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ABOVE AND BEYOND (1953) MGM   Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, James Whitmore and Jim Backus as Gen. LeMay on Guam.  Fact-base story of Col. Tibbetts and the mission of the Enola Gay.  Typical 90% training on the mainland and then serving in the Pacific at the end. This story focused on the conflict of Col. Tibbetts' secrecy and his family life.  The mission was so secret that you couldn't even tell your wife it was secret.  How miserable!  The Enola Gay was based on Tinian of the Mariana Islands before her big visit to Japan.  Filmed in Hollywood, stock footage of the islands.
ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES (1993) ORION/PARAMOUNT  In this sequel Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester marries a Black Widow and they honeymoon in Waikiki.  Stock footage of the Halekulani Hotel only with interiors shot in Hollywood.  No natives used but good use of a real Hawaiian Airline plane, on their return, at the Ontario Airport in San Bernardino.
ADMIRABLE CRICHTON,THE (1957) COLUMBIA (British)  Alias PARADISE LAGOON, shipwreck story in the South Pacific were butler Mr. Crichton ends up the obvious leader and savior of this upper class survival party. Crichton ends up being close to marrying one of the debutantes but a ship passes by to save them. Original version of this popular movie was filmed in 1918. Other versions were: MALE AND FEMALE (1919) PARAMOUNT, a silent directed by Cecil B. De Mille and the WE'RE NOT DRESSING (1934) PARAMOUNT starring Bing Crosby.
ADORABLE OUTCAST, THE (1928) UNION MASTER (Australia)  Early Australian movie with the theme of interracial romancethat experimented on using some American cast and crew but failed.  Like Adorable Savage (1920), stars Edith Roberts. Filmed in Fiji. AKA: BLACK CARGOS OF THE SOUTH SEAS
ADORABLE SAVAGE, THE (1920) UNIVERSAL (Silent)  From novel: “Marama: A Tale of the South Pacific” with other quasi Polynesian character names.  Native Murama goes off to school then comes back to her dad’s rubber plantation in Fiji to find out she’s a half breed so she runs off to marry a Fijian and goes native all the way. Stars Edith Roberts, produced by Carl Laemmle.
ADVENTURE (1925) PARAMOUNT Tom Moore, Pauline Stark, Wallace Beery and Duke Kahanamoku in Jack London story of a woman who saves plantation owner from black fever and collectors. Set in the Solomon Islands, a "South Sea Isle" according to posters. Bad Beery and partner rile up the natives against Moore the plantation owner,  Natives are shown as subservient. 
ADVENTURE ISLAND (1947) PARAMOUNT Rory Calhoun and Rhonda Fleming in remake of Robert Louis Stevenson’s EBB TIDE, A crew of “Kanaks"(locals) lead by former beachcombers with tainted past carelessly burn their stores.  They find a uncharted Pacific island with a white evil isle ruler who make natives think he’s a God.  Rag-tag heroes show natives he’s only a mortal and they kill him.  Filmed in California.   Rhonda is a Westerner but she borrows a sarong from a native and looks WOW!  Costumes are mixed up.  Natives are mixed up with a rag-tag of races.
ADVENTURE'S END (1937) UNIVERSAL  John Wayne and Diana Gibson.  The Duke is a South Seas pearl diver.  Near mutiny on ship and he marries captain's daughter.  Character Kalo. Hard to find film. Wayne's first of 14 South Seas movies, which makes him the King of this genre as well as the King of the Western.
ADVENTURES OF MARTIN EDEN, THE (1942) COLUMBIA  Semi-autobiographical account of writer Jack London as a crew member of a Pacific cargo ship with a tyrannical, bully of a Captain.  A crew member goes to jail over a mutiny of the ship in an unjust ruling.  Eden, the writer/crew member vowels to get him out.  He knows for anyone to listen to him and his cause he has to become a famous writer.  He doesn’t so he, in desperation boards the cargo ship to fight captain, he wins but evil Captain has him detained in the brig for the two year trip to the South Seas and back.  While the ship docks in Tahiti, Eden has a South Seas book sell, entitled “The Girl From Moa Kaloa” and it’s a big hit. Even in long distance is newfound credibility has the evil Captain fired with his second release, a grity autobiography about his dark time aboard the same cargo ship with the same evil Captain.  Now free, Eden fights the former captain once again on a Tahitian beach to get the Captain to sign a confession for the courts.  Stars Glen Ford. The film earned a minor niche in media history as the first major-studio film to be released to television. Only interaction with a native islander is a graphic one, a tattooed representation of a Hula maiden on the belly of a fellow sailor.  Early version entitled: Martin Eden (1914) Famous Players  Writer tells one of his stories about a love in Tahiti. “Moa Kaloa” Martin also finally beats up captain years later on a Tahitian shore.
ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE (1952) ULTRAMIR FILMS (Mexico)  Dan O'Herlihy received an Oscar nomination when film was released in the U.S. in 1956. Need more information on setting? 
ADVENTURES OF SADIE, THE (1955) 20TH CENTURY FOX (British)  Joan Collins stars in sex satire with Collins marooned on deserted Pacific isle with three love-hungry men.  Note the name of Sadie.  She ends up with the one she likes and they end up shipwrecked again on another island while they were being rescued.
