South Seas genre
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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] Typical examples include 1941's South of Tahiti and White Savage (1943).[4] 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.
- J. Allan Dunn: The Island of the Dead (1915), Beyond the Rim (1916), etc.
- Robert Dean Frisbie: The Book of Puka Puka (1929), etc.
- Jack London: Adventure (1911), South Sea Tales, etc.
- W. Somerset Maugham: The Moon and Sixpence (1919), "Rain," etc.
- Herman Melville: Typee (1846), Omoo (1847), etc.
- James A. Michener: Tales of the South Pacific (1947)
- Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall: Mutiny on the Bounty (1932)
- Frederick O'Brien: White Shadows in the South Seas (1919)
- Henry De Vere Stacpoole: The Blue Lagoon (1908)
- Robert Louis Stevenson: In the South Seas (1896)
- Charles Warren Stoddard: South-Sea Idyls (1873), Summer Cruising in the South Seas (1874), etc.
Select films
Year | Title | Filmmakers | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
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 |
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 | Ebb Tide | Starring Lila Lee, James Kirkwood and Raymond Hatton | Based on novel by Robert Louis Stevenson |
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 |
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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | |
1944 | Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips | Starring Bugs Bunny | |
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 | 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 | |
1952 | Saturday Island | Starring Linda Darnell, Tab Hunter, Donald Gray | Based on (from the novel "Saturday Island" by); Alternate title Island of Desire |
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 | |
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 | 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 | |
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 |
2011 | Rebellion | Starring Mathieu Kassovitz, Iabe Lapacas and Malik Zidi | |
2003 | Paradise Found | Starring Kiefer Sutherland, Nastassja Kinski and Alun Armstrong | Biopic of Paul Gauguin |
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
- ^ P. 544 Lal, Brij V. & Fortune, Kate The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia 2000 University of Hawaii Press
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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
External links
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