After many (many) submissions for our Movie Matinee we have a fantastic list of films past and present to take us well into the future for our monthly re-watch. This month, a movie that received a hefty number of reader nominations: South Pacific. This is the 1958 movie version of the 1949 musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, based on the book Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener. The book won the Pulitzer, the movie won an Oscar, and the musical won a boatload of Tonys plus another Pulitzer. That’s a lot of meta and award winning.
If you’re not familiar, here’s a very basic summary:
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Academy Award-winning “South Pacific” is a towering musical masterpiece and the tender love story of a naive young Navy nurse (Mitzi Gaynor) and an older French Plantation owner (Rossano Brazzi) on a U.S. occupied South Sea island. The breathtaking score is highlighted by some of the most romantic songs ever written: “Some Enchanted Evening,” “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame,” “Younger Than Springtime” and more. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, South Pacific ranks among the most celebrated of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s acclaimed musicals.
I have to say, I’m hesitant about this one: I’m not a musicals person. I was in some in middle school, and I like performing, but watching them gives me a massive case of the everlasting bored-nows. BUT, there are a LOT of comments about this musical that give me some optimism that I might like it. What about you? Are you a fan of this show, or of musicals, or movies of musicals, or movies of musicals based on books?
South Pacific is available for around $3-4 to rent and $12-15 to buy digitally on iTunes, Google:Play, and Amazon, and the DVD can be found at your local library, or cheaply online in new and used condition from Amazon or Alibris.
Join us Sunday, August 28, for our discussion of South Pacific!
I love this one, but I also love musicals, so take that with a grain of salt.
Two things about it.
The director (Joshua Logan, maybe? I’m blanking out in this) made this weird choice to shoot some of the most romantic moments in these very weird colored filters rather than letting the lush green speak for itself.
The statements it has to say about racism seem pretty stilted and obvious by today’s standards, but it was a different time and it was powerful in its day.
I love musicals too, although this is not one of my favorites. I don’t think it has aged well.
I read a little while ago that one of the men whose books was used as the basis for the HBO show The Pacific (a brutal but very affecting telling of the American war in WW 2 in the Pacific theater) walked out of the Broadway version of South Pacific & wrote his book because he was so upset about how non-realistic the show was in representing Marines and their experience.
M mother had seen the Broadway show with Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, and you have no idea how many times I heard the record of Pinza singing “Some Enchanted Evening” with my mother pointing out how hard it is to hit that final high note so softly. I never saw the movie, but I’m not sure I could actually see it. It’s too surrounded my memories and associations.
The play is based on “Tales of the South Pacific” by James Michener. It’s a collection of interconnected short stories, about the various people there during WWII. One point he makes in the book that there isn’t time for in a movie, is that the nurses (who were the only American women there) had been made officers, even though (back then) they weren’t college educated or from the social class most officers were. Also, a lot of the officers were already married. The nurses had more in common with the enlisted guys, but because of fraternization rules, could not date them. This set up an enormous amount of frustration for the enlisted men and for the nurses — neither group had access to someone to date.
Jill Q already mentioned the weird color filters, but my favorite piece of weird filmmaking comes from Some Enchanted Evening. Rosanno Brazzi sings the final verse of it directly in Mitzi Gaynor’s ear.
Almost embarrassed to say that I break out in South Pacific songs semi regularly at home. “Happy talk, keep talking happy talk” I grew up with this movie. My mother was a huge influence on not only my love of reading but my love of old movies. South Pacific, Gidget, Beach Blanket Bingo, anything Doris Day, Elvis Presley and most especially Cary Grant. We would have movie marathons and that was long before VCRs. We would mark the TV Guide and get excited when there was a run of our favorites on tv. Remembering this makes me want to call my mom and thank her for such warm memories.
One of the last memories I have of my late Grandma is her sitting on my parents sofa, about a month before she died, with South Pacific playing on the television (Typical Boxing day viewing on the BBC). She sat there singing along to ‘Happy Talk’ and making the hand motions.