AERIAL GUNNER (1943) PARAMOUNT  Richard Arden in story of Air Force training, American love triangle and South Pacific fighting with the WWII Japanese.
AFFAIRS OF CAPPY RICKS (1937) REPUBLIC  Walter Brennan as Cappy tries to marry off two of his daughters, he take them and their new beaus on a cruise.  They all shipwreck on a deserted isle, where they find their fiancees are wimps.  After they are saved the girls marry their old boyfriends. Set in the Pacific. 
AIR DEVILS (1938) UNIVERSAL  Larry Blake and Dick Purcell as South Seas flying buddies in love triangles and double crosses.  Big parts for Mamo Clark and Al Kikume. Clark as sultry native hula dancer and Kikume as a rare native plantation owner.  At end the native have a war with local police who are largely expatriates who love the islands.  The reason for the war, not for independence but as laborers obeying there evil landowner bosses who are scheming to keep their lands.
AIR FORCE (1943) WARNER BROS.  John Garfield, Gig Young on B-17 flying to Hawaii but gets diverted, because of Pearl Harbor attack, to Mau'i where "local Japs" attacked them. As one of the first post Pearl Harbor attack films out some unfounded rumors were part of the story like the previous along with locals driving truck while breaking of plane tails and another preventing traffic from returning to base.  They than fly on to Hickam Air Field, than Wake Island to refuel..  They continue on to the South Pacific to fight war.  Directed by Howard Hawks.  No apparent location shooting.
ALL ASHORE (1952) COLUMBIA   Mickey Rooney musical/comedy with Navy theme. At least one luau scene on a beach.  Need more info?   WWII.
ALL THE BROTHERS WERE VALIANT (1953) MGM  Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, Ann Blyth and Betta St. John in South Sea adventure/drama.  Whaling brothers, beautiful native girl, murderous pearl traders all set the stage for this film.  Seductive dance.  Set in Gilbert Islands but shot in Jamaica and studio lot.  St. John was also in SOUTH PACIFIC but here she played a brown-painted native girl who took care of and loved Granger but he moves on without her. Native dancing scene. Earlier version (1923) Metro and silent remake ACROSS TO SINGAPORE (1928) with Joan Crawford and Ramon Novarro.
ALOHA (1931) TIFFANY Young American in the South Seas marries local Polynesian girl Ilanu, played by Raquel Torres.  He then takes her home to San Francisco where he is disowned by family. They return to island where distraught Ilanu leaps into volcano sacrificing herself to Pele.
ALOHA (1965) LEA PRODUCTIONS (Philippines)  Probably produced locally. Need more information?
ALOHA (2015) COLUMBIA/FOX Stars Bradley Cooper,  Emma Stone, and Rachel McAdams and directed by Cameron Crowe.  What was meant to be a story dedicated to the struggles and folklore of Hawai’i turns out to be a confusing saga of the American white centered military with confusing characters and bad Hawaiian representation in the fact that blonde Emma Stone plays a Hawaiian/Chinese and European mixed character and while fighting for her fellow Hawaiians she is a die-hard American military member.  Although this example of whitewashing in this film was brought out nationally there is a good scene of Dennis Kanahele arguing the points for Hawaiian sovereignty.  There are small roles for Hawaiian actors i.e. Kaui Kauhi and Kunani and Ipo Nihipali in Kanahele’s community, which also includes musician Ledward Kaapana
ALOHA HAWAII (1930) ???  Locally produced film about ancient Hawaii.  Libby Keanini is one lead.
ALOHA, LE CHANT DES ILES (1937) CFC (Compagnie Française Cinématographique) (France) Stars Arletty, Jean Murat, Daniele Parola, Adrien Lamy and Directed by Leon Mathot.  Need more information but mini card has a Hula maiden on it?
ALOHA OE (1915) KB/ TRIANGLE/ INCE  (Silent) With Willard Mack  & Enid Markey.  Although titled Hawaiian this classical plot involves a drunk and drugged American lawyer who sails to the South Seas, shipwrecks, becomes a beachcomber and falls in love with native King's daughter.  Drunken Mack saves his wahine love twice from jumping into volcano. Complete with phony hulas, grass skirts, paper leis, imitation volcanoes and fake moonlight. First film with trope of native female sacrificing herself into a volcano. Remade as ALOHA (1931) see above.  Possible 1st South Seas feature with fake studio shooting and fake Polynesians.  Film was praised not ridiculed which was the beginning of other faux South Seas films   Also 1st beachcomber in film but not the first in other media like books.
ALOHA SUMMER (1988) SAM GOLDWYN JR  Good flick about teen problems & parental prejudices. Set on O'ahu in 1959.  Local Japanese and local Hawaiians are distinguished.  Stars Chris Makepeace with Hawaiians, Blaine Kia and Andy Bumatai.  Airport lei greeting, surf,native kiss, lei greeting kiss, drunken sailors in Chinatown scene, hula scenes.
ALOHA, THREE GENTS (1963) TOHO (Japan)  Need more information?      
