''Nobody's Perfect'' is a 1968 American comedy film about the fictional ''USS Bustard'' and the antics of her crew. It is based on the novel '' The Crows of Edwina Hill'', written by author of western novels and former Navy man Allan R. Bosworth.

Plot

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, four somewhat drunk US Navy sailors steal a Buddha statue from a Japanese village, but as they row back to their ship, they hear that the Navy is cracking down against such thefts, so they hide the statue in a cave. Three of the men are transferred, but the fourth, "Doc" Willoughby, sticks around aboard the submarine rescue vessel USS ''Bustard'', based in Japan, much to the seeming exasperation of his captain, Mike Riley. (In reality, Riley thinks well of Willoughby, despite his occasional antics, and keeps persuading him to continue reenlisting.) Over the next 12 years, Willoughby gets promoted and demoted repeatedly, but eventually rises to the rank of

chief petty officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

. While on liberty ashore, Willoughby falls for a seemingly demure Japanese girl in a kimono shop, who turns out to be a US Navy Nurse Corps officer of Japanese-American descent,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Tomiko Momoyama (Kwan). She discovers she was betrothed as a child to a Japanese man named Toshi (Shigeta), who (after seeing her) fully intends to follow tradition. Toshi's uncle turns out to be from the village from which the statue was taken. Willoughby divides his time between trying to return the statue to the village and wooing Tomiko.

Cast

Doug McClure Douglas Osborne McClure (May 11, 1935 – February 5, 1995) was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s. He is best known for his role as the cowboy Trampas during the entire run from 1962 to 1 ...

- HMC "Doc" Willoughby, USN * Nancy Kwan - LTjg Tomiko Momoyama, NC, USN *

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

- LCDR Mike Riley, USN, Commanding Officer of USS ''Bustard'' *

James Shigeta James Saburo Shigeta (; June 17, 1929 – July 28, 2014) was an American actor and singer. He was known for his roles in ''The Crimson Kimono'' (1959), ''Walk Like a Dragon'' (1960), ''Flower Drum Song (film), Flower Drum Song'' (1961), ''B ...

- Toshi O'Hara * Steve Carlson - Johnny Crane *Jill Donohue - Marci Adler * David Hartman - Boats McCafferty * Gary Vinson - Walt Purdy * George Furth - Hamner *

Keye Luke Keye Luke (; June 18, 1904 – January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American actor, and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He portrayed Lee Chan, the "Number One Son" in the Charlie Chan films, the original Kato in the 1939–1941 ...

- Gondai-San *

Edward Faulkner Fielden Edward Faulkner II (born February 29, 1932, in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American film and television character actor. He is most known for his roles in John Wayne films, including ''Hellfighters'', ''The Green Berets'', ''Rio Lobo'', ...

as John Abelard

References

External links

* * 1968 films Films based on American novels Comedy films about Asian Americans 1968 comedy films Films set in Japan Japan in non-Japanese culture 1960s English-language films 1960s American films English-language comedy films Films scored by Irving Gertz {{1960s-US-film-stub