Based on a novel by Thomas Heggen and previously a successful Broadway play, this film boasts an all-star cast giving an all-star performance. The prequel to Ensign Pulver, a short-term TV series and a TV special, it is a humorous WW II story of a crew with cabin fever. With a commanding officer who is slightly off the wall to begin with, when the crew of the South Pacific cargo freighter decide to alleviate their boredom with practical jokes, usually at their captain's expense, tit for tat becomes the watchword as the captain decides to get even. The secondary story line revolves around the ship's cargo officer, Mr. Roberts, who wants to see some action and so must be transferred off the cargo vessel.