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South Seas genre

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Literary and film genre
"South Sea Island idyll" by Henry Hintermeister based on Gilda Gray in Aloma of the South Seas in the 1920s

The South Seas genre is a genre spanning various expressive forms including literature, film, visual art, and entertainment that depicts the islands of the southern Pacific Ocean through an escapist narrative lens. Stories may sometimes take place in tropic settings like the Caribbean or Bermuda. Many Hollywood films were produced on studio backlots or on Santa Catalina Island. The first feature non-documentary film made on location was Lost and Found on a South Sea Island, shot in Tahiti.

The genre was known for its portrayal of tropical men as savages and cannibals, and women as shapely, innocent, exotic beauties. The genre was seen as financially lucrative by the movie studios in the 1940s, despite criticisms that the genre was unrealistic and not well-informed. Typical examples include 1941's South of Tahiti and White Savage (1943). Island themed films also served as a kind of travelogue for a middle class film going public that could not afford what was deemed the ultimate once in a lifetime romantic getaway. Those that could afford tropical island vacations had to endure a weeks long ocean liner journey. Later in the 20th century and with the advent of jet travel such lengthy treks to island paradises would be more feasible.

Noted authors

Select films

South Sea stories in film and television
Year Title Filmmakers Notes
1914 Hearts Adrift Starring Mary Pickford, Harold Lockwood Based on a story by Cyrus Townsend Brady
1914 McVeagh of the South Seas Starring Harry Carey Based on a story by Harry Carey who also directed
1917 The Bottle Imp Starring Sessue Hayakawa, George Kuwa Based on the short story by The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson
1919 The Isle of Conquest Starring Norma Talmadge, Wyndham Standing Based on By Right of Conquest by Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
1920 The Idol Dancer Starring Clarine Seymour, Richard Barthelmess Based on Blood of the Covenants by Gordon Ray Young
1920 The Love Flower Starring Carol Dempster, Richard Barthelmess Based on a story "Black Beach" by Ralph Stock
1920 Idols of Clay Starring Mae Murray, David Powell Based on a screen story by Ouida Bergère
1921 Passion Fruit Starring Doraldina, Edward Earle, Stuart Holmes Based on a screen story by Carey Wilson
1921 The Lotus Eater Starring John Barrymore, Colleen Moore, Anna Q. Nilsson Based on a novel by Albert Payson Terhune
1922 Lost and Found on a South Sea Island Starring House Peters, Sr., Pauline Starke, Antonio Moreno Based on a screen story by Carey Wilson
1922 South of Suva Starring Mary Miles Minter, John Bowers, Walter Long Based on a story by Ewart Adamson
1922 Ebb Tide Starring Lila Lee, James Kirkwood and Raymond Hatton Based on novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
1923 The Blue Lagoon Starring Molly Adair, Arthur Pusey Based on the novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole
1923 The White Flower Starring Betty Compson, Edmund Lowe written and directed by Julia Crawford Ivers; ...filmed entirely on location in Hawaii
1923 Where the Pavement Ends Starring Alice Terry, Ramon Novarro Based on a screen story by John Russell
1923 The Ragged Edge Starring Alfred Lunt, Mona Palma(as Mimi Palmeri), George MacQuarrie Based on The Ragged Edge by Harold McGrath
1923 South Sea Love Starring Shirley Mason, J. Frank Glendon, Francis McDonald Based on With the Tide by Fanny Hatton
1924 Sinners in Heaven Starring Richard Dix, Bebe Daniels Based on a novel by Clive Arden
1925 Soul-Fire Starring Richard Barthelmess, Bessie Love Based on the Broadway play Great Music by Martin Brown
1925 Never the Twain Shall Meet Starring Anita Stewart, Bert Lytell Based on book by Peter B. Kyne
1926 Moana documentist film with all Samoan cast written, produced and directed by Robert J. Flaherty
1926 Aloma of the South Seas Starring Gilda Gray, Warner Baxter, Percy Marmont and William Powell Based on play by John B. Hymer and LeRoy Clemens
1926 The Savage Starring Ben Lyon, May McAvoy Based on a short story by Ernest Pascal
1926 Paradise Starring Milton Sills, Betty Bronson and Noah Beery, Sr. Based on 1925 novel by Cosmo Hamilton and John Russell
