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(Important note: When feature or other titles are italicized and/or not in bold print this means more research needs to be made to determine if title truly falls within this genre. Also note any question marks "?" this also means more general or specific information is needed on a particular title. The authors of this website invite all to add information with your resource(s) on the BLOG page, find entry Want to add comments, more information or corrections to our SHOWS list or anything else with the South Seas Cinema website? Then comment here. or email us by using the CONTACTS page listed above in the "Bamboo Title Page Bar").

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S.O.S. PACIFIC (1960) RANK ORG.  Richard Attenborough and others crash lands on a Pacific Island then only to find out it is a nuclear test site which is set for a blast in five hours. Compare THE NEW PEOPLE 1969-70 ABC TV Series.
SADIE THOMPSON (1928) UNITED ARTISTS / GLORIA SWANSON PRODS. Miss Swanson and Lionel Barrymore.  Later talkie versions called RAIN (1932) and MISS SADIE THOMPSON (1954)  This silent version was produced by Miss Swanson with no apparent location shooting.  The story was written by, Somerset Maugham and set in Pago Pago.  Except for the hotel keeper's wife, natives were only b. g.. The wife's description on the silent screen reads: "...Ameena, a typical South Sea beauty -- not lazy -- just born tired.".
SAFE IN HELL (1931) 1ST NATL.  Girl charged with murder flees to South Pacific paradise where she instead encounters other fugitives and derelicts.
SAILOR BEWARE (1952) PARAMOUNT/HAL WALLIS PRODS.  Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis in musical/comedy of two sailors on shore leave in Honolulu where they entertain in night club, box at a Naval recreational center and crash a luau.  Stock shot and back projections of Diamond Head and filmed in Hollywood.  L.A. Polynesian musicians and dancers with cellophane hula skirts and mixed Polynesian musical numbers.  Moonlight romance scene and Lewis dressed as "Hawaiian" dancer.  Part by Vince Edwards (TV’s Dr. Ben Casey) and a one line bit by James Dean, his first speaking part.  Vague remake of: THE FLEET'S IN (1942).
SAILORS SWEETHEART, A (1927) WARNER BROS. Spinster sails for Hawaii to net a husband but falls overboard and picked up by rumrunners.  Myrna Loy, William Demerest.  tabu
SANCTUM (2011) UNIVERSAL set in New Guinea in a huge unexplored cave.  The team is trapped by flooding from a tropical down pour and forced to work their way out via going deeper and though the water table.  One team member is a native.  Some great shots of an Papua New Guinea native priest in full hair and makeup
SANDS OF IWO JIMA (1949) REPUBLIC  John Wayne starred in WWII marine action with Forrest Tucker.  As usual, war action changes to seedy action in Honolulu where bar and prostitute scenes take place.  But no location filming in Hawaii.  Bit by Martin Milner.  These Marines train in mainland, land on Tawara, continue training and resting on O'ahu.
SANGA ARI (1962) (Japan) SHOCHIKU   Starred Hideko Takamine about Japanese immigrants between the world wars. Filmed or party filmed on the island of Kaua'i. Need more information?
SAVAGE BEACH (1989) A. SEDARIS  Low budgeter set in Molokai, Micronesia and on an island in between where plane crashes.  The two bimbo/agent pilots encounter an old Japanese soldier, still thinking the war is on, he faithfully guards stolen war treasure.
SAVAGE ISLANDS (1982) PHILLIPS-WHITEHOUSE/PARAMOUNT (New Zealand) Aka: NATE AND HAYES.  
SAVAGES OF THE SEAS (1925) HECULES FILM PRODS.  Frank Merrill in story that takes place mostly on a sailing ship which has a mutiny.  Set on the Pacific and on a South Seas island but shot in L.A. and complete with wide paved streets.
SCARLET SEAS (1928) 1ST NAT. PICTS.  Betty Compson stars in shipwreck and Samoa.
SEA BEAST, THE (1926) WARNER BROS.  Early silent partly based on Herman Melville's MOBY DICK. Stars John Barrymore. Setting?
SEA CHASE, THE (1955) WARNER BROS.  John Wayne, Lana Turner, James Arness and Tab Hunter in 1939 setting of a German freighter trying to get back to Germany from Sydney.  Stops Auckland Island, New Zealand. and Pom Pom Galli in the South Seas as he heads east to allude the British navy.
SEA GOD, THE (1930) PARAMOUNT  Richard Arlen, Fay Wray.  A western pearl diver in diving suit is mistaken for a god by cannibals on a South Seas island.  Filmed on and around Catalina Island, CA. with African Americans playing the natives who think the pearl diver, with heavy diving rig, was a god.  Bad art direction.
SEA TIGER (1952) MONOGRAM PICS.  John Archer entangled with homicide and secret riches.  Set in New Guinea.
SECRET AGENT OF JAPAN (1942) 20TH CENTURY FOX Soldier of fortune working for England in the Pacific before Pearl Harbor.
SEVEN (1979) AIP  Specialist are hired by US intelligence to break up Hawaiian syndicate.  One of the seven is Hawaiian Ed Parker.  Filmed in Hawaii by A. Sedaris and it is better than his later T&A films.
SEVEN SINNERS (1940) UNIVERSAL  Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne in action love story involving naval officer, South Seas cafe entertainer, beachcomber and an alcoholic surgeon.  Looked more like China Sea set, needed research by the art director. Typical of a Universal South Seas picture.   Remade as SOUTH SEA SINNER (1950).
SEVEN WOMAN FROM HELL (1961) 20th CENTURY FOX   Patricia Owens, Caesar Romero female prisoners in Japanese WWII camp set in New Guinea but filmed partly in Hawaii on the island of Kauai.  Romero plays a plantation owner about to turn in the escapees.  Some Tiki in Caesar’s house.
SHAGGY DOG (2006) DISNEY  Remake stars Tim Allen.  Last scene of movie on Hawaiian Beach.
SHARK MASTER (1921) UNIVERSAL  Fictitious Pacific isle "Amanu" where white shipwrecked child turns into island's white queen, bears white child of white castaway but his former white fiancée appears so she leaps into sea where shark (probably a great white) attacks her but she is rescued possibly by white lover.
SHE DEMONS (1958) ASTOR PICTURES  Irish McCalla, Tod Griffin are two of four people stranded on Pacific isle because rich girl’s yacht is blown off course by hurricane.  On the island a refugee Nazi mad scientist has turned captive white girls into ugly “she demons” through experiments.  Then Americans bomb island (because its being used as a military target) which causes the volcano on the island to erupt and the good white guys escape.  One of the stranded four was a Hawaiian played by Charles Opunui who chants because he knows its an evil island. One gets three or four South Seas plots for one movie. Good deal.

SHE-DEVIL ISLAND (1936) FILM SELECTOS  (Mexico) IRMA LA MALA "With a Native Cast".  Drunken pearl divers invade island of big beautiful women. Nude swimming and art deco female native wear. Need more information on setting?
SHE GOD OF SHARK REEF (1958) AM. INTERNATL. PICS.  Two brothers shipwrecked on isle of woman pearl divers.  One of the brothers (the good one) saves Polynesian native from shark god sacrifice because she broke tabu of being with brother (poster has a blonde being sacrificed) and takes her away leaving bad brother who died by shark while trying to rescue his stolen bag of pearls.  The island was called Banakai and the underwater Moai Tiki shark god was called Tangaroa.  Roger Corman directed and filmed this low budget on Kaua'i  The local extras danced, sang in Hawaiian, modeling clean sarongs furnish by Shaheen’s of Hawaii as credited.  Also Hawaiian canoes where used.  Floyd Crosby was Director of Photography.
SHIP FROM SHANGHAI, THE (1929) MGM  Rough cruise across Pacific.  Partly due to class distinctions there is a mutiny aboard yacht lead by stewart . They are all on a trip from Shanghai to San Francisco. Shark scene.                
SHIPWRECKED (1990) DISNEY   Young cabin boy lands alone on a South Seas Island (somewhere between Sydney and Southeast Asia).  The boy finds on this island hidden pirate treasures and prepares for the pirates eventual return.  He also spots a neighboring isle where he discovers fierce n.d. natives which look, dress. dance and chant Fijian ala BLUE LAGOON..  Isle scenes surprisingly not filmed in Fiji.                                    
SHIPWRECKED AMONG CANNIBALS (1920) UNIVERSAL "Authentic Picture" of two American cameramen shipwrecked among cannibals of New Guinea.
SILENT ONE, THE (1984) NZ FILM COMMISSON  South Seas villager finds baby adrift in ocean. The baby can’t talk so the natives think there is danger in keeping him.  But the baby can talk to sea turtles.  Stars; George Henare, Rongo Tupatea Kahu, Telo Malase, Reg Ruka & Anzac Wallace.