ALOMA of the SOUTH SEAS (1926) PARAMOUNT  Gilda Gray, Warner Baxter both playing natives and William Powell in love story of native dancer (Gray) with native boyfriend but falla in love with two Americans.  The first foreigner is lost at sea and the other returns to his lover back in the States. Gray ends up with the native young man, who returns from a US education to help stop a revolt and to protect Gray. Also (1941) PARAMOUNT Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall in talkie as native chief's son who just returned to island from an American education and lifestyle.  Local cousin and rival fight over girl and isle's leadership.  Dance numbers, canoe arrival, lagoon swim, culture mix, lots of Moai tikis, big feast and big volcano ending.  Wedding and Tahitian songs.  Not critically liked but popular nevertheless.  Oscar noms for Cinematography and Special Effects.
ALTERED STAIRS, THE (1922) UNIVERSAL This silent motion picture stars Frank Mayo as the captain of a South Seas schooner who falls for, but keeps his distance from a married passenger played by Louise Lorraine.  Lorraine just left her repulsive husband at the altar which refers to the title.  Coincidently Mayo was recently rescued, from island “savages”, by the same repulsive husband (Lawrence Hughes).  Hughes, in turn, gets a new post on another island where he influences the native chief to defile the missionary efforts and return to “pagan” ways.  Hughes, still being legally married to Lorraine, has an affair with a young female native.  The young native woman’s male island lover kills Hughes in a jealous rage.  This frees good guy Mayo to marry Lorraine.  Filmed on a Los Angeles studio lot which typically uses Latin and Euro-Americans to represent native roles.  In this instance, native islander, Parete, was played by Dagmar Godowsky. 
ALWAYS ANOTHER DAWN (1948) UNIVERSAL/McCREADIE BROS. (Australian)  Down under version of WWII battle of Coral Sea.
AMELIA (2009) FOX SEARCHLIGHT Stars Hilary Swank, Richard Gere & Ewan McGregor.  In her aerial travels she lands in Honolulu, Lae, Papau New Guinea & near Howland Island all in the Pacific.
ANATAHAN (1953) DAIWA (Japan)  True story of Japanese soldiers on stranded on tiny Pacific Island after the WWII. This island of the Nothern Marianas had only a Japanese couple occupying the the island before the all male Japanese soldiers arrived.  This true story involved some of the men killing each other to get to the wife.  Ironically, in real life, by the time the survivors got home to their wifes, the wifves all had remarried.  AKA: Saga of Anatahan, The. 
ANGLE OF DESTRUCTION (1994) NEW HORIZONS (Philippines)  Blond, martial-artist, cop and former stripper in Honolulu, must I say more about this made in Philippines, not for children, “B” movie.
ANNABEL LEE (1921) JOAN FILM Stars Jack O’Brien and Lorraine Harding.  O’Brien plays a hard workin fisherman who falls for Harding but her father wont have it unless Obrien waits a year to prove his love.  So he sets sail to the south Seas to find his fortune while waiting.  O’Brien instead finds mutiny on his ship and is casted off to a Pacific Island with his loyal cook.  They are rescued and O’Brien returns home on time to marry.
ANOTHER YOU (1991) TRISTAR PICS  Starring the famous duel of Richard Pryor & Gene Wilder.  Although this was their last and worst movie together they did end it with a South Seas bang with a tiny Hawaiian honeymoon scene with Gene wearing a lei and his new bride Mercedes Ruehl both sitting in a Hawaiian fiberglass outrigger canoe on sand with Pryor shooting them with a home video camera.
APOCALYPSE 3:16 (196?) MARTIN CHARLOT   Locally produced film about a modern Hawaiian's quest for spirituality.  Surrealistically filmed in black and white with no sync sound.  Good effects.
AROUND THE WORLD (1943) RKO  Kay Kyser and his orchestra travel around to entertain American troops.  One stop was a Pacific locale where starlets appeared in sarongs. .
ARRIVING TUESDAY (1986) WALKER FILMS/NZ FILM COMM. (NZ) Stars Judy McIntosh, Peter Hayden and Rawiri Paratene.  A pakeha (of European descent) couple trying to find themselves, they meet a Māori poet, they then travel North together till jealousy splits them all up.  Also during their trip they run into some Māori on a hikoi (spiritual march) and they visit the giant kauri tree named Tane Mahuta.
AS MAN DESIRES (1925) FN (8 reeler silent)  Man (Milton Stills) starts in India where he’s falsely charged with killing his commander, he flees to a South Seas island where he gets rich with pearls and sets himself up as the island ruler.  A wanton native young woman changes her ways because of her love for Stills.  All is not paradise though because natives now attempt to steal his wealth and while protecting Stills his native lover is inadvertently shot.  A wealth that he probably introduced to the island. Stills also flees back to Indian to rejoin with his still loyal finance as soon as he finds out he’s exonerated.
AT THE END OF THE WORLD (1921) PARAMOUNT/ FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY (silent) Romance in the South Seas. Need more information?
ATOLL K (1950) FRANCO LONDON FILMS (France)  Also titled: ROBINSON CRUSOELAND and UTOPIA.   Laurel and Hardy's last film in which they inherit a South Seas island with uranium deposits.  In route they stumble on another island of paradise.  They watch before their eyes how the island develops into chaos with land gratings and greed by incoming haoles.  Unfunny because the aged condition of the stars and the sad but realistic plot.  Poor art direction with cheap sets on a dirt island, filmed in Europe.
