SimonJack "South Pacific" is a hugely successful Rodgers and Hammerstein musical adapted from the stage to film. "Oklahoma" in 1943 was the first Broadway collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. They would soon garner recognition as the greatest musical team of all time. "South Pacific" opened on Broadway in 1949 and ran for more than five years. "Oklahoma" was made into a successful film in 1955, and "South Pacific" followed in 1958. It enjoyed enjoyed as much success as did the stage musical. "South Pacific" was the number one box office film of 1958. The story is based on a James Michener book of 1947, "Tales of the South Pacific." He wrote its collection of stories while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was stationed then in the New Hebrides Islands - today's Vanuatu. Michener's book earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1948. Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical play earned them a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1950. Like "Oklahoma" before it, "South Pacific" tells a story of depth and meaning. In these stories, Rodgers and Hammerstein solidified a style that incorporates song and dance in the story, rather than as stand alone entertainment aside from the story. Indeed, "South Pacific" is set in a real time and place. The American naval forces are in the South Pacific of World War II, about to engage the Japanese. The plot also has two separate love stories and some comedy. And, it deals with racial prejudice, and overcoming it. This film is among my favorite musicals. Two years after the movie coming out, my high school put on the play. I was a member of the school orchestra that played all of the music for the play. "South Pacific" holds the Broadway record for most Tony awards. It's original 1949 production earned 11 Tony's and its 2008 revival garnered six Tony's, for a total of 17. Three Broadway productions tie with the second most total Tony's - 12. Yet, for all its popularity, recognition and endurance, the film of "South Pacific" seems to have been snubbed by regal Hollywood - the actors and moguls who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Politics did indeed seem to be at play in the Academy Awards for 1958. "South Pacific," the number one box office draw of the year, was nominated for just three Oscars. It won one, for best sound. The fifth place film at the box office that year was "Gigi." It won nine Oscars of nine nominations. Yet, except for best costume, none of the production work on that film was equal to or better than that for "South Pacific." Most of "Gigi" was shot on stage or in sets. Most of "South Pacific was shot in Hawaii and location. The cast of "Gigi" was more prominent in the film industry, and it was made by MGM, the king of musicals studio. But, "South Pacific" wasn't made by a studio. Rodgers and Hammerstein created their own company for the movie. The studios were known to do a lot of campaigning for their favorite films. And, since "Gigi," was MGM's biggest property and musical that year, MGM probably spared no expense to garner votes for its film. Without the connections in Hollywood, "South Pacific" was at a clear disadvantage. So, Hollywood went for "Gigi" at the Academy Awards, and Hollywood's foreign press corps followed suit. "Gigi" won three Golden Globes and had three more nominations. "South Pacific" merely had three nominations. But politics of a time can't outlast superior quality and public favor. So, decades later, "South Pacific" remains a favorite film and stage play. And, "Gigi" is all but forgotten. The song, "Some Enchanted Evening," is ranked number 28 on the American Film Institute's 100 greatest songs from film. One song from "Gigi," made the list at number 58 - "Thank Heaven for Little Girls." But, besides "Some Enchanted Evening," other "South Pacific" songs continue to be sung and played decades later, where there are no memorable tunes from "Gigi." Other popular "South Pacific" songs are "Younger Than Springtime," "I'm In Love With a Wonderful Guy," "This Nearly Was Mine," and others. Perhaps nothing so typifies the politicking of the Academy Awards as the fact that the Oscar for the best song was for "Gigi." It's a dated, specific song that just isn't played or sung outside of an occasional theater play. And, it has no standing anywhere. While "Some Enchanted Evening" wasn't even nominated as best song but continues to be sung and played around the world.I also enjoyed the musical, "Gigi." But it's not on the level of "South Pacific." The story, songs and production of "South Pacific" put it in a level above the other film.

startrekfan-4 Honestly, a very simple movie about love and war in the 1940s, starring Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor, with Ray Walston(My Favorite Martian), France Nuyen (Star Trek: TOS episode "Elan Of Troyius" as the lead character, Elan along with several other guest starring roles on various TV shows), Ron Ely(Tarzan himself), Doug McClure(Checkmate, The Virginian, Maverick - the movie & several "B" sci-fi movies such as The People That Time Forgot & The Land That Time Forgot) and Jack Mullaney(The Absent Minded Professor & several Elvis movies including Tickle Me and Spinout) co-starring!This has some of the most beautiful scenery in any movie at any time, along with just the right amount of humor and a sweet but tragic love story! And really an amazingly thoughtful subject that, for it's time, was completely kept hush-hush(bigotry)!!Some really great, unforgettable music here including: Bloody Mary, There's Nothing Like A Dame, Bali Ha'i, I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair, Younger Than Springtime, Happy Talk, and the very beautiful Some Enchanted Evening!!The only flaw in the whole movie is that for some strange reason the director decided to film some scenes with a yellow haze which does nothing but detract from the beauty of the islands! Even the director himself admits that "This was the biggest mistake of my career"!! Even still, this is a movie not to miss!!! A+