1927 Hula Starring Clara Bow, Clive Brook Based on a novel by Armine von Tempski...filmed in Hawaii
1928 Sadie Thompson Starring Gloria Swanson, Lionel Barrymore and Blanche Friderici Based on Rain
1928 White Shadows in the South Seas Starring Monte Blue, Raquel Torres and Robert Anderson Based on the novel of the same name by Frederick O'Brien...directed by W. S. Van Dyke
1929 Scarlet Seas Starring Richard Barthelmess, Betty Compson Based on a story by W. Scott Darling
1929 The Pagan Starring Ramon Novarro, Dorothy Janis, Renee Adoree, Donald Crisp Based on story by John Russell...directed by W. S. Van Dyke
1929 The Delightful Rogue Starring Rod La Rocque, Rita La Roy
1929 South Sea Rose Starring Lenore Ulric, Charles Bickford and Kenneth MacKenna
1930 Isle of Escape Starring Monte Blue, Betty Compson, Myrna Loy
1930 The Love Trader Starring Leatrice Joy, Roland Drew, Barbara Bedford
1931 Tabu: A Story of the South Seas Starring Matahi, Anne Chevalier and Bill Bambridge
1932 Bird of Paradise Starring Dolores del Río and Joel McCrea Based on a play by Richard Walton Tully
1932 Rain Starring Joan Crawford, Walter Huston and William Gargan Based on "Rain"
1932 Mr. Robinson Crusoe Starring Douglas Fairbanks, William Farnum and Maria Alba
1933 In the Wake of the Bounty Directed by Charles Chauvel, starring Errol Flynn Semi-documentary
1935 Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Starring Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone Based on the novel by Nordhoff and Hall
1935 Last of the Pagans Starring Ray Mala, Lotus Long and Rudolph Anders Based on Typee
1936 Isle of Fury Starring Humphrey Bogart, Margaret Lindsay and Donald Woods
1936 The Jungle Princess Starring Dorothy Lamour and Ray Milland
1937 Lovers and Luggers Starring Lloyd Hughes, Shirley Ann Richards and Sidney Wheeler Set on Thursday Island
1937 The Hurricane Starring Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall
1937 Ebb Tide Starring Oscar Homolka, Frances Farmer and Ray Milland Based on novel by Stevenson
1938 Vessel of Wrath Starring Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester and Robert Newton Based on novel by Maugham
1938 Her Jungle Love Starring Dorothy Lamour and Ray Milland
1938 The Isle of Pingo Pongo Cartoon
1938 Sinners in Paradise Starring Madge Evans, John Boles, Bruce Cabot, Marion Martin and Gene Lockhart
1940 Road to Singapore Starring Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby
1940 Typhoon Starring Dorothy Lamour, Robert Preston and Lynne Overman
1940 Seven Sinners Starring John Wayne
1940 South of Pago Pago Starring Jon Hall Frances Farmer
1941 Aloma of the South Seas Starring Jon Hall and Dorothy Lamour
1941 Some More of Samoa Starring The Three Stooges, Mary Ainslee and Dudley Dickerson Short subject
1941 South of Tahiti Starring Brian Donlevy, Broderick Crawford, Andy Devine and Maria Montez
1942 Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake Starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney
1942 Reap the Wild Wind Starring John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland Based on Saturday Evening Post story by Thelma Strabel; directed by Cecil B. DeMille
1942 Pardon My Sarong Starring Abbott and Costello, Virginia Bruce and Robert Paige
1942 The Moon and Sixpence Starring George Sanders, Herbert Marshall and Doris Dudley Based on a novel by Maugham
1942 The Tuttles of Tahiti Starring Jon Hall and Charles Laughton Based on the novel by Nordhoff and Hall
1942 Beyond the Blue Horizon Starring Dorothy Lamour
1943 White Savage Starring Jon Hall, Maria Montez
1943 Isle of Forgotten Sins Starring John Carradine, Gale Sondergaard and Sidney Toler Rereleased as Monsoon
1943 Wings Over the Pacific Starring Inez Cooper, Edward Norris and Montagu Love
1943 Rhythm of the Islands Starring Allan Jones, Jane Frazee and Andy Devine
1943 Wackiki Wabbit Starring Bugs Bunny, Jane Frazee and Andy Devine Cartoon
1944 Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips Starring Bugs Bunny Cartoon
1944 Cobra Woman Starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall
1944 Rainbow Island Starring Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Bracken and Gil Lamb
1947 High Barbaree Starring Van Johnson, June Allyson and Thomas Mitchell Based on novel by Nordhoff and Hall