ATTACK FORCE Z (1982) AUSTRALIAN FILM COMM. (Australian) Mel Gibson & Sam Neill star in this WWII flick of Aussie soldiers try to rescue a Japanese deflector on a South Pacific island.  One problem, actually a thousand problems, the other Japanese soldiers.
ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS (1957) ALLIED ARTIST  Roger Corman produced which means “B” movie, like you couldn’t tell by the title.  Set on a South Seas island.  The title also tells you the plot.  Shot at Bronson Caverns in Hollywood Hills.  Radiation mutated the crabs but where did that come from, nuclear test?
ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE (1963) TOHO (Japan)  Stranded on a Pacific Island, hungry vacationers eat mushrooms which are actually toadstools.  They in turn, turn into giant toadstools. Aka: MATANGO
AVENGER OF THE SEVEN SEAS (1961) DOCUMENTO FILMS (Italian)  GIUSTIZIERE DEI MARI, IL A sailor joins up with pirates to avenge his captain that made him and others dive into shark-infested waters for pearls.  Set in the South Seas with cannibals.
AWAY ALL BOATS (1956) UNIVERSAL  Jeff Chandler, George Nader, Julie Adams, and Richard Boone in WWII naval action in the South Pacific with the typical majority of film on the men in training. Before Nader enlists, he is a merchant marine captain in the Pacific where he brings home to his wife (Adams) many Pacific isle trinkets like a hula grass skirt.

BAMBOO BLONDE, THE (1946) RKO-RADIO PICTS.   Frances Langford, Ralph Edwards and Paul Harvey (the radio commentator?).  Original plot about rich, only son who is about to fly a bomber to the WWII South Seas but meets and falls in love with nice torch song singer in New York city.  The problems are that he is already engaged to a self-centered socialite who he is not in love with, he lied to his new girl, that he was a poor farmer and he doesn't even get this Cinderella’s name.  Later down in the South Seas his crew paints her picture on their plane  The crew adorns the mascot with a two-piece sarong, and they name it The Bamboo Blonde.  Shortly the crew and their mascot become famous as war heroes while the singer ‘s manger talks her into reluctantly taking advantage of the publicity and redoes her act with sounding success.  Hollywood hula dance number: Moonlight Over the Islands with Hollywood hula maidens accompanying her in the NY club.
BARNACLE BILL (1941) MGM  Wallace Beery, Marjorie Main  A fisherman in the South Seas avoids hag then finds out he has a daughter between them.  He also fights landlubbers.
BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH (1968) MGM  Chinese tunnel under Pacific to blow up the U.S. but they are stopped by a base built in an extinct Hawaiian volcano.  Ni ha ma choy lin! (I told you dig one more degree north!)  Need more information?
BATTLE CRY (1955) WARNER BROS.  Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, James Whitmore, Raymond Massey, Tab Hunter and Anne Francis all star in this WWII flick.  These American soldiers are trained in New Zealand to fight the Japanese in Saipan.  Directed by Raul Walsh.
BATTLE OF BLOOD ISLAND (1960) THE FILM GROUP  WWII picture two American soldiers  on a Pacific isle, one, Jewish one Christian and a bunch of Buddhist Japanese who want to bomb them both no matter what their faith is.  Need more information?
BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA (1959) COLUMBIA  Cliff Robertson in WWII drama of submarine captain imprisoned on Japanese-held Pacific Island trying to send vital information to the U.S. fleet.
BATTLESHIP (2012) UNIVERSAL  During a normal Rim-Pac naval exercise off shore of Pearl Harbor suddenly in the middle of the multi-national fleet a huge UFO surfaces. Because of the nature of the invading aliens an attack commences and the earthlings look out matched with no ships left with in a protective dome that the aliens set up around the main islands of Hawaii but out from the museum piers of Ford Island out comes the mighty MO (WWII Battleship Missouri) with its 19in guns. Compare with PEARL HARBOR (2001).
BAYWATCH: THE MOVIE: “Forbidden Paradise” (1995) ALL AMERICAN & BAYWATCH PRODS. Released straight to tape world-wide, David Hasselhoff and his Baywatch babes travel to Hawaii for heavy sea lifeguard training.  This TVM quality production was filmed and set on O’ahu just like the pilot of this world’s #1 TV show.  Generic subplots include: surfing contest, bad luck lava rock and shipwreck on a remote Hawaiian Island with fierce natives and with a friendly, pretty maiden that nurses one lifeguard to good health.  Actually the natives are not a lost tribe but a Hawaiian activist group going back to nature and their roots.  Different.  Luau scene with the Baywatch babes dancing sexually along with Tahitian and Samoan fire dancing.  Snorkeling in a Sea life park tank posing as a real reef and if there isn’t enough babeatude, the Hawaiian Tropics bikini girls have a scene.  Lots of parts for locals; Gerry Lopes, Lee Doversola, Sidney Liufau, Wallace Akeo, Buffalo and Brian Keaulana, Laisene Auelua and Celeste Akeo.  Need info. on part of Mark Kealoha?
BEACH RED (1967) UNITED ARTIST/THEODORA PRODS. Cornel Wilde and Rip Torn in generic WWII Americans invading a Japanese held Pacific isle film.  No name of island mentioned nor natives present.
