MartinHafer So, you decide you want to make a film with a strong social statement about prejudice. You want to show the stupidity and hypocrisy of folks hating mixed-race people...and they then get folks like George Chakiris and James Darren to play these 'mixed' characters!! The actors were lovely men...but looked about as much like they were from mixed ancestry as Shirley Temple! In other words, despite a great story idea they cop out and pick the very white actors to play these characters!! What a mistake...and it clearly was a sign of the times in which it was made. Perhaps the producers had a hard time finding mixed actors suitable for the roles...but finding pretty teen heartthrobs seemed inappropriate given the serious plot. My assumption is that the writer probably felt a bit sick about this...but they almost never have any influence on who plays their characters. But I will excuse some of this--for its day it was rather broad-minded. Plus, Charlton Heston should be applauded for such a role, as he was one of the few white actors who stood along side the Freedom Marchers...so it's pretty obvious that this film meant something to him. After having recently completed BEN HUR and THE BIG COUNTRY he could have chosen any project and chose this. The film is a soapy affair in which a supposedly liberal-minded and very powerful Hawaiian man, 'King' Howland, is horrified when his sister (Yvette Mimieux) falls in love with a guy of mixed white and Hawaiian blood (James Darren). But he's also a complete hypocrite, as on the side he has an Asian woman (France Nuyen) of his own!! And, when she become pregnant he refuses to have anything to do with her or the child! Nice guy, huh?! What's next? See the film...or not.Overall, this is a decent film...though if you're looking for Heston in a better film about Hawaii, I prefer THE HAWAIIANS (a sequel to HAWAII). The story is interesting and engaging but loses a bit due to the casting and the soapy elements which deter from the film's believability. The worst is some of the dialog (particularly some of the drivel given to Mimieux to deliver). Not bad entertainment but that's really about it.

funkyfry This is a big film -- the kind of film made from big novels about big ideas about big people, like Charlton Heston's character (originally written for Clark Gable) "The King." In fact, it reminds me of Edna Ferber's "Giant", or James Michener's "Hawaii." The themes of racism and family strife that motivate the film might have been daring in the early 60s but aren't compelling enough at this point to power the film's entire running length.The big revelation in the film, for me, was (3rd billed) George Chakiris' performance. I never really thought of him as much of an actor, but he definitely nailed this role. He's not a man who is unlikable, but rather a man who doesn't want to be liked (or, perhaps, who doesn't want to need to be appreciated, only respected). At first, his pride and resentment seem simply racially motivated and come off as jealousy; eventually, we begin to see Heston's "King" the same way Chakiris' character does. James Darren is attractive and serviceable, and Heston approaches the role with his usual sincerity and self-sacrifice (he's not afraid to gradually turn this respectable powerful man into a heel). Yvette Mimieux has a bit too much of a baby face for the role.... at times it feels like a Gidget movie with her and Darren running around on the beach. But her performance is OK. There's just nothing really compelling or moving about any of these characters. Overblown, novelistic dialog doesn't help. The film feels a travelogue with melodrama thrown in, like a 20s/30s MGM movie (with Clark Gable, of course!) by Victor Fleming or Woody Van Dyke movie, but cinematographer turned director Guy Green is no Victor Fleming. There are some awesome compositions, but they sort of fly by in the midst of the relatively trite plot directions. The characters take their situations so seriously that one is reminded of Douglas Sirk, sans irony.

Nazi_Fighter_David Richard 'King' Howland and his sister Sloane (Heston and Mimieux) live on an island, the only wonderful place that gets bigger every time they saw it from the sky… Sloane has just returned from California graduated but she despises waiting… She has something on her mind to tell her brother about Paul (James Darren). So she asks her brother how did he feel about Paul Kahana? The whole film is about racial intolerance and it sends a strong message, which kept the story interesting… Trade with them, be friends with them, even sleep with them, but don't marry them…This is Hawaii… It can happen here, and it does all the time… For Laura Beckett (Elizabeth Allen), King's sister-in-law, it happens, but not to people of their class… For King, if Sloane marries Paul, her children will inherit Manoalani one day, and all that goes with it… Paul is pure Hawaiian… Their families have been in these islands over a hundred years… They have never mixed their blood… Charlton Heston plays a rich narrow-minded pineapple grower, obstinately and intolerantly devoted to his own beliefs, even though he himself having an affair with Mai Chen (France Nuyen), the woman who doesn't ask questions… Mai knows that most women can make the world go away for a while, but none can make it stay away…Richard Knows that he's in danger of becoming an uncle… His sister and himself are the last of their line…Her son will own Manoalani one day and he has to be the right kid of son… Obviously he could have a child… He might even have a son… But he has no intention of marrying again… But Mai Chen thinks differently… He should have his own son… But King had a son… His name was Richard Howland III… He was 3 years old that day… A tidal wave, 40-foot crest smashed into Hilo and killed him and his mother and 120 others … So he doesn't want another son… Yvette Mimieux achieved stardom in "Where the Boys Are" (1960) and here, she is incredibly fresh, innocent and beautiful… Filmed in Color and Wide Screen, the photography is too beautiful presenting a tropical paradise of turquoise waters, white sandy beaches, waving palm trees, lush tropical vegetation and gentle sunshine

moonspinner55 Overwought, overcooked film-version of Peter Gilman's book about a politician and land baron in Hawaii who is having an affair with a native girl, butting heads with his own sister over her affair with an island boy! Not-bad, though somewhat stilted island soaper is occasionally funny unintentionally. Despite a good cast (including Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, and James Darren), the characters themselves aren't a very likable lot, and the plot-developments are eventually stagnated by a direction with little inspiration. There was potential here for a really strong melodrama, but it goes unrealized. Nice Hawaiian locales are a compensation, as well as a rousing score by Johnny Williams. **1/2 from ****