SILENT VENOM (2009) CINAMOUR ENT.  A “B” movie cross between “SNAKES ON A PLANE” and “USS POSEIDON: PHANTOM BELOW”  In fact same writer as “POSEIDON” and similar sub story, just rip off “SNAKES ON A PLANE”  just put snakes in the submarine.  Need I write more except the sub stops on a private Pacific Island to pick up the sexy snake scientist (Krista Allen of BAYWATCH HAWAII) and the deadly snakes.  Also stars Luke Perry and Tom Berenger.
SILK (1986) CONCORDE/MGM/UA  A Honolulu cop investigates murder of parents.  Shot in Hawaii.
SILK 2 (1988) NEW HORIZONS/MGM/UA (Philippines)  Low budget film about a female, Karate, detective in Honolulu and Kona.  Looks like it was made in the Philippines with a mostly Haole (white) cast with hapa (half breed) Filipinos playing Hawaiians.  Credit should be given to much authentic Hawaii details as possible and lots of Hawaiian stock footage.   Some of the production crew must of lived in Hawaii. 
SINGLE STANDARD, THE (1929) MGM   Gretta Garbo establishes that women can be wild and free as well as men.  She has an affair with chauffeur, cruises the South Seas with artist/boxer and wears pants.  One of MGM's the last silents 
SINNERS IN HEAVEN (1924) PARAMOUNT  World traveling couple crashes off South Sea island, girl is rescued but cannibals shoot man who is nursed by native girl.
SINNERS IN PARADISE (1938) UNIVERSAL  Madge Evans, John Boles and Bruce Cabot are survivors of plane crash on tropical island.  All run-a-ways of some form from bad marriages to crooks to millionaires.  They are hosted on the island by another innocent fugitive who with his Chinese servant have set up a Gilligan’s isle with the bamboo motif found everywhere. Set in the South Seas, shot on a sound stage with rear projection (not bad in black & white) and stock footage.  No natives.  One character a typical female sleaze escaping to better her life in other words a woman of questionable past.
SIONE’S WEDDING (2006) SOUTH PACIFIC PICTS. (NZ)  Four Samoan young men are banded from their best friend’s Wedding because of their past record of destroying other important events by their immaturity and drunkenness.  Kiwiki comedy (if there is such a thing)  Aka: SAMOAN WEDDING Starring Oscar Kightley.
SIX DAYS / SEVEN NIGHTS (1998) HOLLYWOOD PICTS/DISNEY  Harrison Ford plays a beachcomber in the Tahitian Islands with a job flying an old small charter plane. He meets romance and modern Polynesian pirates lead by Maoris: Temuera Morrison and Cliff Curtis. Very expensive movie considering mostly a cast of two plane wrecked on a South Seas island. Trivia co-starred Anne Heche who just announced she's comming out of the closet after she signed on for this romantic/comedy. Some wonder if this was a reason the film didn't payoff as expected. Today Anne is married to a male with a couple of kids. Foreshadow scene where our main couple meet before traveling to the South Seas in a swank Poly restaurant in NYC called Gauguin ironically it replaced Trader Vics.
SKULLDUGGERY (1970) UNIVERSAL PICTS.  Burt Reynolds stars in bad movie about finding very small missing link creatures in New Guinea. Irony is this movie shown short little ape/man like creatures that were actually discovered there years later (small man like bones in a cave). This discovery is called the Hobbit man named after the small human beings from THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Filmed on New Guinea.
SKY PIRATES (1985) JOHN LAMOND PICS. (Australian)   INDIANA JONES/TAILS OF THE GOLD MONKEY type movie were an ace WWII Australian pilot gets involved with a secret project which includes three pieces of a sacred and very powerful "Moai" tablet.  The pilot's travels has him crashing near Samoa and searching for pieces of this "moai" in Tahiti and it's homeland Easter Islands.  Only a couple of natives used as extras in Tahiti.  Actual location shooting.
SLAVE OF THE CANNIBAL GOD (1979) DANIA FILM (Italy) MONTAGNA DEL DIO CANNIBALE, LA Stacy Keach and Ursula Andress star in this “B” movie horror flick of savage cannibals from New Guinea.  In this Italian bomb most local actors or extras were East Indian even portraying Melanesians with wigs.
SLEEPING DOGS (1977) ARDVART FILMS (New Zealand)  Movie about political upheaval in modern New Zealand.  Fascist government vs Freedom fighters not Maori vs Pakeha (white) although there are roles for Maoris. Early work for Sam Neill and director Roger Donaldson.
SNAKES ON A PLANE (2006) NEW LINE CINEMA  Samuel Jackson as an FBI agent assigned to protect a local surfer from Hawaii on a flight from Honolulu to L.A..  As the tile obviously mentions snakes are shipped (in long lei boxes) and released by the bad guys with a timer, among the passengers to bring the flight down.  At end surfer gives Jackson a surfing lesson back on Oahu.  Cult hit.
SON OF GODZILLA (1967) TOHO (Japan)  Godzilla's son is hatched a on his lush South Seas island.  Petty hapa Japanese, native with brown make-up and sarong, aloha shirts, and giant mantis and spider along with Godzilla and son.  Radio-active rain from an aborted weather making experiment caused some of these monsters to grow even bigger.  Fun flick.                  
SON OF FURY (1942) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Tyrone Power jumps ship in South Seas, falls in love with Polynesian girl, brown painted Gene Tierney, and collects pearls.  With his new riches he returns to England to clear name and stake family claim then returns to his Polynesian love.  Also stars; George Sanders, Frances Farmer, Elsa Lanchester, John Carradine and Roddy McDowall. Luau, dance, and small canoe greeting scenes.  Tyrone looks great in his tapa printed loincloth.  "I was mad for riches but I didn't know what they were, now I've found them and wisdom too." - J. Carradine, when deciding not to leave his new lifestyle on the island.
SON OF KONG (1933) RKO  Return to Skull Island where baby Kong lives.  Earthquake ending.
SONG OF THE ISLANDS (1942) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Famous pinup Betty Grable as local girl, fights and loves Victor Mature.  With Hilo Hattie and Jackie Oakie.  Classical "Hollywood-hulas" in this musical about a beachcomber, white landowner clashing with a wealthy, greedy white ranch owner over pier property.  Set was fictitious Hawaiian island "Ami-Ami Oni-Oni" with some Big Island shots, mostly of cattle.  The rest of movie filmed in Hollywood.  Natives didn't have any land.
SONG OF THE SARONG (1946) UNIVERSAL  Stealing pearls from natives for a million dollar payoff but natives put up a strong fight. Al Kikume has part of guard. Song: "Lovely Luana"
SONS FOR THE RETURN HOME (1979) NEW ZEALAND FILM COMM. (NZ) Based on novel by Samoan Albert Went. story of Samoan adapting to life in the city of Wellington, NZ. Main character Sione played by Ulese Petaia, also Fiona Lindsay, Moira Walker and Lani John Tupu with major roles in film.
SOUTH OF PAGO PAGO (1940) EDWARD SMALL/UNITED ARTISTS  Victor McLaglen, Jon Hall and Frances Farmer.  Bad haole (white) gang on uncharted isle of "Manoa".  “Rifles are no good when you coming in, just for coming out”.  Trinkets are used to trade and to dive for instead of coins.  Big canoe greeting scene, hula dance, luau feast, waterfalls, giant clam and “Pele’s volcano on neighboring isle of Au Toa Toa.  Farmer is a white girl with a bar entertainer past and Hall is the native prince sings and dances his native Tahitian.  Farmer finds love and sarongs with Hall and they marry.  While on honeymoon on Au Toa Toa the rest of the sailors steal pearls from innocent Polynesians and the natives upraise.  Farmer leaves her love to rid the bad haoles.  But the ending is good.  Natives credited are: Santini Pauola, Lela Vanti and Al Kikume. B.g. shots of Big Island.  Water falls, lagoon scenes with tiki and worship area below volcano.
SOUTH OF SUVA (1922) FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY/REALART PICS. Young wife arrives at copra plantation of husband, there she finds that her husband "has succumbed to the degenerating influences of the tropics".  At end she is threatened by cannibalistic natives.
SOUTH OF TAHITI (1941) UNIVERSAL  Three haoles Brian Donlevy, Broderick Crawford and Andy Devine, try to steal a store of pearls from beautiful, uncharted South Sea island, princess (Maria Montez).  Cast of "50 Sarong-clad Goddesses of Love" dancing a weird fan dance.  Also 50 spotted leopards, and a monkey.  Women in sarongs men dressed South-east Asian, chief has feathered headdress.  Also Samoan knife dance & a Al Kikume role. Typical Universal Studios culture and racial mishmash.