BEACHCOMBER (1915) BOSWORTH INC.   Hobart Bosworth in romance of U.S. sailor, who is washed overboard by a storm.  Hawaiian family takes care of him, then a growing romance brews between Bosworth and the Hawaiian daughter who is temptatious and care-free.  Bosworth struggles with his Christian upbringing.  Finally decides to take his Hawaiian girl and brother home to a proper Christian way of life.  Sounds like a good sequel, now on the Hawaiians inter-struggles.  Set in Hawaii.  Where shot?
BEACHCOMBER, THE (1938) PARAMOUNT Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester in what seems a film set in the China Seas but some of the natives (the bad ones) look Melanesian. (1955) RANK ORGANISATION/UNITED ARTIST  Glynis Johns and Robert Newton.  White island bum and the missionaries.  Written by W. Somerset Maugham.     
BEACHHEAD (1954) AUBREY SCHENCK/ UNITED ARTISTS  Tony Curtis is one of four marines looking for French planter who spies for U.S. in the island of Bougainville in Melanesia.  Good WWII suspense.  Filmed on Kaua'i with Steamboat Mokuahi playing bit part as angry,  Japanese killing, Melanesian.
BEAST OF THE DEAD (1970) HEMISPHERE PICTS.  (Philippines/US) Starring John Ashley, which means made in Philippines “B” movie.  Sequel to MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND (1969).  The island is a remote Pacific one with a headless monster stalking natives.  AKA; Beast of Blood.
BEHIND THE NUDIST CURTAIN (1964) ATLANTIC PICTS.  Detective circles the world with a stop in Hawaii in pursuit of a spy.  He ends up in a Florida nudist camp.  Filmed in Florida.
BELA LAGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA (1952) BORDER FILMS  Comedy with Bela playing a Dr. Moreau like character on a South Seas island with hula girls and a Martin and Lewis copycats.  Filmed in L.A. with a Hollywood luau scene and Hollywood dance numbers.  Bugs Bunny does a reference to the Lewis character in this film played by Sammy Petrillo. In the short "Hurdy Gurdy Hare" Bugs is an organ grinder with a giant gorilla as his money collector. Bugs remarks at the end of the cartoon "I hope Petrillo doesn't find out about this."
BENIKER GANG, THE (1985) LORIMAR Andrew McCarthy in tale of a family of orphans on cross-country journey that takes them to Hawaii.  Do they make it?  Yes but only thing on screen at the very end is McCarthy mug on cover of prop Waikiki newspaper because is the #1 Advice columnist.  Otherwise no Hawaii photography.
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL (1956) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Robert Wagner, Broderick Crawford and Buddy Ebsen in typical action, WWII, drama of fighting in occupied Pacific Island.  Shot in Kaua'i (originally DAY THE CENTURY ENDED).
BEWARE OF BLONDES (1928) COLUMBIA  Clerk gets Hawaiian vacation if delivers large emerald on the way meets and falls in love with girl aboard ship who's a cop.
BEYOND PARADISE (1997) KAMA'AINA FILM PARTNERS Good indie film by young director who used to live on the Big Island of Hawaii and it shows with good local young actors.  Coming of age movie of a haole teen moving to Kona and befriending locals.
BEYOND THE BLUE HORIZON (1942) PARAMOUNT  Dorothy Lamour, Richard Denning, Jack Haley Set in Malaysia and in a mainland mansion which has a lagoon like lily pond where Dorothy swims, and don’t forget her sarongs.  Jack plays a ukulele and tapa print on huts... Although not set in Pacific Oceania This film has many South Seas Cinema attributes.
BEYOND THE REEF (1981) UNIVERSAL  South Seas romance in Tahiti by young natives along with a pet shark that grows up with the young lovers. Played by young Hawaiians: Dayton Ka’ne, and California raised part-Hawaiian Maren Jensen.                   
BIG BOUNCE, THE (2004) WARNER BROS.  Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise, Bebe Neuwirth, Willie Nelson & Harry Dean Stanton.  Cut out of film was Kris Kristofferson and Minnie Driver.  A young couple plan to heist beach mansion on the North Shore of O’ahu with plot twists. Big stars couldn't save this plot. Lots of surfing and some Tikis.  Look for small pineapple trinket placed throughout the film.
BIG HOP, THE (1928) BUCK JONES PROD.  Buck in air race to Honolulu crashes and returns.
BIG JIM MCLAIN (1952) WAYNE-FELLOWS/ WARNER BROS.  John Wayne as Federal investigator with James Arness fighting a communist ring in Hawaii.  Mostly filmed on O'ahu.  Airport lei greeting, outrigger surfing with Diamond Head in b.g., Hawaiian  Wedding Song in Hawaiian sung by Hawaiians, very nice.
BIG LIFT, THE (1950) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Montgomery Cliff as pilot from Hickam Air Base and others are sent to Germany for Berlin airlift.  Hickam scenes filmed on O'ahu.
BIKINIS IN PARADISE (1967) CINEMA THREE  Cast of 300 local teenagers in musical/comedy.  Produced and filmed locally.
BIKINI PARADISE (1967) ALLIED ARTIST Two Navy officers are sent to a South Seas island to search for a missing teacher only to be capture by a tribe of women.
