Japanese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ralph Nelson, shot by Charles Lang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Cy Coleman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ted J. Kent shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Cary Grant and Leslie Caron and Trevor Howard carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They're sharing a South Sea island with 7 little chaperones...and the Pacific as their battleground!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0058092 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ralph Nelson directs. Charles Lang behind the camera. Cy Coleman scores. Ted J. Kent cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in French, English, Italian, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

162 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: French, English, Italian, Japanese.
3Directed by Ralph Nelson, shot by Charles Lang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Cy Coleman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ted J. Kent shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Cary Grant and Leslie Caron and Trevor Howard carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "They're sharing a South Sea island with 7 little chaperones...and the Pacific as their battleground!".
8IMDB entry: tt0058092 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles Lang
Original score: Cy Coleman
Editing: Ted J. Kent
Costume design: Ray Aghayan
Makeup / hair: Bud Westmore
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $12,500,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Father Goose (1964)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Ralph Nelson

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-04-20
★ 7/10
“Walter” (Cary Grant) is a bit of a rogue who is conned into helping the war effort by “Houghton” (Trevor Howard) and so takes up residence on a remote Pacific island where he is to report sightings of Japanese aircraft, shipping etc. In return, he will be given his very own island Easter egg hunt - only it will be for bottles of Scotch, instead! He’s grumpily resigned to his duty until one day he encounters “Catherine” (Leslie Caron) on his island complete with her own set of ducklings - half a dozen young daughters of the French diplomatic corps left behind. She demands that he help, he demands that she leaves. Is it a Mexican stand-off? Well, no - not for long, pretty swiftly she and her gaggle have this poor hapless fellow dangling and the story sets off down a predictably one-sided battle of the sexes path. No, the story isn’t especially novel or original but there’s a lovely chemistry between Grant and Caron that reminded me a little of the “African Queen” (1951) and the girls contribute amiably too. It is a bit of a slow starter, and the conclusion is a little bit rushed, but the gist is entertaining and both stars seem to be enjoying the mischief as they do their own little bit to defeat the enemy - which ever side he/she/they might be on.

Production companies