weezeralfalfa Two love stories, each involving an American and a non-American, occurring in some unnamed small island grouping in the SW Pacific, near Japanese-held Solomon Islands, in WWII, form the 'heart' of this R&H musical. The two love affairs are based on two different stories from James Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific". Some other aspects of the screenplay are derived from some other 'tales'. Near the end, looks like both these romances will fizzle because of indirect racial prejudice. Specifically American navy nurse Nellie(Mitzi Gaynor) discovers that her beau : middle-aged wealthy French expatriate Emile, has two children from a deceased Polynesian wife, which she cannot emotionally accept. Meanwhile, Lt. Cable, after an erotic whirlwind romance with young Tonkinese(Vietnamese)Liat, whose mother(Bloody Mary) was brought to this island by French colonialists, implies he can't marry her because she wouldn't be accepted by his upper crust family and friends , back in the US. The film ending suggests that Nellie eventually overcame her emotional prejudice sufficiently to marry Emile, who unexpectedly arrives back from a dangerous war mission he barely survived. After, initially rejecting taking part in this mission, because he was sure he would die, he signed up after Nellie told him she decided not to marry him. Lt. Cable decided he would remain in this area after the war, implying that he now felt he could marry Liat. However, he never got the chance, as he was killed on this mission. Thus, this secondary romance, as in the case of the secondary romance in the subsequent "The King and I", has a tragic ending, with the fate of the girl undetermined. Actually, in Michener's story, Emile had 8 children, all illegitimate, from several mothers: some Asian , other Polynesian or perhaps Melanesian. It is the latter than Nellie cannot accept, initially.The racial and location aspects are rather disjointed and confusing. We have light-skinned mulatto Juanita Hall playing a Vietnamese. Her daughter, Liat, is played by part Vietnamese France Nuyen. The people, dances and costumes at the Bali Ha'i festival suggest a mix of Polynesians and Melanesians present : an unlikely mix. Probably , the location is meant to be in the (then) New Hebrides, to the south of the Solomon Islands, where the nearby Japanese are. The New Hebrides were a joint protectorate of France and the UK, with the natives nearly all Melanesians. Michener met an old lady there, called Bloody Mary, who was imported by the French from Vietnam, to work the plantations there. This is the origin of the character in the film. Contrary to the general assumption that Bali Ha'i was named after the Bali in Indonesia, it was actually named after a family pig that Michener happened across in his tour of the South Pacific!Emile explains that he was motivated to emigrate from France to this isolated island group after a brawl with the village bully, in which the bully died accidentally. He was generally considered a hero, but not by the judicial system. Thus, he hopped a freighter and eventually landed here. During this screenplay, he becomes a much greater hero by guiding the mission to spy on the Japanese in the Solomons.Nearly all the featured singing was dubbed, except for Mitzi Gaynor's several songs. Even true for Juanita Hall, who actually sang her parts in the stage version. The other leads were replaced from the Broadway version. Ezio Pinza, as Emile, had since died, and Mary Martin, as Nellie, was consider too old, especially since there is some discussion on the pros and cons of marrying an older man. Her mother favored it, but Lt. Cable didn't. Thus, after "The Cock-eyed Optimist" is seduced, as Emile sings "Some Enchanting Evening", she has a moment of doubt, expressed as "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair", as she is washing her hair, followed by a quickly reconsidered "I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy", when Emile appears : my favorite of her musical performances. The extensive lyrics of the first major song "There is Nothing Like a Dame" I found clever, as expressed by several SeaBees. But, the most memorable song for me is the haunting "Bali Ha'i", which most succinctly expresses the charm and mystery of these islands and their native peoples.After 3 very successful stage productions or films scripted as taking place within the US, and involving only Caucasians in the cast, R&H did 3 very successful plays, followed by film adaptations, scripted as taking place far from the continental US. South Pacific still included a dominating Caucasian American presence among the characters, but included several other ethnic groups. The later "King and I" and "The Sound of Music" lacked any significant American characters. The dominating American military presence, along with the spectacular tropical settings, periodic inclusion of exotic cultures and a variety of memorable songs makes for a memorable film that Americans could easily identify with. However, the periodic extreme use of color filters(red, yellow or blue) I found quite disconcerting. Also, the depiction of the mission to assess the Japanese in the Solomons is quite amateurish and overblown...The romance between Cable and Liat seems forced and all too spontaneous, initially. Obviously, Liat was coached by her mother to immediately fall for Cable, as the most available US naval officer.

David Conrad The wartime South Pacific depicted here is populated by youthful Americans, the most emotionally sensitive of whom are seduced by Orientalist visions of an exotic paradise. Also dwelling here is a European expatriate, less naive than the Americans but with complex and very personal ties to the place. Locals live here too, of course, but they are viewed, intentionally, through the imperfect lens of foreign observers. The film's style vacillates between that of a mainstream movie musical and that of a more abstract work of cultural criticism; it is entertaining and intellectually satisfying, especially for those who have some familiarity with the subject matter.