This military service comedy chronicles the misadventures of the
U.S.S. Bustard in Japan. The crew has stolen a Buddha statue from a
Japanese village, which if discovered missing would threaten
Japanese/American relations. Doc Willoughby(Doug McClure) is the
ship's petty officer, whose antics are constantly getting him into
trouble with his captain. On shore leave, Willoughby falls for a
seemingly demure Japanese girl in a kimono shop, who actually turns
out to be a Japanese/American nurse in the US Navy, Lt. Tomiko
Momoyama(Nancy Kwan). However, it turns out she was betrothed as a
child to a traditional Japanese man named Toshi(James Shigeta), who
fully intends on enforcing tradition. Willoughby divides his time
between trying to return the Buddha statue back to the Japanese
village it rightfully belongs to, and trying to woo Tomiko from the
traditional Japanese man she rightfully belongs to. Nancy Kwan plays
the comic scene in the kimono shop well, feigning ignorance as the
American Navy officers make complete fools of themselves. It is also
fun to see Nancy romantically paired again with James Shigeta, her
co-star from Flower Drum Song.
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