SOUTH PACIFIC (1958) MAGNA/ 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, Ray Walston and France Nuyen in classical musical.  Mitzi falls in love with French planter without knowing he had hapa (half breed) kids. Another sub plot has a Lt. fall in love with a Tonkinese young women only to chicken out at the end and not marry her. Set is French Pacific isle during WWII but filmed on Kaua'i.  Rogers and Hammerstein score with hits Bali Hai and many more.  Women are "Polynesian" but men look and dress Melanesian.  Canoe greeting scene.
SOUTH PACIFIC CONNECTION, THE (1975) INDIE (Philippines)  Stars Nancy Kwan as saronged Polynesian girl who falls in love with a hapa (half) Filipino martial artist who washes ashore from a prison boat.  The men on the island mysteriously have orange martial arts pants like our lead.  Smells like a marshal arts fight is coming up. The old man or Kahuna of the island trains the guest like yoda to improve his fighting skills so he can revenge the evil Spanish governor back home.  A young  Dean Stockwell plays evil son.  Also known as PACIFIC CONNECTION, THE.
SOUTH PACIFIC 1942 (1981) SURFACING FILM CORP. (Canada)  Possibly a WWII sub picture in , where else, the South Pacific.  Need more information? Filmed in Nova Scotia, Canada. Could be a limited release.
SOUTH SEA BUBBLE, A (1928) SONIC ART-WORLD WIDE/GAINSBOROUGH PICT. Stars Iv or Novel lo as a descendant of a pirate who went to the South Seas to find his ancestor’s hidden treasure.  Appears to be filmed in Southern California with no natives. 
SOUTH SEA FURY (1961) CITATION FILMS  Originally titled; HELL'S ISLAND (1955) the island setting was called “Puerto Rosario” and some of the character names were Hispanic but one can’t argue with the title.  John Payne searches for a stolen jewel and rekindles romance with dangerous ex-girlfriend. 
SOUTH SEA LOVE (1923) FOX Shirley Mason is daughter of ship owner who falls in love with an Englishman aboard ship, dad dies, boyfriend is married, she runs away to be a dancer in a South Seas cafe. Englishman is beat up deceased father's friends, Shirly saves him and finds out the boyfriend's wife had died.
SOUTH SEA LOVE (1927) ROBERTSON-COLE PICTS.  Gold digger sends suitor to South Seas island to find her some pearls than his rival and her follow. 
SOUTH SEA ROSE (1929) FOX  French girl runs away from South Sea island convent, boards ship where captain tricks her into marriage and they leave to New England.
SOUTH SEA SINNER (1950) UNIVERSAL Shelly Winters, Liberace in remake of SEVEN SINNERS.
SOUTH SEA WOMAN (1953) WARNER BROS.  Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo and Chuck Connors in war romance.  Two marines and Chuck’s fiancé (Mayo) are stuck on a steer less boat down a Chinese river into the China Sea where they are finally found by a Chinese Junk.  They worked a deal with the boat owner to return to their outfit in China only to find that they were going the other way to Pago Pago first to drop off his cargo of rice.  Through anger and mishaps the Marines party burn Junk, destroy mast and ruin cargo.  The Chinese dump the three overboard to the island of Namu (200 miles from Guadalcanal) where the natives look Polynesian but some ceremonial dress is Melanesian. Fun movie with the questions of desertion and loyalty, love triangle and a military trial. Good native wedding scene with leis, torches, Chuck in aloha shirt, Mayo looks sexy in Sarong and Burt dancing in full Melanesian outfit and mask.  Burt next did FROM HERE TO ETERNITY with an Oscar nomination then HIS MAJESTY O'KEEFE all in the same year 1953. No native speaking parts.
SOUTH SEAS MASSACRE (1976) AM. NATL. ENTERPRISES (U.S./ Philippines),(1989) U.S. release.  Stars Troy Donahue in modern day South Seas story with old South Seas plot.  Modern day pirates rob cruiser in the Pacific.  On board an armed cop and his long sought after fugitive decide to jump ship handcuffed to each other.  They wash ashore on an enchanted South Seas island complete with peaceful natives.  The same pirates find same island for new base and kill some natives and rape the sarong clad beautiful woman.  The native men shed their pacifism and kill off the pirates with the help of the two earlier visitors.
SPACE AMOEBA (1970) TOHO (Japan)  Alien lifeforms turn Pacific lifeforms into giant monsters.  How original for a Japanese film.  Anyway the sea monsters (a squid, a turtle and a crab) are fighting a crushing a Polynesian island village. Big Moai Tiki can be seen in village.  The latter 2 monsters have a big fight on top the village.  How does the big fight end?  As with most South Seas films it ends with a volcano…well both monsters falling into one anyway.   
SPACEMASTER X-7 (1958) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Killer fungus from Mars get aboard plane bound for Hawaii and forces the plane to crash-land.
SPHERE (1998) WARNER BROS.  Big Michael Crichton movie with Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone and Samuel Jackson.  Sci-fi with underwater UFO with a mysterious sphere inside ala monolith of 2001.  The book says they’re located between Samoa and Fuji, the movie says they’re between Hawaii and Sidney.  Like the producers didn’t think the movie audience would figure where the book location was.  No natives or even islands in this boring movie.  Rates a category 8, the lowest in the genre.  For some credit, though, Jackson does sing “Bali Hai” in the shower and Verne’s book  “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is featured throughout the film but if the author’s intention was to try to create a South Seas atmosphere it didn’t work.
SPIRIT OF THE FLAG, THE (1913) BISON LIFE/UNIVERSAL (Silent) Set in the South Seas with a doctor and an American teacher.  Need more information? Starred Wallace Reid.
STAND BY FOR ACTION (1942) MGM/LOWE’S INC.  Robert Taylor, Brian Donlevy, Walter Brennan and Charles Laughton in WWII adventure of Navy ship picking up woman and children of a sunken liner from Honolulu and heading to San Francisco. Typical Naval conflict between officers aboard old ship.  Oscar nominated for special effects.
STONE AGE WARRIORS (1991) ??? (Hong Kong) MO YU FEI LONG A film by Stanley Tong which is set in New Guinea with kung-fu, natives, mercenaries, and komodo dragon and lots of action. Compare BRUCE LI IN NEW GUINEA (1977)
STOP FLIRTING (1925) CHRISTIE FLIM  Man boards small plane bond for Hawaii to escape bride but bails out and returns to her.
STRANGE HOLIDAY (1969) MASS/BROWN  Independent film loosely based on Jules Verne story of a lost sailboat with boys marooned on a South Pacific island.  Later another ship wrecks on their shore, aboard are some British prisoners.  First man (boys) vs. nature now its man vs.
man.  Need more information?
SUBMERGED (2000) PARAMOUNT  Straight to video movie starring Dennis Weaver, Coolio, Fred Williamson, and Tim Thomerson with a Meilani Paul listed as the bad girl who looks mixed. Weaver plays a very rich industrialist is on the way to Hawaii in his private 747.  The pilot
purposefully ditches plane so the bad guys can get the software that runs Weaver’s satellite laser gun.  Oh the intrigue is killing me.
SUCH A LITTLE PIRATE (1918) FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY CORP.  Buried treasure on a South Seas isle and wheeling and dealing for ship ownership legal or not.
SUICIDE BATTALION (1958) AM. INTNATL. PICS.  Mike Conners, John Ashley in WWII plot about U.S. soldiers on a fictional island of Baluyanna which is being over run by the Japanese.  A volunteer squad infiltrate their old HQ to destroy important records.  Hilo Hattie is the matron of a local brothel where girls are from many parts of the world and a Chinese boss.  Director of Photography, Floyd Crosby. 
SULLIVANS, THE (1944) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Anne Baxter in tragic, true story of five Sullivan brothers who died, at the same time, aboard a sunken ship off Guadalcanal.
SUPERGATOR (2007) RODEO PRODS.  Giant gator ends up on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai.  Roger Corman returns to Kauai to film another “B” movie.  This one stars Brad Johnson & Kelly McGillis. 
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (1940) RKO-RADIO; (1960) DISNEY  This version has the island off Asia with talk of old land bridge to continent as an excuse to having geographical incorrect popular animals running all over the island even though some animals were African.  Stars James MacArthur, Sessue Hayakawa as Pacific pirate with Asian and Arab crew?, also Disney regulars Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran.  The family was on the way to New Guinea.  Filmed on Tabago.
SWITCHING CHANNELS (1988) TRISTAR  Burt Reynolds, Kathleen Turner and Christopher Reeve in comical triangle between Turner, former husband and present boss, Reynolds and her new rich and handsome fiancée, Reeve, all set in a hectic major TV news station.  At the end Turner and Reynolds remarry and return to their first honeymoon spot, a tropical Pacific island where a fake volcano erupts just like the first time. 