BIRD OF PARADISE (1932) RKO PICTS.  Haole falls for chief's daughter with Dolores Del Rio and Joel McCrea, Brown painted, chief decides to sacrifice princess to the male god Pele and she jumps into volcano.  Canoe greeting, diving for coins, shark attack, luau with pig and poi, Hollywood hulas, wedding ceremony with ring of fire, riding and surfing turtle and volcano exploding scenes.  Joel's canoe gets caught in oceanic whirlwind and Delores TRIES to speak Hawaiian throughout the picture.  First role for Lon Chaney Jr. and Napoleon Pukui had a part.  Location shooting in Hawaii, Catalina and RKO soundstages.  Directed by King Vidor and David O. Selznick was the executive producerand Busby Berkeley was the uncredited choreographer; (1951) 20TH CENTURY-FOX ver. starred Jeff Chandler, Debra Paget and Louis Jourdan.  Filmed in Hawaii with haoles playing Hawaiians and a Jewish Kahuna.  A Prince Leilani listed in credits who was born in Hilo and played the Kahuna in the stage version of the film.  Authentic hulas by Hawaiian Kumu Hula legend Iolani Luahine (who’s name was spelt wrong on credits) and dancer Lydia Bray.  Film somewhat sought after by contemporary Kumu Hula.   It has a canoe greeting, feast, dances, tabu, lagoon and a big volcano scenes. Shot of Hanalei pier.  Parent or parents of half-breeds nonexistent.  No parents for Chandler and Paget, raised by grandpartent chief and chiefess also crazed English sailor banlished to an offisland with biracial offspring and a dead native mother. 
BLACK BELT II (1993) CONCORDE/NEW HORIZONS  A Roger Corman low budget of Martial Arts action in Hawaii.
BLACK CAMEL, THE (1931) FOX  Warner Oland, Bela Lugosi, Robert Young star in movie star murder in Waikiki.  Location shooting on O'ahu.  Local girl played by haole.  Only Chan filmed in Hawaii.
BLACK LILLY (1921) ??? Locally produced detective thriller with Peggy Aldrich.  Filmed on O'ahu.  How released?
BLACK MAGIC (1929) FOX  Three American derelicts drink away past, set off New Guinea.  Fellow American girl saves all three.
BLACK PARADISE (1926) FOX  Couple bad guys are fleeing the law, one with his girl that is trying to reform him. They reach a South Sea island full of escaped convicts.  Man, with girlfriend then succumbs to a hapa native girl. A ubiquitous detective, who traces them to the island falls for the former girlfriend.  The other convict is also the crime boss of the island and he kidnaps the detective to force his new girl to make love to him.  During the stressful undressing the cliched volcano erupts and the two heros escape. The vvolcano destroys village of bad guys, young erotic native women dancers,  and other innocent indigene.
BLACK PEARL (1934) URANIA FILM (Polish) Reri, Count Eugene Bodo Polynesian story.  Reri from TABU lived and married in Europe for a while.  Later had a small part in HURRICANE.  Also known as CZARNA PERLA,  Polish sailor return with pearl riches and a Tahitian wife.  He is seduced by a married woman who turns out to be part of a gang who is after his pearls. Shot on stage in Poland even the Tahitian scenes. 
BLACK WIDOW (1986) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Debra Winger follows murdering widow, Teresa Russell, to the Big Island of Hawaii.  Beautiful real volcano in b.g..  Danny Kamekona plays detective. .  Big Tiki outside of Hotel
BLOOD AND STEEL (1959) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  James Edwards, James Hong and others in WWII South Pacific adventure of four sailors on reconnaissance in Japanese held island.  They blow up radio station and some Japanese.  One sailor killed along with a helpful native girl (Ziva Rodann) by accident.
BLOOD CREATURE (1959) VALIANT (U.S./Philippines)  Renamed: TERROR IS A MAN.  All English speaking cast in ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU rip-off.  "South Sea" island 1000 miles west of Peru.  Filmed in Philippines with South Seas natives that are Filipino.
BLUE CRUSH (2002) UNIVERSAL  Three girl surfers, one haole; who can’t surf, two locals; one a New Yorican (Puerto Rican from NYC) who can’t surf, the other a real part-Hawaiian Saone Lake who can surf.  Boring plot where the haole falls in love with an all pro quarterback, in Hawaii for the Pro-Bowl.  Same girl wins pipe.  Lots of good surf footage with visual effects putting on non-surfer faces on real surfer doubles.  Parts for local surfers.
BLUE HAWAII (1961) PARAMOUNT  Classic Elvis Presley hip swing filmed on Kaua'i and O'ahu.  Film made a couple of hapa-haole songs famous; the title song and the Hawaiian Wedding Song. Lots of good Hawaiian/Priestly songs and Hilo Hattie in opening scene.  Also luau, surf, canoe, hula on stage, hukilau, Hawaiian rock and airport greeting scenes.
BLUE LAGOON (1949) UNIVERSAL  Jean Simmons as part of young couple who survive shipwreck; (1980) COLUMBIA  starred Brook Shields with Fijians cast as savage natives.  Filmed beautifully in Fuji.  See sequel: RETURN TO BLUE LAGOON.
