Don’t Go Near the Water

The story takes place on a remote Pacific island base during World War II. This isolated location serves as a U.S. Navy public relations hub, far from the actual combat zones, where the crew handles war correspondents, morale-boosting tours, and shapes public perception of the war.

The movie is set in the closing years of World War II, specifically during the 1940s Pacific campaign. This time period frames the characters' lives around wartime bureaucracy, military regulations, and the cultural moment where media and public relations became integral to warfare.

The public relations unit manages how the war is presented to the public by coordinating war correspondents, arranging morale-boosting tours for Congressmen and celebrities, and creating positive media narratives. This role creates tension between maintaining a polished public image and the reality of military life.

The Love & Duty theme explores how romantic relationships clash with military regulations and career ambitions. Max Siegel's pursuit of Melora Alba and Adam Garrett's relationship with Lt. Alice Tomlen both test the boundaries of Navy rules, showing how love influences decisions about duty, loyalty, and whether to stay on the island after the war ends.

This theme examines how the Navy uses publicity to maintain public support and troop morale. The pressure to present a favorable image leads to schemes like sending a rough sailor on a PR tour to boost civilian morale, illustrating how media-driven decisions impact real military operations and relationships.

The Identity & Ambition theme contrasts characters' public personas with their private desires. Characters like Max Siegel and Nash struggle between pursuing career advancement in places like New York versus following their hearts. The war's end forces everyone to confront where their true loyalties and ambitions lie.

The theme shows how friendships form under wartime pressure and how loyalty is tested by strict military protocols. Siegel defends Garrett's romance despite it breaching regulations, while the unit's cohesion is challenged by differences between polished public image and authentic character, guiding choices as characters approach postwar life.

Max Siegel is a career-minded Navy lieutenant who runs the island's public relations unit. He balances his professional ambitions with personal desires, helping other sailors pursue romance while navigating his own relationship with Melora Alba. By the war's end, he chooses love and island life over a career in New York.

Melora Alba is a local schoolteacher on the Pacific island who becomes the object of Max Siegel's affection. She values her community and work on the island, believing she is needed there rather than in more glamorous locations. Her relationship with Siegel tests the themes of commitment versus ambition.

Farragut Jones is a loud, tattooed sailor chosen for a morale-boosting public relations mission. His rough persona conflicts with the polished image the Navy wants to project, serving as a lens for examining the gap between wartime reality and public relations spin.

Deborah Aldrich is a war correspondent who boards a Navy cruiser, pushing the boundaries between journalistic access and military command. Her presence highlights the theme of media involvement in wartime operations and the tensions between press ambitions and naval authority.

Admiral Junius Boatwright is a high-ranking naval officer who embodies military discipline and authority. He disapproves of media stunts like Deborah Aldrich's presence aboard his cruiser, representing the tension between maintaining command integrity and the Navy's need for positive publicity.