Don't Go Near the Water

On an idyllic South Pacific island thousands of miles from the fighting, United States Navy public relations officers write colorful—if entirely fictitious—stories about World War II and the life of the native peoples freed by the Allies as they cope with military bureaucracy and plot to get back to the war in this lighthearted comedy.

Glenn Ford, who appeared in a fistful of the era’s service comedies, stars as a lieutenant with a knack for PR activities like placating big shots, calming romantic waters, deflating puffed-up journalists and puffing a profane-mouthed gob into the public’s idea of the perfect enlisted man. Based on the novel by William Brinkley.