TABU (1931) PARAMOUNT (Silent)   Directed by F.W. Murnau, stars Reri and Matahi.  Island young man and princess forbidden to marry escape to another island.  Boy as pearl diver gets founded by holy man who takes girl, boy drowns in pursuit.  Filmed on Bora Bora with topless girls and water falls, native dances, luau feast, fake moon & shark.  All native cast but some half-castes and a Chinese man.  As in WHITE SHADOWS IN THE SOUTH SEAS (1928) Robert Flaherty started to co-direct then dropped out.  Also, as in WHITE SHADOWS this film won an Oscar for photography by Floyd Crosby father of Crosby as in Stills, Nash & Young.
TAHITI HONEY (1943) REPUBLIC  Dennis O'Keefe, sailors, grass skirts and ukuleles.  Possibly just a traveling band picture with the band wear "theme" attire and props.  The Tahiti theme probably being the most popular.  But the film starts in Tahiti where the band is stranded. The pianist wants a new singer he discovers there, the rest of the band says no. They go back to San Francisco and bomb until they make the change. Love triangle with pianist, new singer and her boyfriend sailor. Our hero wins. Songs" "Tahiti Honey" and "Koni Plenty Hu-Hu" (Hawaiian for angry).
TAHITI NIGHTS (1944) COLUMBIA  Jinx Falkenburg playing Luana a Tahitian princess is promised to marry Dave O'Brien a band leader. She loves that idea and spends the whole movie making sure that happens while O'Brien is not so sure about the whole idea. Musical/comedy featuring a novelty band, the Vagabonds.  The band appears in silly phony native outfits. Native Queen, hula, luau and taboo. Hilo Hattie plays Temata and Charles Opunui has a part.
TAHITIAN, THE (1956) CRANE/KNOTT/LONG  Western scientists try to stop a malaria epidemic but encounter resistance from the natives until one doctor is able to save a chief’s son.  Cameraman James Knott was married to Lotus Long who starred in LAST OF THE PAGANS (1935). Lotus also co-wrote this film with Tahitians in key roles; Ana, Vahio, Taia Tepava as kahuna and Tehapaitua Salmon as chief.
TAMAHINE (1964) MGM   Chinese Nancy Kwan plays hapa-Polynesian girl in comedy.  She goes to live with her British boy’s school headmaster uncle and havoc begins.  She later marries this uncle’s son?  Some location filming on Bora Bora but mostly set in England. Fun movie..
TARAWA BEACH HEAD (1958) COLUMBIA/MORNINGSIDE PROD.  WWII standard.  Set in Guadalcanal and the Gilbert Islands.  Starred Julie Adams.
TASK FORCE (1949) WARNER BROS. Gary Cooper, Jane Wyatt, Walter Brennan and Julie London.  Copper plays Naval officer who fights for the importance of Naval pilots and carriers.  He marries Wyatt and gets stationed at Pearl Harbor with only three stock photos covering that event.  Right before the Pearl Attack Copper gets transferred back to Hawaii with more stock footage and fake California exteriors.  Copper gets his own carrier and continues to fight in the Pacific.
TE RUA (1990) INDIE (New Zealand)  Maori, Barry Barclay directed this story about two Maoris (one a lawyer, the other a poet) of the Uritoto people. They try different ways to recapture stolen ancestral cravings from Uritoto.  Interesting film centered on Polynesian people and a part of their culture but set on the other side of the world.  Very original, but what do you expect from a native filmmaker.  Nessie Herewini, Wi Kuki Kaa, Peter Kaa and others star.  Note of interest: same thing was happening by the Hawaiians in real life on the other side of the Pacific. Artfacts were taken from the Bishop Museum.
TELL IT TO THE MARINES (1926) FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY/MGM  Silent staring William Haines and Lon Chaney.  Lon saves fellow marine William from mob of angry native men because William falls in love with a native girl.  Native girl has stupid styled hairdo like most silent females.  When we first see the Marines on factious island there are hurricane type winds, compare movie RAIN, a lot of rain.  On island only part time in movie.  They also go to China to fight bandits.
TENDER SCOUNDREL (1966) CRITERION PRODS. (France/Italy) AKA: IZLET NA TAHITI which means Tahiti Island and AVVENTURIERE A TAHITI, UN (Italy) Stars Jean Paul Belmondo as a womanizer who's lifestyle backfires because of two woman who can't get enough of him. The two chase him from Paris to Tahiti and back again. Beautifully shot with rich locations and color but plot is lacking and bit confusing.
TERROR EN TAHITI (19??) ??? (Mexico) Stars Tumata Teuiau who plays Maeva “young and pretty but she brings out the fury between men”.  Lobby card shows dead guy.  Horror in paradise.
TERROR ISLAND (1920) PARAMOUNT Houdini in South Seas saga of girl's father held captive by natives because of sacred pearl.  Girl is locked in safe and thrown over cliff into the sea.  Guest who saves her?
THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945) MGM John Wayne, Robert Montgomery, Donna Reed in a John Ford film about WWII PT-Boats.  Honolulu and other Pacific island scenes.
THIN RED LINE, A (1964) ALLIED ARTISTS  Jack Warden in Guadalcanal WWII story written by James Jones of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY fame.  Very good story line but poor production values.  Filmed in dry Southern California without natives. (1998) 20th CENTURY FOX  Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Buddy Harrelson, John Travolta, Jon Cusack, and George Clooney and future stars Adrien Brody and James Caviezel.   Directed by Terrence Malick.  Big budget version with big stars.  Big production values, shot on location in The Solomons and Australia with good native interaction but confusing story line. Nominated for best picture. Note: after 20 years of isolation legendary 70s director Malick choose this WWII South Seas story to make his comeback.
THINK FAST MR. MOTO (1937) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Peter Lorre in Charlie Chan formula role but this time a Japanese-American detective from Honolulu.  This story Mr. Moto is on a freighter from San Francisco to Shanghai with a stop at Honolulu harbor.  There Mr. Moto and the main guest star is checking out the babes coming on board.  One cutie hurriedly enters ramp without a lei, and the guest star puts his lei on her and puts a move on her as well but it doesn’t work.
THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO (1944) MGM / LOWE’S INC.  Van Johnson and Spencer Tracy in WWII movie about a daring, first bombing raid over Tokyo.  The trip across the Pacific lasted as long as the raid (see title).  Set was mostly training back in the States and in China where most pilots where forced to crash land.
THREE GENTS IN HAWAII (1963) TOHO (Japan)  Need more information? See HAWAII NO WAKADAISHO (YOUNG GUY IN HAWAII) (1963) TOHO.
THREE STOOGES GO AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAZE (1963) COLUMBIA  The Stooges in a farce of the movie AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS but in this comedy they stop in Hawaii.  Poster has a hula maiden in the B.G..  The stop is a short one either they ran out of money or time or it hit the cutting room floor because the Hawaii stop is only a series of stock footage.  Iau Kea credited but looks like he plays a giant sumo wrestler named Itchy (Ichi) Kitschy (kitsch).  He is really Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea, 6-feet-5 with 1 1/2-inch lifts famous Hawaiian TV wrestler of the 60s & 70s
THROUGH THE BREAKERS (1928) LUMAS FILM CORP.  This melodrama that involves an ocean liner, ship wreck, murder and a suicide on a South Seas island. Socialite forces rich guy to marry her on his South Seas Island where she learns lessons on life. Jealous native girl is also on island.
THROW MAMA FROM THE TRAIN (1988) ORION  Danny Devito, Billy Crystal in comedy of wanting to kill Danny's mama on the mainland and Billy's ex-wife on Kaua'i.  At the end Billy honeymoons on Kaua'i where it was partly filmed.
THUNDER OVER HAWAII (1960) AMERICAN INTERNT' L PICS.  New title for 1957 release of Roger Corman's NAKED PARADISE.
THUNDERBIRDS (2004) UNIVERSAL  Stars Bill Paxton as a billionaire former astronaut widower with young adult son all who in a secret Pacific Island HQ (not an evil world dominating wannabe for once) but an evil guy like that, Ben Kingsley, kidnaps whole family but the youngest who is an untrained teen who now has to rescue the rest of the family.  Anthony Edwards plays brains who builds all the neat stuff.  The HQ has South Pacific Melanesian décor.  Need more info?
TIARA TAHITI (1962) RANK ORG. James Mason, John Mills as ex Army officers battling weather to build hotel in Tahiti.  Filmed in Tahiti.
