''Hula'' is a 1927 American silent

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Victor Fleming Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best ...

, and based on the novel ''Hula, a Romance of Hawaii'' (1927) by

Armine von Tempski Armine von Tempski (or Tempsky) (1892, Maui, Hawaiian Islands – December 2, 1943, Fresno, California) was an American writer and one of Hawaii's best known authors. She was a granddaughter of Gustavus von Tempsky. Armine Von Tempski's autob ...

. The film stars

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

and was released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. The film will fall into the public domain on January 1, 2023, because regardless of the film itself's renewal status, the copyright of the book it was based on was renewed in 1954.

Plot

Hula Calhoun (Clara Bow) is the daughter of a Hawaiian planter, Bill Calhoun (Albert Gran). She follows the advice of her uncle Edwin (Agostino Borgato), and follows a simple and natural life, far from social conventions of her family and is considered a "wild child" who wears pants and rides horses. Courted with adoration by Harry Dehan (Arnold Kent), Hula prefers a young British engineer, Anthony Haldane (Clive Brook), who came to the island to oversee the construction of a dam on her father's property. However, Haldane is already married. At a party, Haldane tries to keep his distance but Hula gets drunk and performs a seductive

hula dance Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual ...

for him. She manages to provoke him so much that he promises that he will get a divorce. When his wife, Margaret (Patricia Dupont), appears, Hula makes a deal with one of the foreman to use dynamite to blow up a point on the dam. Thinking that her husband is now ruined, Mrs. Haldane agrees to the divorce, and the two lovers can finally get married.

Cast

as Hula Calhoun *

Clive Brook Clifford Hardman "Clive" Brook (1 June 1887 – 17 November 1974) was an English film actor. After making his first screen appearance in 1920, Brook emerged as a leading British actor in the early 1920s. After moving to the United States ...

as Anthony Haldane *

Arlette Marchal Arlette Marchal (29 January 1902 – 11 February 1984) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1922 and 1951. She was born and died in Paris. Partial filmography * ''Mon p'tit'' (1922) * '' The Gardens of Murc ...

as Mrs. Bane *

Albert Gran Albert Gran (August 4, 1862 – December 16, 1932) was a Norwegian-born American stage and film actor. He is most associated with his appearance in drama and light comedy films. Biography Albert Gran was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the s ...

as Bill Calhoun *

Arnold Kent Arnold Kent (1899 – 1928) was an Italian-born American actor. He was born in Sesto Fiorentino as Lido Manetti and acted under that name in Italy, appearing in films such as '' Goodbye Youth'' (1918) and '' Quo Vadis'' (1924). He moved then to ...

as Harry Dehan * Patricia Dupont as Margaret Haldane * Agostino Borgato as Uncle Edwin *

Duke Kahanamoku Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968) was a Hawaiian competition swimmer who popularized the sport of surfing. A Native Hawaiian, he was born to a minor noble family less than three years before th ...

as Hawaiian boy

Production

In the opening scene of the film Hula is shown swimming nude in a stream, and later is wearing pants and articulates her sexual desires. Similar to '' Sadie Thompson'' (1928), the film depicts a modern woman who is located outside the bounds of American civilization and thus able to act in an "uncivilized" manner like natives who live on the islands.

References

External links

* *
Stills
at the Walter Film Poster and Film Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Hula (Film) 1927 films 1927 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films directed by Victor Fleming Films set in Hawaii Paramount Pictures films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films Silent romantic comedy films Silent American comedy films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links