She loved this film and always used to tell me about the many times she went to see it at the Majestic cinema in Leeds as it ran there uniterrupted for well over a year when it was first released.
I cannot remember much about the rest of the film, but I do remember that it always put a smile on her face. For that reason alone South Pacific will always have a place in my heart.
I remember going to our local theatre to see this movie when I was a kid, & I’ve seen it a couple more times over the years. This is the first time I’ve ever seen the trailer though. Interesting: no voiceover & no song clips. How trailers have changed…
I am so much more excited to see this film now that I know how many of you have such lovely emotional memories connected to the show and the music. I feel like I’m going to be watching it with your families. Thank you.
The weird color filters are for that one island to convey the otherworldiness or magic of it. Thanks TCM. Also, the R&H musicals are different than most because almost all have have some social commentary that is really blatant and not something you would have seen in most MGM musicals of the era.
Mitzi Gaynor is so charming in this movie washing that man right out ofher head.
In my younger days baby techie me moonlighted as a follow-spot operator at a dinner theater. One of our most popular shows was a Broadway musical revue. My favorite segment was “Some Enchanted Evening” which involved blue lighting on the singer. Gorgeous and with a beautiful voice and I was sure he was singing just for me. Alas, he had an equally gorgeous boyfriend.
I think my time at the dinner theater tainted me for musicals, especially after loathing a number we did from A Chorus Line. However, I might give up my extensive Aaron Burr/Alexander Hamilton book collection to see Hamilton.
Already bought. I’ve never seen this one, but I love musicals and look forward to watching it and your analysis.
I learned about the movie when I was six and we went to Parrot Jungle in FL on vacation and I saw a parrot sing Bali H’ai. I loved it as a little kid, but agree that the movie has not aged well. However, I saw Barrett Sher’s production at Lincoln Center in 2008 or 2009, and it was a revelation. Nellie was played as a good girl who is ALSO a racist. The show felt, to me, almost entirely about race, which I felt was only part of the movie — and it was super-powerful. (There were black sailors in the company, but they were always off to one side, always isolated from the white sailors.) I also felt having an older Nellie gave her a kind of fragility and loneliness that really worked — she was not cute and boppy in any way. Paulo Szot, an opera star, made his Bwy debut as Emile and his voice was so astounding and he was so smoking hot I was only vaguely aware of that callow muscle-y Matthew Morrison somewhere on the stage. It’s definitely time for a re-watch of the movie, but I don’t recall feeling it had the DEPTH of the theatrical production I saw.
I’m ready! I grew up with this soundtrack. My mother listened to Broadway musicals incessantly, especially R&H, which are still my favorites. I still have all her old LPs. The sexual politics are dated, and the depiction of Polynesians is benign but condescending. But I love it so much I can’t even see the faults. There is also a bit of class consciousness(Lt. Cable comes from the WASP upper crust, the other Navy men are obviously not). I also saw the revival at Lincoln Center a few years back and it was wonderful. Ditto on Paulo Szot and Kelli O’Hara made a fine Nellie. Everyone seems to think that “Some Enchanted Evening” is the most romantic number, but “This Nearly Was Mine” is to me the essence of romance. It’s about that moment in every romance novel when the hero realizes he has lost the heroine and his heart is broken. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B9g477CxAI
I loved the sound track as a kid and I read the book as part of a serious James Mitchner glom as a teenager. The book has a lot more sex than the movie. And the movie left out my favorite couple (of course I don’t remember anything about my so called favorite couple, but I remember being annoyed by it).
I have no idea how well the movie will hold up – I suspect the orientalism will make parts of it cringe-y. As well as the whole adult male sleeping with a 15 yo girl at the urging of her mother thing.
I love musicals but not this one. I like Rodgers and Hammerstein but not this one. The songs are very singable but to me, this movie goes on and on and on. Sorry to be a spoiler. Some Enchanted Evening is ripe for satire and makes my eyes roll. Not that I have a strong opinion or anything. Ray Walston is a delight in this one. Have a tumbler or two of wine and enjoy.