TIKOYO E IL SUO PESCECANE (TIKO AND THE SHARK) (1963) MGM/TITANUS (Italy)   Filmed in Raiatea and some in Hawaii with Hawaiians Marlene Among and Al Kaue.  Polynesian boy and girl living harmoniously with pet shark until haoles (whites) come.  Compare: BEYOND THE REEF (1981).
TIL WE MEET AGAIN (1940) WARNER BROS.  Remake of ONE WAY PASSAGE (1932) this time with George Brent, Merle Oberon and Pat O'Brien.  No Hawaii shooting.
TILL THERE WAS YOU (1990) PARAMOUNT (Australia)  Set and filmed in Vanuatu.  Stars Mark Harmon who goes to investigate his brother’s death but ends up having an affair with the bad guys girl.
TONGAN NINJA (2003) MIDNIGHT FILM PRODS. (New Zealand)  Tongan ninja ends up in New Zealand to protect a Chinese restaurant. Sam Manu stars in this NZ comedy of a young Tongan boy who survives on South Seas island by finding a secret Kung Fu monastery where the monks raise him in the sacred marshal arts. Our hero being a Polynesian stereo-type is easy going and lazy so he does not take his training seriously. He ends up defeating the enemy (a Polynesian crime boss) at the end anyway.
TOO LATE THE HERO (1970) ALDRICH STUDIOS  Michael Caine, Cliff Robertson, Henry Fonda and a slue of great British supporting cast all in a classically WWII Aldrich directed film set in New Hebrides (Vanuatu).  British version of the DIRTY DOZEN with rag tag British patrol helping Robertson destroy a Japanese radio transmitter on the other side of the island. Island village scene full of Polynesians that should be Melanesians.
TORA! TORA! TORA! (1970) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Good recreation of events of Pearl Harbor attack.  Starred Jason Robards, Martin Balsam, E.G. Marshall, James Whitmore and Joseph Cotton. More real planes where used in this attack where as years later in the making of PEARL HARBOR there were only about three planes used representing each type of WWII plane because of their age and scarcity. The rest of the Japanese squadrons were computer generated which could not be done in 1970. This modern technology made up for the lack of old WWII technology.
TORPEDO RUN (1958) MGM  Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine and Dean Jones as submariners who torpedoed Tokyo Bay in 1942 and return to base in Pearl Harbor.  Stock footage of Honolulu with the classic shot of Diamond Head backwards.
TORRENT, THE (1921) UNIVERSAL Woman is cast on Pacific island with man she broke up with a year earlier.
TRADE WINDS (1939) WALTER WANGER/ UNITED ARTISTS  Fredric March, Joan Bennett, Ralph Bellamy and Ann Sothern in romantic-comedy where detective chases murder suspect to the Orient via Honolulu.  All process screens of stock backgrounds, the most evident is March's surfing off Diamond Head.  A Princess Luana had a bit part.
TREASURE ISLAND (1917) WILLIAM FOX; (1927) FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY; (1934) MGM  Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, and Lionel Barrymore; (1972) CENTRAL CINEMA CO. (British) Orson Wells and Kim Burfield; (1990) HBO PICTURES CTVM  Charlton Heston. All versions based on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic pirate and buried treasure novel which is set in England and the South Seas.  Only (1972) version confirmed set in South Seas, need more info. on others?
TREASURE OF MAKUBA (1966) CINEMAGIC (US/Spain)  Cameron Mitchell stars in this movie where he searches for stolen pearls on a Polynesian island.  He and a native girl Maroa (Mara Cruz) are sentenced to death by natives.
TROPIC MADNESS (1928) FBO PRODS.  Leatrice Joy in plot of island woman who gets her revenge, presumably through the kidnapping of a haole (white) child.  Story by Ramon Romero.  Need more information?
TROPICAL NIGHTS (1928) TIFFANY  Jack London story of "show girl" (woman of questionable past) stranded on South Sea island with pearl divers, hula dancers, and chorus girls, giant clam and an octopus attack. Murder mystery is solved.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1989) QUINTEX ENTERTAINMENT (Australia)  Raquel Welch stars in story of widow accompanying her late husband's casket home to San Francisco from Hong Kong aboard a freighter.  Hurricane runs the ship aground with only Miss Welch and a drunken sailor surviving.  The isle is called Ravalo of the British Line Islands, 90 miles south of Christmas Island which was previously abandon because of possible nuclear fallout.  The sailor wants to stay and be a beachcomber Raquel doesn't.  Miss Welch wears a sarong.  No natives present. Man the drunk is the luckiest man on earth!
TURANGAWAEWAE (2002) ??? (NZ) Maori story staring Wi Kuki Kaa. Need more information?
TUTTLES OF TAHITI (1942) RKO-RADIO  Charles Laughton leads big family of Half Tahitians to easy life in Tahiti with Jon Hall as oldest son.  Fun movie with steel guitar score, lots of brown painted skin.  Hapa (half) Tahitian song dance numbers, cock fighting, big Hollywood stage set, lots of sarongs or pareus, storm at sea, wedding party.
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1954) DISNEY  Jules Verne story of a genius but mad submarine captain Nemo who sails the Seven Seas sinking ships.  Stars Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas and Peter Lorre.  The captains madness stems from his experiences with slavery on the South Seas island of Rora Panti.  His South Sea island hide out was an old volcanic island located 12" 19' Lat. and 169o 28" Long.  Also a visit to New Guinea where native cannibals chase Douglas and Lorre out by foot and by canoe.  Shark attack and giant squid scenes.  Some location shooting.  Two Academy Awards: Best Effects and Art Direction. Note: This film's hide out of Capt. Nemo is the archetypal of world evil mastermind volcanic Pacific island lairs found throughout filmdom from James Bond, Austin Powers to Disney's The Incredibles. My have started with Captain Hook.
TWILIGHT FOR THE GODS (1958) UNIVERSAL  Rock Hudson and Cyd Charisse in South Seas sailing saga.  Old passenger boat sails from Papeete to Honolulu via the Marquesas, captain fighting alcohol, one passenger former Honolulu call girl or of questionable past, storms and near mutiny.  Filmed on and between O'ahu and Mau'i.  Canoe greeting scene off Lahaina.
TWINS (1988) UNIVERSAL  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito and Kelly Preston with Hugh O'Brian.  Through a secret U.S. genetics experiment to create the perfect human Arnold was born but as a side effect so was his opposite twin, Danny.  Danny was raised in an orphanage and the ways of the world while his perfect brother was raised, educated and sheltered from the world on an idealistic "South Sea island", 300 miles south/southwest of Fiji.  Only the beginning of the movie do you see Arnold in this environment which was done with a mix of Southern California sets and stock footage.  Also of note are two white collar executives masquerading as Hawaii tourist and the beautiful blonde actress Kelly Preston is part-Hawaiian.
TWO LOVES (1961) JULIAN BLAUSTEIN PRODS/MGM Stars Shirley MacLaine, Laurence Harvey and Jack Hawkins. The movie is good for the drama but when Nobu McCarthy (Japanese) and Juano Hernandez (African/Latino) played Maori parts I knew we were in trouble and this was a Californian production. Again good drama, actors and acting but insensitive to Native culture distract from and good story. Compare to GREEN DOLPHIN STREET. Maori and others now knows what Hawaiians have felt for years by "Hollywood" versions of their world. Though sets and art direction was a worthy atempt.
TYPHOON (1940) PARAMOUNT  Dorothy Lamour, Robert Preston and Coco the chimp in typical Lamour flick.  Working title was SOUTH OF SAMOA. Couple of guys, looking for pearls, are stranded on a South Seas island because of a mutiny. They find on the island Dorothy (who was also marooned there earlier), angry natives and of course a typhoon.
TYPHOON TREASURE (1938) UNITED ARTIST (Austrialia)  AKA PERILS OF PAKEMA REEF A ship of treasure goes down off this South Seas island where a bunch of people are after it - two problems, angry natives and an angry alligator. Low budget with footage pirated (get it) from earlier documentaries.

UNDER SIEGE (1992) WARNER BROS.   Steven Segal stars in macho movie about rebellious C.I.A. group that takes over a modernized battleship with all its modern weapons, some nuclear.  Segal, the cook, saves the ship and O'ahu (the bad ring leader, Tommy Lee Jones, launches a missile towards the island) basically all by himself.  Film also starts off with second unit footage of Pearl Harbor including shots of the real president Bush but he did not figure into the story. The battleship's crew members take leave at Pearl at the beginning except for Segal. He stays loyally aboard that heavens for that!
