In this Oscar-winning comedy, a besotted Walter Eckland (Cary Grant) is a beach bum on an isolated South Pacific island during World War II. A local navy man (Trevor Howard) persuades him to help keep watch for Japanese planes by paying him in liquor. When a group of young female students and their chaperone are stranded on a nearby island, a disgruntled Eckland is forced to look after them.