Father Goose

In February 1942, the Royal Australian Navy evacuates Salamaua, Papua New Guinea, ahead of a Japanese invasion. Commander Frank Houghton coerces American beachcomber Walter Eckland into becoming a coast watcher for the Allies. He transports Eckland to the deserted Matalava Island to watch for Japanese aircraft. To keep him motivated, Houghton hides bottles of Scotch whisky around the island and rewards each confirmed aircraft sighting with directions to the next bottle.

To ensure Eckland stays put, Houghton has his own ship accidentally knock a hole in Eckland’s cabin cruiser, leaving him with only a small utility dinghy. Eckland is effectively marooned on Matalava Island, isolated and dependent on his dinghy for any movement. The setup traps him as the new coast watcher and makes escape difficult.

With encircling Japanese forces threatening another coast watcher, Houghton urges Eckland to undertake a perilous journey in the small dinghy to reach the missing post. Eckland accepts the mission with a mix of bravado and reluctance, driven by stubborn independence and the lure of whisky clues. The journey takes place across the perilous waters around Matalava, far from help.

During the rescue attempt, Eckland encounters Catherine Freneau, a Frenchwoman caring for seven schoolgirls left behind after escaping from Rabaul. He learns there is no coast watcher; the man had been killed in an air raid and buried by Freneau. Eckland reluctantly agrees to escort the group back to Matalava, initiating an uneasy alliance.

Back on Matalava, Eckland reluctantly takes the group under his wing and vows to shelter them. He becomes their caretaker, guiding the girls and gradually accepting Freneau’s presence. The uneasy dynamic between Eckland, Freneau, and the children begins to soften as trust grows.

Over days, Eckland befriends the four British, two French, and one Australian girls, including the tomboyish 'Harry'. He even helps the youngest traumatized mute speak again. The rough-edged loner starts to soften as the group becomes his makeshift family, and he dubs Freneau 'Miss Goody Two Shoes' in a grudging compromise.

The girls frantically report that Freneau has been bitten by a snake, and Houghton confirms the island’s venomous fauna. Eckland administers an analgesic sedative to ease her pain. She passes out, and he mistakenly believes she has died, only to learn later she was pricked by a thorn that looked like a snake.

The next day, Freneau remembers everything and the two realize they are in love. Their bond deepens into a shared hope for a future together, even as danger remains around them. The island and its temporary family continues to rely on Eckland’s improvised leadership.

Realizing their love, the couple arrange to marry by a military chaplain via radio. Houghton agrees to send an American submarine the following morning to evacuate them. The plan binds their future to a fragile timetable and a distant rescue.

They spend their wedding-tinged night on the beach, waiting for the submarine’s signal while the seven girls look on. The scene blends intimacy with wartime desperation as they cling to the hope of a safe evacuation.

A Japanese patrol boat returns and sends two landing parties ashore in rafts. Eckland orders Freneau and the girls into his dinghy and steers away to draw the attackers off, sacrificing a clear path to safety for the group. The action sets up a final confrontation at sea.

The submarine arrives but cannot torpedo the patrol boat because of an intervening reef. The patrol boat passes the reef, and the cruiser is blown up. Eckland lashed the wheel and jumps overboard, surfacing beside the dinghy.

Eckland emerges alive beside the dinghy, having escaped the cruiser’s destruction. He remains with Freneau and the schoolgirls as their wartime future on Matalava remains uncertain, awaiting further rescue or departure.