UNDER THE HULA MOON (1995) PERISCOPE PICTS.  Stephen Baldwin, Chris Penn & Ray Bumatai. Baldwin lives in Hawaiian oasis, a trailer in the Arizona dessert decked out in cheap luau party decorations because he’s obsessed with Hawaii and has a dream to visit one day.  His pretty, young wife is barely understanding because his get rich quick inventions have always failed.  Baldwins half-brother shoots his way out of prison and gives him a visit, and take his wife and money to Mexico.  Baldwin in pursuit, gets inspiration from the ghost of King Kamehameha played by Bumatai. They do make it to Hawaii at the end because the U.S. marines buys tons of his invention of 150 ps camouflage sunscreen.  Cute scene on Waikiki Beach.  Good stock footage of Hawaii (even though some was of Tahiti) great theme song: Johnny Nobles’ My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii digitally cleaned with Kalani Bright singing.  Also Hawaiian Paradise sung by Alfred Apaka and the standard Aloha Oe.  Connection: scene of Baldwin watching Hawaii 5-0 with the wave and theme song.  Dream come true for Baldwin’s character and the Hawaii Visitors Bureau.
UNDERWATER WARRIOR (1958) MGM   Ross Martin and Dan Dailey as frogmen in the Pacific. History of Navy divers and their underwater explosions from WWII till the Korean conflict. Filmed in Hawaii and the Marshall Islands as well as San Clemente and Channel islands of California. 
UNINVITED GUEST, THE (1924) METRO-GOLDWYN/SUBMARINE FILM CORP.  Shipwrecked in the South Seas.  Directed by Ralph Ince. An Heiress and a gambler with wife land on island. Soon later the couple manage to get off island but leave the heiress and the wife takes her identity. Sponge diver find heiress and rescue her but the diver's partner is mean and wants heiress to himself. Good diver saves her again and helps her return home to get her identity back.
UNKNOWN ISLAND (1948) FILM CLASSICS/A.J.COHEN PRODS.  Typical dinosaurs on uncharted Pacific island.  With Richard Denning.
UNTAMED WOMEN (1952) JEWELL ENTP/UA  “B” movie about four Air Force flyers surviving a crash in the South Pacific and rafting to a strange island ruled by beautiful women, the last descendants of the Druids. Also on island are dinosaurs and ugly cavemen who fight women for breeding purposes. Compare: ISLAND OF LOST WOMEN. Also giant lizards.
UNTIL THEY SAIL (1957) MGM  Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Sandra Dee and Paul Newman in story of four lonely sisters in WWII New Zealand until U.S. Marines become stationed there.  Familiar plot of native men not good enough for white girls or native women not even considered by white Marines. This James Michener story was directed by Robert Wise Compare THE LAST TATTOO.
UP FROM THE DEPHTS (1979) NEW WORLD PICS.  Sam Bottoms at the bottom of his career in this low budget Roger Corman flick.  Story filmed in the Philippines about a man-eating fish terrorizing a Hawaiian resort.
UP IN ARMS (1944) SAMUEL GOLDWYN / RKO-RADIO PICS.  Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore, Diana Andrews (the 3 Ds) in musical/comedy of sailors and their WAC girlfriends heading for South Seas.  Mostly filmed on a Hollywood stage.  Set is mainland, Naval ship in the Pacific and the Pacific isle of "Laguna".  As always the trouble maker Danny gets thrown in brig on the ship and on the island where the Japanese capture him and alone he captures them.  No natives.  MP: “How about that, of the millions of islands in the Pacific we got to be on one where there are no hula girls and no Japs.”
UP PERISCOPE (1959) LAKESIDE/WARNER BROS.  James Garner and Edmond O'Brien "Somewhere in the South Pacific - 1942", on a WWII Japanese infested island and in a submarine which is based in Pearl Harbor.  In Honolulu crew hangs in bar filled with sexy Hawaiian hostesses in cellophane grass skirts. Alan Hale the captain from Gilligan’s Island also co stars.
UP TO HIS NECK (1954) GENERAL FILMS  Alone on a South Seas island a British sailor guards supplies.  His navy forgets him, he turns native and turns to a native lover.  The British navy remembers him and returns 10 years later but he doesn’t want to leave.  He ends up recovering a stolen sub and a hero. Remake of JACK AHOY (1934).
UTOPIA (1950) FILMS EGE (France)  Also titled: ROBINSON CRUSOELAND and ATOLL K. Laurel and Hardy's last film. See ATOLL K for more information.
UTU (1983) GLITTERON (New Zealand)  Critically acclaimed movie starring Maori, Anzac Wallace who plays a renegade British soldier who turns on his own army after witnessing the slaughter of his own village by their guns.  Set in 1870 Wallace vows revenge or Utu on the British. Very dramatic and very good.  Also stars, noted Maori director Merata Mita and Wi Kuki Kaa.

VERY BRADY SEQUEL, A (1996) PARAMOUNT  The Brady's end up going to Hawaii to solve a mystery.  Fun stuff for South Seas Cinema buffs.  First references to TV’s Hawaiian vacation episodes, like the bad luck, little, Tiki; a part played by John Hillerman which reminds us of Higgins from MAGNUM PI; the fact that the professor on GILLIGAN’S ISLE is the father of the Brady girls and others.  A must rent to find your own trivia.
VENGEANCE OF THE DEEP (1923) AMERICAN RELEASING CORP.  First underwater feature.  Set in South Seas but filmed in Hawaii.  Whites steal pearls from vengeful native divers.  Movie includes treasure, sharks, and a giant clam.
VENGEANCE OF THE DEEP (1940) CINESOUND PRODS.  Not the same movie as the 1923 ARC release but a re-release of LOVERS & LUGGERS (1937) CINESOUND (Australia) where a concert pianist goes to a South Seas island to find a giant pearl for his girlfriend than the trouble begins.  Hope he doesn’t hurt his fingers (reference to THE PIANO). Connection SMITHEREENS (1982) shows small poster of VENGEANCE OF THE DEEP.
VENUS OF THE SOUTH SEAS (1924) BRADFORD CORP. (Silent-5 reeler)  Daughter of pearl business owner who somehow owns islands and the natives too.  Those natives that are enterprising and get their own pearls are considered the evil enemy.  Dad dies but an evil native wants to
kill her “on land” because in the water she can put out the punishment.   Later she fall in love with wealthy playboy who comes back for her on the evil pearl trader boat.  They escape together at the end.
VICTORY (1919) TOURNEUR Lon Chaney and Wallace Beery in silent.  Story of beachcomber on South Seas island who takes pity on troubled woman then bad guys invade him and his island because they think he’s sitting on treasure. (1940) PARAMONT with Fredric March and Betty Field in a sarong.  Supposing  the best version and supposing set in Dutch East Indies..
VICTORY AT SEA (1954) NBC  Theatrical release of an edited 26 episode series of WWII.  Italian poster has hula girls on sheet.
VIRGIN PARADISE, A (1921)  Drama on a South Seas isle. Little girls missionary parents die by volcanic eruption and survives with native servant on a South Seas island. Island has monkeys and lions (Hollywood South Seas) and cannibals and they, including the animals, like her. A female Tarzan. Next phase in life is her rich uncle dies and leaves everything to her. A rescue is arrange and one of her rescuers wants to marry this wild thing for the money. She fights with another rescuer who shoots at her lions. The shooter now notices her and begins to respect her. Later as she becomes refined and finally sheds her wild ways she dumps the first insincere guy and marries the now animal loving second guy.
VOODOO ISLAND (1957) BEL-AIR/ UNITED ARTISTS  Only things worth mentioning in this bomb is Boris Karloff and it was filmed on Kaua'i.  Set in South Sea island.  Voodoo in the Pacific? Note: Adam West has a part who was married to a part-Tahitian. Some evil tikis.  Man eating plants.

WACKIEST SHIP IN THE ARMY, THE (1960) COLUMBIA  Jack Lemmon, Ricky Nelson in WWII comedy/drama about old sail boat commissioned as Navy ship and used as fake native boat to transport replacement coast watcher from Port Moresby, New Guinea to Cape Blouster, New Britain.  Comical scene when white naval sailors dress as Melanesians, complete with dark skin and black curly wigs, to throw off Japanese air spotters.  Also set in Australia and the Coral Sea but filmed in Pearl Harbor and Kaua'i for exteriors.  Story supposing led to the Battle of Bismarck Sea.
WAHINE (2000) DISNEY (cable) Another low budget Disney cable movie that was not film in Hawaii.  This one is about a mainland raised Hawaiian female teenager who learns to surf in Hawaii. She learns her deceased  Hawaiian mother was a great surfer and royalty.  She has to decide whether to use her inherited beach front property for a resort or keep it as a good surf spot.