BLUE SKY (1994) ORION PICTS.  Tommy Lee Jones & Jessica Lang, who won an Oscar for best actress for this role, stars as a military couple who start off stationed in Hawaii where Jessica flirts with the local officers.  They then get transferred to Arizona where it drives Jessica crazy, The desert is not Hawaii. Jones gets involved at work and he protests some procedures, his angered wife supports him greatly in his fight. Lange wins Oscar for best actress for this film.
BLUE, WHITE AND PERFECT (1941) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Lloyd Nolan in another formula detective series, this time as Irish, Michael Shayne who has his turn in solving a case aboard a cruise liner bound for Honolulu.  First U.S. movie to show war.  Shayne catches bad guys as they disembark in Honolulu.
BOMBARDIER (1943) RKO  Pat O'Brien, Randolph Scott,  Eddie Albert, Walter Reed and Robert Ryan in same-o same-o of more pilots being trained to fly in WWII Pacific.  Their Pacific stay was a short one, on a tropical secret island.  No natives present.
BONDED WOMAN, THE (1922) FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY/PARAMOUNT  Betty Compson follows alcoholic first mate to Honolulu and Samoa and clears his name.
BORA BORA (1968) AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTS. (Italy/French)  Man looking for wife on South Seas island.  Ends up with 15 year-old native girl, a native mistress and a white beautiful Gauguin museum curator.  Meanwhile the wife, has gone native and is with a native man, Mani, play by Antoine Coco Puputauki.  Obviously this plot of reconciliation with four different affairs is really an excuse for exotic sotf porn which the writer director, Ugo Liberatore is known for but this film actually has a plot of the ex who have adapted and the ex violent and prejudice husband who also stays and adapts.  Bad ending where despite paradise the estranged couple get back together, burn the unfinished beach house and leave Tahiti.  There is no paradise theme but in this story it didn’t make sense.  Beautiful photography by Leonida Barboni. Reverse interracial relationship.
BORN TO BE WILD (1995) WARNER BROS.  Loosely based on the true story of Bozo the sign language gorilla who ends up retiring in Hawaii except this story revolves around a young gorilla and a young teenage boy who kidnaps the ape for his freedom as a flea market attraction.  The gorilla does end up in Hawaii.  Locations were on O’ahu at the Koo’lau Country Club and the Ku’aloa Ranch.
BOTTLE IMP, THE (1917) PARAMOUNT  Robert Louis Stevenson story of an ancient Hawaiian fisherman with hulas and volcanoes.  Some argument on where filmed.  Though a Lehua Waipahu starred others were of Japanese background including Sessue Hayakawa. Story of Hayakawa and Lehua Waipahu star as Hawaiian couple.  Sessue receives a magical bottle that brings on riches BUT owner has the sell the bottle before luck runs out AND owner must sell it at a lower price  than what it was last purchased for.  Long story short, after many complications and ownership they get rid of the bottle to a Sailor and they are humble and poor again but they have each other.  First film with the use of an Asian actor playing a Polynesian.
BOUNTY, THE (1984) ORION  Another remake of MUTINY... with another great cast, this one with five, count them five future Academy Award winner actors except for Olivier; Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Daniel Day-Lewis and Liam Neeson with Tevaite Vernette and Wi Kuki Kaa.  Classical escapism of paradise turning into hell.  Canoe greeting scene, white man falling in love with chief's daughter, luau feasts (one with watermelons?) lots of dancing and sensual wahines.
BOY (2010) UNISON FILMS (New Zealand)  Starring James Rolleston as Boy and Taika Waititi as his crazy father that come for a rare visit with is band of loser mates.  Story of a father who is never around trying to make a connection with his son.  In the background of this story in the Māori culture as well as the American pop culture that has invaded the islands of New Zealand.  Intentional or not this non-violent invasion is a serious matter in all 3rd world countries.
BOYS OF LOST ISLAND (1969) MASS-BROWN PRODS. (Australia) Aka: STRANGE HOLIDAY Base on a story by Jules Verne about boys shipwrecked on a Pacific island where other inhabitants are bad criminals.  Now a matter of real survival.  Low-budget for child audience through it seems too violent of a storyline.
BRIDE FLIGHT (2008) MUSIC BOX (Netherlands) Biggest budget for any Dutch film.  I guess bigger than MOLOKAI” THE STORY OF FATHER DAMIEN”.  This like the Damien story was based on a true story.  BRIDE FLIGHT was about early flight transport and picture bride heading to New Zealand.  Drama of three future brides and their tangled stories around a handsome and successful pakeha (white) who had, though the years, a Maori partner.
BRIDE OF SAMOA (ca.1930) CENTRAL FILMS  Possible combination of documentary stock footage and suggestive material shot in the USA  Lobby card shows topless women.  "A Thrilling Adventure Among the Siva Dancers".  Need more information? Possible soft porn?  Shot in New York City. 