1947 Adventure Island Starring Rory Calhoun, Rhonda Fleming and Paul Kelly Based on Ebb Tide by Stevenson
1948 On an Island with You Starring Esther Williams, Peter Lawford and Ricardo Montalbán
1948 Wake of the Red Witch Starring John Wayne, Gail Russell and Gig Young
1948 Forbidden Women Starring Mona Lisa, Fernando Poe, Berting Labra, Bimbo Danao directed by Eduardo de Castro
1949 The Blue Lagoon Starring Jean Simmons, Donald Houston, James Hayter Based on the novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole
1949 Omoo-Omoo, the Shark God Starring Ron Randell, Devera Burton and Trevor Bardette Loosely based on the Herman Melville novel Omoo
1950 Mutiny on the Bunny Starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam Cartoon
1950 Kon-Tiki Documentary
1950 Pagan Love Song Starring Esther Williams, Howard Keel and Minna Gombell
1950 On the Isle of Samoa Starring Jon Hall
1950 South Sea Sinner Starring Macdonald Carey, Shelley Winters and Luther Adler Remake of Seven Sinners
1951 Bird of Paradise Starring Louis Jourdan and Jeff Chandler Based on a play by Richard Walton Tully
1951 China Corsair Starring Jon Hall
1951 Smuggler's Island Starring Jeff Chandler, Evelyn Keyes and Philip Friend
1951 Hula-La-La Starring The Three Stooges, Jean Willes and Kenneth MacDonald Short subject
1952 Saturday Island Starring Linda Darnell, Tab Hunter, Donald Gray Based on (from the novel "Saturday Island" by); Alternate title Island of Desire
1952 Caribbean Gold Starring John Payne, Arlene Dahl, Cedric Hardwicke Based on novel Carib Gold by Ellery Clark
1952 Road to Bali Starring Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Parody of the genre
1953 Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) Starring Rita Hayworth, Aldo Ray and Charles Bronson Based on "Rain"
1953 Botany Bay Starring Alan Ladd, James Mason and Patricia Medina Based on novel by Nordoff and Hall
1953 South Sea Woman Starring Burt Lancaster and Virginia Mayo
1953 The Girls of Pleasure Island Starring Don Taylor, Leo Genn and Elsa Lanchester
1953 Return to Paradise Starring Gary Cooper, Barry Jones and Roberta Haynes Based on a short story by James Michener
1953 All the Brothers Were Valiant Starring Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger and Ann Blyth
1954 His Majesty O'Keefe Starring Burt Lancaster, Joan Rice and André Morell
1954 Drums of Tahiti Starring Dennis O'Keefe and Patricia Medina
1954 Beachhead Starring Tony Curtis, Frank Lovejoy and Mary Murphy
1954 The Beachcomber Starring Glynis Johns, Robert Newton and Donald Sinden Based on novel by Maugham
1954 King of the Coral Sea Starring Chips Rafferty, Charles Tingwell, Ilma Adey and Rod Taylor Set on Thursday Island
1955 Pearl of the South Pacific Starring Virginia Mayo, Dennis Morgan and David Farrar
1956 The Revolt of Mamie Stover Starring Jane Russell and Richard Egan
1956 The Women of Pitcairn Island Starring James Craig, Lynn Bari and John Smith
1956 The Proud and Profane Starring William Holden, Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter
1957 Fire Down Below Starring Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum and Jack Lemmon Set in the Caribbean
1957 Hell Ship Mutiny Starring Jon Hall, John Carradine and Peter Lorre Television pilot
1957 The Admirable Crichton Starring Kenneth More, Diane Cilento, Cecil Parker and Sally Ann Howes Based on (Based on the Play by) J.M. Barrie; Alternate title; Paradise Lagoon
1957 Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison Starring Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr
1957 Naked Paradise Starring Beverly Garland, Richard Denning and Dick Miller Filmed on Kauai by Roger Corman back to back with She Gods of Shark Reef
1958 Lost Lagoon Starring Jeffrey Lynn, Lelia Barry
1958 Island Women Starring Marie Windsor, Vince Edwards, Marilee Earle
1958 She Gods of Shark Reef Starring Bill Cord, Don Durant and Lisa Montell Filmed on Kauai by Roger Corman back to back with Naked Paradise
1958 The Stowaway Starring Martine Carol, Roger Livesey and Arletty
1958 Twilight for the Gods Starring Rock Hudson, Cyd Charisse and Arthur Kennedy
1958 South Pacific Starring Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor and John Kerr Based on the musical made from James A. Michener Tales of the South Pacific
1958 Enchanted Island Starring Dana Andrews, Jane Powell and Don Dubbins Based on Typee