WAIKIKI WEDDING (1937) PARAMOUNT  Bing Crosby, Martha Raye, Anthony Quinn in musical/comedy of pineapple PR man's idea of romantic Hawaiian vacation as prize.  Winner is disappointed so Bing tricks her to outer island and becomes her beau.  Famous hapa-haole (half white-English words w/Hawaiian melodies) tunes Sweet Leilani by Harry Owens and Blue Hawaii.  Moonlight romance scene and fake volcano scene.  Big hula dance numbers, luau and Samoan knife dance.

WAKE ISLAND (1942) PARAMOUNT  Brian Donlevy, Robert Preston in WWII drama of true account of Marines surrounded by large Japanese fleet returning from Pearl Harbor attack. The Americans would never surrender and last man dies at end of picture.  Short Pearl Harbor scenes at beginning of picture with departing characters which were shot in front of poor flat paintings. 
WAKE OF THE RED WITCH (1948) REPUBLIC  John Wayne as adventurous sea captain has personal rival with shipping magnate.  Together they get pearls from fictitious Polynesian islanders and fight over a woman.  Duke Kahanamoku plays chief with sacred pearls, giant clam and octopus, Wayne treated as a god by naive natives.  Also starring Gig Young.  Lagoon swimming, big canoe greeting, big feast and big tiki Moai scene. Notes: Duke and Duke film. Wayne speaks Hawaiian in this picture, words are right but still has that unmistakable John Wayne twang.
WALK IN THE CLOUDS, A (1995) 20TH CENTURY FOX  Keanu Reeves star as a WWII soldier returning home from fighting in the Pacific to find his war bride incapable with him.  He, on a sales trip runs into a beautiful Mexican American from a prominent wine growing family on a bus.  He gets kicked out of the bus for defending her from a couple of hoodlums.  He finds her down the road crying with all her luggage.  He finds out she is unwed and pregnant so he poses as her husband. Despite the fathers pride and outward contempt for him, the couple fall madly in love.  See the rest of the movie to see how they resolve their dilemma.  Some flashbacks of him fighting on a tropical Pacific island with fake coconut trees.
WALK INTO PARADISE (1956) SOUTHERN INTERNATIONAL (Australia)  Filmed and set in New Guinea.  White exploratory expedition encounter problems with natives and wildlife. aka WALK INTO HELL.
WALLABY JIM OF THE ISLANDS (1937) GRAND NATL. FILMS George Houston, Mamo Clark, Ruth Coleman.  Ten characters listed only Mamo credited even though a couple others Polynesian actors have speaking parts.  Wallaby is a shipper who loves the natives and they love him especially Mamo who loves him romantically.  A evil German trader forces the natives to dive for pearls in deep water while he tricks Wallaby to leave the island.  Wallaby figures him out and returns to save the day.  Wallaby sings as well as fights.  Set on isle of Raihoa.
WAR OF THE MONSTERS (1966) DAIEI Japan  Part of the Gamera series but this one has lots of hula girls.  A group of bad people travel to a South Pacific Island to steal a protected Opal sacred to the Islanders.  Opal turns out to be the egg of Barugon, a giant lizard.  Aka: GAMERA VS BARUGON
WARBIRDS (2008) ANCHOR BAY  Possibly released initially for the SYFI Channel this Sci-Fi movie is set on a WWII Pacific island.  In this fictional version of history the a Col. Toller delivers his top secret “A” bomb via an all-woman crew aboard a B-29 bomber that was supposed to be dropped in Honolulu.  The flight continues to the Marianas from Honolulu but were mysteriously attached by not the Japanese but by a Pterosaur.  They crash land on the island where Japanese survivors of these flying dinosaurs explained that while digging bunkers in a mountain they unwillingly discovered many Pterosaur eggs and many have hatched.  Their conventional WWII weapons in not nearly enough to kill them so they use da dah the secret bomb at the end and name their fixed plane the Enola Gay after one of their killed female crew.
WEIRD WOMAN (1944) UNIVERSAL Lon Chaney Jr. and Evelyn Ankers as Ilona Carr and a Hanna Kaapa as Laraua.  A professor returns from a South Seas vacation with a bride raised by natives who thought the bride was supernatural.  The Profs ex girlfriend turned mad, spreads rumors that bride is a voodo priestess and then commits a series of murders to validate her rumors. The bride worships a Tiki.
WE'RE NOT DRESSING (1934) PARAMOUNT  Bing Crosby, Carole Lombard, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Ethel Mermon and Ray Milland all star in musical about young sailor who helps young and pretty millionaire boss and her upper-class friends survive after her yacht shipwrecks in deserted South Seas isle.  No natives present.  Filmed in studio with rear projection and classic "full-moon, over palm trees, at night, with leading couple on beach" set. Directed by Norman Taurog.  Other South Seas Cinema references to Robinson Crusoe & THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON. Gracie plays “Aloha Oe” with her accordion at the end.  There is also a wild lion on this island?
WHALE RIDER (2003) SOUTH PACIFIC PICTS. (NZ) Winner of numerous international film festivals, this Maori story of a young girl trying to break tribal tradition of being a future female chief of her tribe.  Part myth, part culturally sensitive with a lot of good acting.  Stars; Keisha Castle-Hughes, Raviri Paratene and Cliff Curtis. Keisha had an Oscar nomination for this film, at 13 the youngest nomination in it's history..
WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN HEARTED (1999) SOUTH PACIFIC PICTURES (NZ) Follow up to ONCE WERE WARRIORS  Jake the Snake’s son is killed by his own gang but it’s the siblings that take revenge not the powerful Jake.
WHAT THE BULTLER SAW (1950) HAMMER (UK)  A British Earl retires after longs years of service governoring a South Seas island.  After he returns to England he finds that an Island Princes that is in love with his butler stowaways in one of their big trunks.  The Earl tries to return her but fails.  That makes for a funny movie has they (in high society) adjust to her unexpected visit. Fish out of water story, compare TAMAHINE.
WHEN A MAN SEES RED (1917) FOX  Shipwrecked on a South Seas Island. The hero of this story is a strong sailor who returns home to find his sister had died after she was raped and his mother died of a broken heart over the incident. Hero want revenge and only knows a mother sailor did it. He boards the next ship out only to be on board on a ship with the captain from hell. He quits on the next port. There he meets and falls in love with a lady "the painted lady" (base on a story by Sat Evening Post writer Larry Evans) from a rich yachting party. She thinks she's not worthy for him and they part ways. Later the yachting party shipwrecks on a South Seas island. Meanwhile our hero learns from another sailor that the evil captain is his sisters rapist so our hero is off to find him. At the same time his girl is rescued off the island by none other than our evil captain who tries to force himself on her but in her worldly experiences she stabs him in self defense. In anger the captain takes her to a another South Seas island to auction her off as a slave to natives buyers (that's different). Our hero finds them there so there is a fight till death. Hero barely wins, our painted lady nurses him back to good health and they live happily eve rafter.
WHEN TIME RAN OUT... (1980) IRWIN ALLEN/WARNER BROTHERS  Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, Red Buttons, Ernest Borgnine, Burgess Meredith, James Franciscus, Barbara Carrera, Pat Morita, Shelly Winters and more in a disastrous disaster movie this time the subject is a volcano set 1000 miles near Fiji on the island of Kalaleu.  Like THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE also with Shelly Winter a group of tourist and hotel personnel fight there way out before (not the ocean water this time) but before the lava gets them. Filmed on the Big Island.  Originally titled: THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED.  Compare escaping volcano scene from DEVIL AT FOUR O'CLOCK, THE (1961).
WHERE THE PAVEMENT ENDS (1923) METRO  Affair with South Seas island chief (Ramon Novarro) and daughter of prejudicial missionary. Tragedy shot in Miami & Cuba. Missionary Pastor and daughter who at first is not happy with island life settles on South Seas island. Young chief likes her and the local saloon owner and former captain lusts after her. The Captain closes saloon and joins church to seek her in marriages but she sees his real intentions and runs away with the one she really loves, the young, handsome native chief. Big fight evil captain dies, but daughter can't fully get over her prejudices and influences by her father so she wont marry chief. Chief jumps into giant falls and kills himself. Father takes daughter away from the island.
WHISTLER, THE (1944) COLUMBIA  First of eight in a series of features based on a popular radio show.  This one is set in the Pacific at the beginning of film where wife of our main character dies in a drowning.  No body is recovered and the very sadden husband reluctantly returns home. There he wants to kill himself but he cant.  He then hires hit man to kill him, the wife shows up alive and well but he can’t find hit man to cancel contract because the middle man he hired is also killed with the necessary information about the hit man lost with his death.
WHITE FLOWER, THE (1923) FAMOUS PLAYERS/ PARAMOUNT Same people and lead actress, Betty Compson, as the 1922 THE BONDED WOMAN but this time Betty plays a hapa-haole (half breed) daughter of a plantation owner who falls in love with newly arrived pineapple manager but his fiancée follows, she asks Kahuna to put curse on her than tries to jump in volcano.  Shot in Hawaii with luau, hulas and surfing.