I am not a big fan of South Pacific, although I do love Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. I’m honestly not sure why I don’t like it, but I’ve always found it slightly boring. I do like the music, though.
This Is a great musical, and my personal favorite version is the Carnegie Hall performance with Reba McEntire as Nellie. I highly recommend it.
I loved musicals as a child and have seen this movie lots of times. I always thought it’s emotional tone was quite dark. Infact I was just thinking about this movie the other day and thinking how if it was made now that it’s likely it wouldn’t be as dark. The songs are good. Not sure how the racial stuff will hold out for contemporary viewers. I have also seen a live stage production of it. Overall I don’t mind it though I much preferred Camelot.
I love a lot of the music from this show/movie (“Wonderful Guy” and “This Nearly Was Mine” both nail their emotional content perfectly. That last one will leave me in tears when it’s done well). Unfortunately, the show hasn’t aged well. Maybe the distance that Nellie goes from the beginning to the end of the show was considered huge when the play was first produced. But today it’s clear that it isn’t nearly enough. (And those poor kids – their father is an ass and their stepmother is worse). And the less said about Cable, the better.
It’ll be interesting to see the discussion.
To say that this movie has not aged well is an understatement. Except for the GLORIOUS music, the movie is, well, just terrible. I know. I know. I’ve read all the nostalgic memories of you all, but if you look at it in today’s eyes, well, as I said, it’s terrible. Not only is the character of Bloody Mary offensive, she’s also pimping out her daughter. Rogers and Hammerstein got a lot of criticism and later, a lot of praise for their ground-breaking “You’ve Got to be Taught,” but now, it seems just self-serving and obvious, plus it’s not accurate. Evidence indicates that most people have an inborn fear/dislike of the different. But back to the movie, the senseless colorization of the screen distracts from any true emotion. The final scene with Nellie and the planter is supposed to be so romantic, but. . . I can’t help but think there would be child abuse in the future. I doubt that Nellie, a dyed-in-the-wool racist, would be able to truly overcome her prejudice, once the excitement of a new romance wore off, but now she’s stuck on a small island where she’s expected to treat the native people as her equals. Plus, the movie goes on and on. And on. If only a playwright could/would take the songs and write a new play. . . well, maybe, not. Although the perky “There’s Nothing Like a Dame” is fun, it’s picture of men and women is strictly 1940’s and not in a good way.
If you want to see a glorious old romantic movie, see Alfred Hitchcock’s “Notorious” with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. Now, THAT’S a movie!
I’m another one who grew up on Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals because my mother loves them. South Pacific is her favorite, and she has the cast albums from every production. We went to see the Lincoln Center production in 2009, and I agree with Marjorie Ingall’s comments above: it was a revelation. I haven’t watched the movie from beginning to end in years. I do remember it fondly, but suspect it may not hold up well compared to my memories of the revival production.
Yaaaasssss!! My parents (especially my mom) love musicals, and we grew up watching them and quoting them (still do, and in fact made a SP reference with my sister a few days ago) and South Pacific was one of our favorites — more than one song made its way into the school talent shows. So excited for an excuse to watch it for the umptee-billionth time.
I love musicals, but generally I find the R&H musicals very heavy on the story side, and overly messagey on the music side, so they tend not to be my go-to movie musicals. Gimme Astaire & Rogers anyday.
“South Pacific” made some good points about racism and also about the “home life” of the armed forces, and there are some dreamy songs. I have seen both the original 1958 movie and the 2001 version, and personally thought the best *performance* in either was from Harry Connick Jr.
Good luck with all that! I know for its time it was progressive, but mercifully times have changed. It’s a cringe fest.
I agree with Lynda X. I love the songs in South Pacific but absolutely hate the 1958 movie. There’s something so distasteful about dangling the women in front of the enlisted men. The desperation of Bloody Mary trying to make a living. The sexual politics, the class politics seem to be roiling under the happy happy songs and make me cringe. I can’t suspend my knowledge of all that is going on under the surface. Sorry folks. I’ve avoided this movie whenever its been on TV.