''Pearl of the South Pacific'' is a 1955 American

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, was ...

and written by Jesse L. Lasky, Jr. and

Talbot Jennings Talbot Lanham Jennings (August 25, 1894 – May 30, 1985) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received two Academy Award nominations for co-writing the screenplays for ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935) and '' Anna and the King of Siam' ...

. The film stars

Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Brothers' biggest box-office money-maker in the late 1940s. ...

Dennis Morgan Dennis Morgan (born Earl Stanley Morner, December 20, 1908 – September 7, 1994) was an American actor-singer. He used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting the name under which he gained his greatest fame. According to one obi ...

, David Farrar,

Murvyn Vye Marvin Wesley Vye Jr. (July 15, 1913 – August 17, 1976) was an American character actor. He is best known for portraying Prince Ken Arok in the comedy film ''Road to Bali''. Early years Vye was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, and educat ...

, and

Lance Fuller Lance Fuller (December 6, 1928 – December 22, 2001) was an American actor. Biography Born in Somerset, Kentucky, he worked as a contract actor for most of the 1950s with Universal-International. With many uncredited roles for the firs ...

. The film was released on July 4, 1955, by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

. It was based on a story by

Anna Hunger ''The Man Who Lived Forever'' is a 1956 science fiction novel by Anna Hunger and R. DeWitt Miller published by Ace Books. It has been reviewed in 1956 in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' by Anthony Boucher and also that year in ''A ...

Plot

Dan Merrill awakens on his boat after a night of drinking to find his former love, Rita Delaine, there with his partner, Bully Hague. Appealing to his greed, Rita and Bully coax him into coming along to an island where supposedly they can dive for a hidden treasure of rare black pearls. On the island, high priest Michael, a white man, has a son, George, who is about to marry Momu, the daughter of Halemano, the native chief. The arrival of the boat carrying Dan, Rita, and Bully interrupts the wedding ceremony. Before the interlopers can be repelled, Rita poses as a missionary and George, who has never seen the outside world, persuades his father to welcome her to their isle. After a prank during which her clothes are stolen, Rita ingratiates herself with the natives and infatuates George. He shows her a lagoon where the pearls can be found but refuses to dive, calling it taboo. Rita laughs and dives in, only to encounter a giant, deadly octopus. Dan and Bully become more aggressive in seeking the pearls. Dan goes to the lagoon with George and together they slay the octopus. George does another dive for the pearls after making a deal with Bully for him to leave but Bully then stabs him in the back and takes the pearls. The natives come after the newcomers and kill Bully with a spear. Halemano also orders Rita to be put to death, but Dan rescues her. He gives back the pearls, however, and decides with Rita to remain there, living on the island, rather than sail away.

Cast

as Rita Delaine *

as Dan Merrill * David Farrar as Bully Hague *

as Halemano *

as George *

Basil Ruysdael Basil Spaulding Millspaugh (July 24, 1878 – October 10, 1960), known as Basil Ruysdael, was an American actor and opera singer. Early life Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, as Basil Spaulding Millspaugh, Ruysdael was the son of Dr and Mrs Char ...

as Tuan Michael *

Lisa Montell Lisa Janti (born July 5, 1933), known as Lisa Montell when performing as a Hollywood actress of the 1950–60s, later shifted her career to one of advocacy and service to various disadvantaged groups and to her adopted religion, the Baháʼí Fa ...

as Momu

References

External links

* 1955 films Films directed by Allan Dwan 1955 adventure films Films set on islands Films set in Oceania American adventure films RKO Pictures films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{adventure-film-stub