Father Goose | | Cast : | Cary Grant, Leslie Caron | | Director : | Ralph Nelson | | Studio : | Republic Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | December 10, 1964 | | DVD Released Date : | March 26, 2002 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | NR (Not Rated) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 26, 2005 | | Summary | Risk your life for a case of Scotch? | Content
 | Funny story. The urbane Mr. Grant, always funny in a non-threatening "Bond" sort of way with a resume decades long and some of the best mysteries and dramas made. A favorite of Alfred Hitchcock, his appearances are only rivaled by Jimmy Stewart and you would have to flip a coin between the spookiness of Rear Window or North by Northwest to select a favorite.
Walter Eckland is a History Professor who leaves acadamia because they made him wear a necktie. He just wants to float around all those pacific atolls in an 26 foot cabin cruiser and drink Black and White Scotch. Regrettably, it's 1943 and all those dreamy white sandy beaches are now inhabited by angry, rifle carrying Japanese soldiers.
Walter complete with two week beard and scrufty attire is coerced by Royal Australian Navy Commander Trevor Howard, always on top of his game, to be a 'coastwatcher.'
These fellows were really quite heroic even though Grant plays it up for laughs and drinks an impossible amount of scotch daily . . . hell, hourly while doing it. Of course he ends up saving Leslie Caron and her 8 school girls in the process, marries Caron by coastwatcher high freq radio, and is saved by an American Sub.
Funny stuff. It's 1964 so everything is bloody clean with only an occasional innuendo regarding things that go bump in the night. My only criticism (and the film is a lot of fun and fairly timeless) is that there's not a lot of chemistry between Grant and Caron. And there could have been. There's a lot of heat between Stewart and Kelly in the aforementioned Rear Window, and likewise with Grant and Saint in NNW. Here it's really almost dull. Take for example Heche and Ford in "Six Days, Seven Nights." The movie was kind of lame but there was electricity between, again, the aging actor (there Harrison Ford) and the younger woman, Anne Heche. All in all a funny movie and a credit to Cary Grant on the eve of his departure from films. 4 stars. Larry Scantlebury |
| Rating | | | Date | July 10, 2005 | | Summary | A great relaxing movie | Content
| A sweet and simple gem of a movie, fun for all ages. It is nice to be able to share such movies with children and not worry about negative images. It is set in WW2 and involves a beachcomber and a teacher with 7 charges. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 30, 2004 | | Summary | Cary Grant plays an unshaven outcast! | Content
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Director: Ralph Nelson
Format: Color
Studio: Republic Studios
Video Release Date: November 23, 1999
Cast: Cary Grant ... Walter Christopher Eckland/Mother Goose
Leslie Caron ... Catherine Louise Marie Ernestine Freneau
Trevor Howard ... Commander Frank Houghton RAN/Big Bad Wolf
Jack Good ... Lieutenant Stebbings RAN/Bo Peep
Sharyl Locke ... Jenny
Pip Sparke ... Anne
Verina Greenlaw ... Christine
Stephanie Berrington ... Elizabeth Anderson
Jennifer Berrington ... Harriet 'Harry' MacGregor
Laurelle Felsette ... Angelique
Nicole Felsette ... Dominique
Alex Finlayson ... Doctor Bigrave
Peter Forster ... Chaplain
Richard Lupino ... Radioman
John Napier ... Lt. Cartwright, USS Sailfin Executive Officer
Simon Scott ... Captain of Submarine, USS Sailfin
Don Spruance ... Navigator
Ken Swofford ... Helmsman, Submarine USS Sailfin An unkempt, scruffy Cary Grant plays an American ex-patriate during WWII who is running from civilization, but is recruited into the coast watcher service against his will by Commander Frank Houghton (Trevor Howard)of the Royal Australian Navy with promises of whisky as a bribe. While on an island radioing aircraft and ship traffic, he is induced to take a teacher (Leslie Caron) and her girl charges into his custody. Japanese forces are a constant threat, as well as the danger of snakebite, for which Cary Grant maintains a supply of snakebite remedy. Of course, it is suspected that he also carries a supply of snakes for the same purpose. This is one of the last movies that Grant made. Two years after it was made, he retired from the movie industry. The usually dapper, suave Grant, was out of character in this part: unshaven, scruffy, and a drunkard. It was a refreshing part for him, and he played it superbly. It is a thoroughly entertaining film. Joseph (Joe) Pierre |
| Rating | | | Date | June 06, 2004 | | Summary | Cary Grant driven mad by Leslie Carron | Content
| Cary Grant plays an American drifter in the Pacific during WW2, who is blakcmailed by Australian Naval officer Trevor Howard into staying on a small island to keep a lookout for Japanese (Howard rams Grant's boat to make sure he can't get away from the island). His peaceful island existence is disrupted when he has to accomodate a French diplomat's daughter (Leslie Carron) and the seven little girls in her charge. Carron is an insufferable prig who forces Grant to give up his hut to accomodate them, and to add insult to injury hides his supply of whiskey. There is a charming scene where, after he has saved the life of one little girl when Japanese land on the island, she shows him where the whiskey is. From then on the girls become friends with Grant, and even the self-righteous Carron unbends a bit and becomes less obnoxious. Then he teaches Carron to catch fish by hand, and as he is fondling her in the water, they start to smoulder at each other, and you probably can guess where it goes from there. The girls are all very good,particularly 'Harry', who is inseperable from her cricket bat. This is a very funny film,though Carron is infuriating through a lot of it. Personally I think it would have been better if Grant had - oh well, perhaps I'd better not finish that thought, it's very politically incorrect. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 25, 2004 | | Summary | Father Goose is Cary Grant at his best! | Content
| "Father Goose" is a lot of fun and is arguably Cary Grant's funniest and finest film. Yes, he was great in "Charade", "North by Northwest", "Notorious", etc -- but here his honed skills and comedic timing pay off in this very funny film and makes it well worth seeing. You don't have to be a Cary Grant fan to enjoy this film -- but after seeing it, you will be. "Father Goose" was nominated for Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) by the Golden Globe and won an Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen in 1965. The cast, production, direction, photography, story -- all are top notch. The film looks terrific on DVD with an aspect ratio of 1.85. The South Pacific cinematography adds greatly to the visual impact of this film. There are brief bios and filmographies of the priniciples. That's all. No further extras. This film is 16x9 enhanced. Highly recommended! |
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