WHITE HEAT (1934) SEVEN SEAS  Complicated romance involving sugar planter, Hawaiian mistress, haole (caucasian) wife and old boy friend and handsome Hawaiian.  True location shooting in Hawaii and many local bit parts. Aka: CANE FIRE.
WHITE SAVAGE (1943) UNIVERSAL  Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu with Tiki god and sacred lagoon with a bottom of gold and big earthquake ending when Tiki god punishes would be gold robbers. Steel guitar music, poor art direction Polynesian & Southeast Asian mix, Hollywood dance numbers and filmed in Southern California.  Part for Al Kikume.  Can’t forget the lions and Montez’ Spanish accent.
WHITE SHADOWS IN THE SOUTH SEAS (1928) MGM  Alcoholic doctor cast upon island, marries chief's daughter (Raquel Torres), becomes greedy for native pearls, attacks evil trader's ship that was to loot island but trader kills doctor and ravages village with crew.  Filmed in Papeete, Tahiti.  MGM's first sound film.  Directed by Robert Flaherty then W.S. Van Dyke.  Clyde DeVinna won Oscar for cinematography.
WHOLE OF THE MOON, THE (1997) CINAR (New Zealand/Canada)  Two teens in a cancer ward, one, rich Pakea (caucasian), the other a Maori orphaned street brat played by Nikki Si'Ulepa.  A sentimental drama. 
WHY SAILORS GO WRONG (1928) FOX  Comedy of shipwreck on island inhabited by lions, crocodiles, monkeys, cannibals and hula girls.  Why film went wrong. Rich dad doesn't approve of young man chasing his daughter so he ships her off on his yacht but young man sneaks aboard boat as it leaves dock. With two inept crewmen yacht shipwrecks on a deserted with lots of native and hungry cannibals (not so deserted after all). The stowaway young man saves daughter which proves him worthy to marry her.
WILD WOMEN (1918) ??? Harry Carey in movie involving a castaway cowboy, a Hawaiian princess and aging Hawaiian Queen. Directed by John Ford. After winning some big money at a San Francisco Rodeo Harry and his buddies go to a cabaret to celebrate. Ready to sleep it off in a back room the "wild women" appears and they dance the hula. Then Harry and his friends wake up on a cargo ship heading to Hawaii. Realizing they were shanghaied they jumped ship as soon as possible. Harry and friends ends up on a Hawaiian island because there a homely Hawaiian Princess forces him to marry her. Just as he kisses her in the wedding ceremony Harry wakes up realizing it was all a dream, except for the hangover.
WINDJAMMER (1937) RKO-RADIO  George O'Brien competes in yacht race to Honolulu.  Near O'ahu his yachting party is rammed in a fog bank by a gun-runner's windjammer.  They get held for ransom and later rescued near Macao.
WINDTALKERS (2001) MGM WWII drama of Navaho Indians who used their native language to pass US war information to each other.  True story with the fact that the Japanese could never break the code.  Stars non-Indian Nicolas Cage and the Navaho are not happy.  Although most battles in movie were fought in Micronesia, main base of film was “Kaneohe Marine Base Hospital”.  Base is real but Hospital is not.  Ironically a major battle scene shot in Hawaii was just across Kaneohe Bay from the real base. They than shot the Kaneohe Marine Base scenes in California. Also Tiki bar scene.
WING AND A PRAYER, A (1944) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Dana Andrews, Don Ameche, Charles Bickford and Harry Morgan in another WWII aircraft carrier drama in the Pacific.  Good movie about Pearl Harbor and Wake Island.  Newsreel footage of Pearl Harbor and Wake Island.  Movie ends with the Battle of Midway.
WINGED VICTORY (1944) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Red Buttons has a role in this typical WWII Pacific story where most of it is set during flight training.  Directed by George Cukor, Darryl F Zanuck produced.
WINGS OF EAGLES, THE (1957) MGM  John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara in story of Frank "Spig" Wead, a successful writer and Naval aviator in the WWII Pacific who was possibly based at Pearl Harbor and recovered in San Diego.  Hawaiian music was played as he boarded his carrier and Aloha Oe was played as theme song as Spig retires at the end.  Directed by John Ford. Wead wrote other Pacific theatre films like THEY WERE EXPENDABLE. Connection KILL BILL 1 Bride talking to her toes.
WINGS OVER HONOLULU (1937) UNIVERSAL  Ray Milland as Navy pilot with mad wife who never sees him cause of night duty.  In spite she takes off on an old boy friend's yacht and he chases them in Navy plane.  No Hawaii shooting but L.A. Polynesians in bar scene and one with a bit part playing a policeman.  Navy propaganda telling Navy wives that husband's service is more important than their happiness even if they are stationed in Hawaii..
WINGS  OVER THE PACIFIC (1943) MONOGRAM PICS. CORP.  Inez Cooper in story of a U.S. veteran's peace and quiet is shattered as two pilots, a German and an American, shoot each other down on his Pacific island at the beginning of World War II.  Pretty Miss Cooper plays the hapa haole (half breed) daughter of the U.S. veteran who bought the isle from a friendly local chief.  Later the native warriors defeat invading Japanese and save the haoles (whites).  Santini Puailoa, James Lono and a Hawksha Paia were credited.  Pacific language or languages where spoken.
WOMAN GOD CHANGED. THE (1921) PARAMOUNT/INTRNL. FILM SERVICE CO.  Same plot as HIS CAPTIVE WOMAN (1929) but she is convicted in this ending.
WOMEN OF DEVIL'S ISLAND (1961) DOCUMENTO FILM Although supposingly set in Devil's Island in French Guiana there is a hula dancer and a role with the name "Maeva" (Samoan origin).
WOMEN OF PITCAIRN ISLAND, THE (1956) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Life after MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY.  Far from factual account about women survivors of the Bounty crew who also survive shipwrecked pirates who fought over a bag of pearls.  Very adult themes with widowed native women and their teen viral hapa (half breed) native children.  The pirates also want the women.  Almost everyone is haole with lots of brown makeup.
WOMAN THERE WAS, A (1919) FOX (Silent)  Vampire actress Theda Bara played Princess Zara of a South Seas island where a handsome missionary arrives. There is romance but bad luck because of a typhoon and her accidental death. Missionary goes home and marries his white girlfriend. Not so paradise.
WORLD BY NIGHT (1961) JULIA/WARNER BROS. (Italy) MONDO DI NOTTE, IL Featured documentary with a Italian and English (George Sanders) narrators depending on where film was released. This is a typical "Mondo" film as they are some times know even in the U.S.. Mondo is Italian for world. This show travels the world as men would do, checking out strip clubs everywhere. One stop Honolulu. Tahitian dancing scene on Lobby Card.

YAMAMOTO ISOROKU (ADMIRAL YAMAMOTO) (1968) TOHO CO. (Japan)  Bio. of the career of famous WWII admiral played by Toshiro Mifune.  Scenes included the Pearl Harbor attack and the Battle of Midway.
YOAKE NO FUTARI (RAINBOW OVER THE PACIFIC) (1968) SHOCHIKU (Japan)   Starred Yukio Hashi.  Young man meets and falls in love with American/Japanese girl who went back to Hawaii where she lives. He than has a chance to go to Hawaii and does. Filmed in Hawaii.
YOU, ME AND DUPREE (2006) UNIVERSAL  Comedy about newlyweds who get invaded by a mistake and accident prone friend.  Big Hawaiian pre wedding and wedding scenes at the beginning.  Stars: Owen Wilson, Matt Dillon, Kate Hudson and Michael Douglas.  Also key role by Sidney Liufau as big Samoan security guy for Douglas’ mainland HQ.
YOUR IN THE NAVY NOW (1951) 20TH CENTURY-FOX   Gary Cooper in Navy experimental MGM steamship.  Where set? The real ship served all around the South Seas Australia and the Philippines.  Also stars; Jane Greer, Eddie Albert, Jack Webb and the first movie for Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson.
YOUTHFUL CHEATERS (1923) FILM GUILD  Set on a South Seas island, on Long Island and on board a ship on the Pacific. Father and son who works on cholera patients are returning home to the South Seas from a working trip to Asia. They pick up a young lady on one port than the ship is on quarantine at another port where the two young ones fall in love. When the ordeal is over the young lady goes home to New York. The young genes get warm and the son goes after her only to find out what a party goer she is with all her wild friends. The dad comes over to make a surprise visit which reminds the son how important his dad's work is and really what life is about. The young lady realizes it too because she goes back to the South Seas with them.