1959 Forbidden Island Starring Jon Hall, Nan Adams and John Farrow
1959 The Restless and the Damned Starring Edmond O'Brien, Richard Basehart and Andrea Parisy
1961 The Devil at 4 O'Clock Starring Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra and Kerwin Mathews Based on novel by Max Catto
1961 Blue Hawaii Starring Elvis Presley, Joan Blackman and Angela Lansbury Based on novel by Max Catto
1959-62 Adventures in Paradise Starring Gardner McKay Television series
1959-63 Hawaiian Eye Starring Anthony Eisley, Robert Conrad, Connie Stevens and Poncie Ponce Television series
1962 Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) Starring Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard and Richard Harris Based on novel by Nordoff and Hall
1962 Tiara Tahiti Starring James Mason, John Mills and Herbert Lom
1962 No Man Is an Island Starring Jeffrey Hunter, Marshall Thompson and Barbara Perez
1963 Donovan's Reef Starring John Wayne, Lee Marvin and Elizabeth Allen
1964-67 Gilligan's Island Starring Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells.
1966 Hawaii Starring Julie Andrews, Max von Sydow and Richard Harris Based on novel by Michener
1966 Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. Starring Dick Van Dyke, Nancy Kwan and Akim Tamiroff
1970 The Hawaiians Starring Charlton Heston, Tina Chen and Geraldine Chaplin Based on novel by Michener
1979 The Hurricane Starring Jason Robards, Mia Farrow and Max von Sydow Based on the novel by Nordohff and Hall
1980 The Blue Lagoon Starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins
1981 Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure Starring Terence Hill, Bud Spencer and Sal Borgese:
1982 Paradise Starring Willie Aames and Phoebe Cates
1983 Nate and Hayes Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Michael O'Keefe, Max Phipps and Jenny Seagrove Also released as Savage Islands. Story of Bully Hayes
1984 The Bounty Starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins
1990 Joe Versus the Volcano Starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan and Lloyd Bridges
1991 Return to the Blue Lagoon Starring Milla Jovovich and Brian Krause
1998 Six Days, Seven Nights Starring Harrison Ford, Anne Heche and David Schwimmer
1999 Molokai: The Story of Father Damien Starring David Wenham, Kate Ceberano and Jan Decleir
2001 South Pacific Starring Glenn Close, Harry Connick Jr. and Rade Sherbedgia Adaptation of musical
2002 Whale Rider Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene Based on the novel The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera; directed by Niki Caro
2003 Paradise Found Starring Kiefer Sutherland, Nastassja Kinski and Alun Armstrong Biopic of Paul Gauguin
2011 Rebellion Starring Mathieu Kassovitz, Iabe Lapacas and Malik Zidi
2012 The Legend Starring Barry Primus, Thierry Helaine and Mi Kwan Lock
2012 Blue Lagoon: The Awakening Starring Indiana Evans, Brenton Thwaites and Denise Richards Television film
2012 Kon-Tiki Starring Pål Sverre Hagen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen and Tobias Santelmann

References

  1. P. 544 Lal, Brij V. & Fortune, Kate The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia 2000 University of Hawaii Press
  2. Brawley, Sean; Dixon, Chris (2012). "Through Hollywood's Lens: Prewar Visions of the South Pacific". Hollywood's South Seas and the Pacific War: Searching for Dorothy Lamour. Palmgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781137090676. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  3. Brawley, Sean; Dixon, Chris (2015). The South Seas: A Reception History from Daniel Defoe to Dorothy Lamour. Lexington Books. p. 246. ISBN 9780739193365. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  4. Dixon, Chris (2018). African Americans and the Pacific War, 1941-1945: Race, Nationality, and the Fight for Freedom. Cambridge University Press. p. 97. ISBN 9781107112698. Retrieved 19 October 2020.

Bibliography

  • Langman, Larry Return to Paradise: A Guide to South Sea Island Films Scarecrow Press, 1998
  • Reyes. Luis I. Made in Paradise: Hollywood's Films of Hawaii and the South Seas Mutual Publishing Company October 1, 1995
  • Dixon, Chris & Brawley, Sean Hollywood's South Seas and the Pacific War Searching for Dorothy Lamour Palgrave Macmillan; July 25, 2012

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