''White Shadows in the South Seas'' is a 1928 American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

adventure romance directed by

W.S. Van Dyke Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II (Woody) (March 21, 1889 – February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made several successful early sound films, including ''Tarzan the Ape Man'' in 1932, ''The Thin Man'' in 1934, ''San Franci ...

and starring

Monte Blue Gerard Montgomery Blue (January 11, 1887 – February 18, 1963) was an American film actor who began his career as a romantic lead in the silent era; and for decades after the advent of sound, he continued to perform as a supporting player ...

and

Raquel Torres Raquel Torres (born Paula Marie Osterman or Wilhelmina von Osterman; November 11, 1908 – August 10, 1987) was a Mexican-born American film actress. Her sister was actress Renee Torres. Early life Torres was born in Hermosillo to a German e ...

. It was produced by

Cosmopolitan Productions Cosmopolitan Productions, also often referred to as Cosmopolitan Pictures, was an American film company based in New York City from 1918 to 1923 and Hollywood until 1938. History Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst formed Cosmopolitan in co ...

in association with

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

and distributed by MGM. Loosely based on the travel book of the same name by

Frederick O'Brien Frederick O'Brien (16 June 1869 – 9 January 1932) was an American author, journalist, hobo, peripatetic world traveler, and public administrator. He wrote three best-selling travel books about French Polynesia between 1919 and 1922: ''White Sh ...

, it is known for being the first MGM film to be released with a pre-recorded

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

Clyde De Vinna Clyde De Vinna (born July 13, 1890, in Sedalia, Missouri, died July 26, 1953, in Los Angeles, California) was an American film and television cinematographer and director of photography. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for ''Wh ...

won an

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) ...

Plot

Dr. Matthew Lloyd, an alcoholic doctor, is disgusted by white traders' exploitation of native

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

divers on a

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

n island. They give the divers well below the value of the pearls while the divers suffer numerous injuries, some fatal, from the sea bed and from diving without breathing equipment. When a diver is gravely injured, Sebastian, a leading trader, is indifferent, demanding the other divers keep working. When Lloyd remonstrates, Sebastian threatens him, demands he leave the island and swings a punch at him. Later, the diver dies despite Lloyd's treatment but the traders have a party all the same. Sebastian tricks Lloyd onto an arriving ship by saying they have

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

. His men tie the doctor up and send the ship off unmanned. Lloyd survives a storm and is washed ashore on an island where none of the natives has ever seen a white man.

Cast

as Dr. Lloyd *

as Fayaway * Robert Anderson as Sebastian *Renee Bush as Fayaway's friend (uncredited)

Production history

The film is inspired by the 1919 travel book of the same name by Frederick O'Brien, who spent a year in the South Pacific with Marquesas Islanders. The film began production in 1927 as a co-venture between documentary filmmaker

Robert Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, ''Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputatio ...

, Cosmopolitan and MGM. The production was filmed in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, 4000 miles from

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, a rarity for the time. The film is known for being the first MGM film to be released with a pre-recorded soundtrack. The soundtrack consisted of a romantic score by

William Axt William Axt (April 19, 1888 – February 13, 1959) was an American composer of nearly two hundred film scores. Life and career Born in New York City, Axt graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx and studied at the National Conservat ...

and David Mendoza, with a few sound effects such as wind howling, a storm, trees ruffling and the words "Hello" and "wait." The Tahitian location was sumptuously captured by cameramen Clyde De Vinna, Bob Roberts and George Nogle. De Vinna picked up an

for his efforts at the 1929 ceremonies, the second year the cinematography award was given out. De Vinna had previously been to Tahiti with director

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He w ...

when they made the 1923 island adventure ''

Lost and Found on a South Sea Island ''Lost and Found on a South Sea Island'' is a 1923 American drama film directed by Raoul Walsh and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It was filmed on location in Tahiti and includes a nude scene involving a young woman bathing. Plot Captain Blackbird ...

'' for

Goldwyn Pictures Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...

. Frederick O'Brien had spent a year on

Hiva Oa With its , Hiva Oa is the second largest island in the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Located at 9 45' south latitude and 139 W longitude, it is the largest island of the southern Mar ...

prior to the publication of his 1919 book, living amongst native Marquesan islanders. Robert Flaherty had lived with his wife and children in Samoa from April 1923 to December 1924 filming the feature documentary '' Moana'' released in January 1926 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 ...

. Several years later MGM production head

Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...

was in hospital recuperating and during his stay Thalberg read O'Brien's book. In 1927 Thalberg decided to film O'Brien's book. Flaherty, a friend of O'Brien's, was brought aboard as director while W. S. Van Dyke was added as support to Flaherty. The production would head to

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...

. The new film would feature a supporting cast of almost all Tahitian islanders and/or actors with only the featured stars and a few heavies/villains coming from Hollywood. Flaherty, upon arriving in Tahiti, began shooting the film at a slow pace which was not practical for MGM. After clashing with Van Dyke, Flaherty left the production, leaving Van Dyke as sole director for the film. Van Dyke then finished the project on schedule. However, Flaherty did shoot some scenes before departing the production, and some footage of his may be seen in the existing print, i.e. '...the lagoon in the jungle scene'. A dispute over this film with

Hunt Stromberg Hunt Stromberg (July 12, 1894 – August 23, 1968) was a film producer during Hollywood's Golden Age. In a prolific 30-year career beginning in 1921, Stromberg produced, wrote, and directed some of Hollywood's most profitable and enduring films, ...

led

David Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and '' Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture ...

to quit Metro Goldwyn Mayer. "David thought it an idyllic story; Hunt said he wanted lots of tits." This was the first time audiences heard the roar of Leo the Lion, over the MGM banner at the beginning of the film.

Recognition

Critical response

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.

Awards and nominations

* 1930, Won

for

DVD release

On January 12, 2010, the film had its first home video release on DVD.''White Shadows in the South Seas'' (1928), Warner Archive Collection 2010 DVD edition
at silentera.com

References

;Notes ;Bibliography

''Imagined Islands: White Shadows in the South Seas and Cultural Ambivalence'', by Jeffrey Geiger c.2002

External links

* *
turnerclassicmovies
"White Shadows in the South Seas" by Jeff Stafford

Artwork on cover of program to the filmLobby card of ''White Shadows in the South Seas''''White Shadows in the South Seas''
at Virtual History
Woody directing Monte Blue in the vinage segment of the film, Clyde De Vinna at camera

Surviving lantern slide
{{DEFAULTSORT:White Shadows in the South Seas 1928 films Films directed by W. S. Van Dyke 1928 adventure films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films about race and ethnicity Films shot in Tahiti Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award Films produced by Irving Thalberg Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Transitional sound films Films set in Oceania Films directed by Robert Flaherty American adventure films 1920s romance films Early sound films American romance films 1920s American films Silent adventure films