BRIDES OF BLOOD (1968) HEMISPHERE PICTS  Made in Philippines South Seas.  Some skin, some blood and lots of Pilipino versions of Tikis including a giant monkey head.  Looks like Tiki sacrifice but a plant monster (spoiler alert who is the evil plantation owner who like a werewolf turns well pre Swamp Thing plant monster)  Other plant monsters on jungle trail (rubber branches on fishing line)  John Ashley co-stars. AKA: DANGER ON TIKI ISLAND
BROKEN BARRIER (1952) PACIFIC FILMS (New Zealand)   Drama about race relations in New Zealand.  Need more information?  Produced by John O’Shea.
BROKEN ENGLISH (1996) VILLAGE ROADSHOW (New Zealand)  A pretty immigrant moves to Aotearoa and
befriends a Maori young man. Reverse interracial relationship.
BRUCE LI IN NEW GUINEA (She nu yu Chao)(1978) ??? (Hong Kong)  Bad martial arts movie with natives that are Chinese and fighting Kung Fu.  Some wore, at times, colorful gees.  There is even an ape that knows Kung Fu. Some sarongs with beads for leis.
BRUTE MASTER, THE (1920) PATHE  Staring Hobart Bosworth & Anna Q. Nilsson.  While Nilsson is on a South Seas vacation she receives a telegram to return home.  Because the urgency she takes a questionable ship with a questionable captain.  She turns out to be right because, soon out to sea the captain begins to brutally attach her in her cabin (Hobart?).  A crew member who was recently punished by the captain burns the boat.  Most survive on a nearby island.  Soon the crew attacks one of the native woman and in revenge they assault Nilsson, Hobart comes to the rescue and soon Nilsson tames the brute master.BUDDY, BUDDY (1981) MGM Jack Lemmon as a suicidal husband and Walter Matthau as a near retired hit man mix it up at a Riverside hotel.  After both fail they flee to an island near Tahiti which was shot in Hawaii.
BY THE WORLD FORGOT (1918) VIT (5 reeler silent) Man is kidnapped as a joke from his bachelor party, escapes by boat, gets lost, finds remote island of only descendants of a group of shipwrecked sailors.  Who were the mothers?  Set in the South Seas. Our survivor falls for white chief’s apparent taboo daughter and they are banded by the tribe to live on the beach.  There they are rescued by a passing yacht who happens to have his fiancée and best friend aboard.  Turns out fiancee and best friend love each other and the kidnapping was real.  Thinking her love was leaving her the white island girl crys.  The fiancée sees the distraught island girls and slap him cementing their breakup and causing the coupling of the now ex to his island girl.  Compare Quest, The (1915).

CABIN BOY (1994) TOUCHSTONE PICTS.  Bad comedy that could of been good. A dumb young man ends up on a ship to Hawaii.  Sort of a cross between THE SEA WOLVES & STOWAWAY.  Real sets could of helped greatly and a consistent sense of time period, all could of been for fun but fails.
CAINE MUTINY, THE (1954) STANLEY KRAMER/ COLUMBIA  Four-star movie with four big stars; Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray and Jose Ferrer with early roles by E.G. Marshall and Lee Marvin.  Another classic Pacific mutiny, this time, taken from Herman Wouk's Pulitzer Prize novel.  Set in Pearl Harbor, Pacific ocean and San Francisco.?
CALL OF THE JUNGLE (1945) MONOGRAM   Starring stripper Ann Corio in musical of Ann as a white South Seas princess helping an American cop find sacred pearls in a temple.  Also some murders all involving prevention or provocation of a native revolt.
CALL OF THE SOUTH SEAS (1944) REPUBLIC  Janet Martin and Allen Lane.  The usual story with murder, beachcomber, bar with Polynesian dancers and pretty starlets in sarongs, one playing island princess (Martin) with 1/8 Polynesian blood and 7/8 French.  Aloha Oe theme song, underwater volcano, moonlight romance stock and backlit screen shots.  Feds catch Haoles taking advantage of islanders.  Filmed in Hollywood.  A Santini Puailoa was credited as a "Kinaki" islander.
CAME A HOT FRIDAY (1985) MIRAGE FILMS/ORION (New Zealand)   Popular New Zealand comedy that did not fair well overseas.  Standout performances from three main actors, one of which is Maori, Billy T. James as Tainuia Kid, a sort of a Maori, comical Zorro.
CAPTAIN CALAMITY (1936) GRAND NATL. FILMS  George Houston, Marian Nixon and Movita.  South Seas trading schooner is attacked by a native and white cutthroat crew.  Simple plot of captain with good boat and loyal crew mostly, of natives, but no money.  Houston has a love affair with native Movita.  Some real Cal/Poly extras as well as two hula dancers doing the real dance.  Filmed in CA as one of the first South Seas filmsshot in color.
CAPTAIN CARELESS (1928) FILM BOOKING OFFICE (Silent)  Stars Bob Steel and Mary Mabery.  Steel loves Mabery but she finds new love.  Mabery and her new beau are on a cruise to the South Seas but they shipwreck on an island of native cannibals.  Steel comes to their rescue just in time.  No doubt Mabery now loves Steel again.
CAST AWAY (2000) DREAMSCAPE  Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg team again for this film which was shot partially in Fiji over a two year period because of Hanks weight lost.  Nominated a lot but GLADIATOR won most this year but CAST AWAY was the highest grossing film of the year.  Some say this is the award that counts. “Coconut milk is a natural laxative.  Things Gilligan never told us.”  Also Elvis music.
CASTAWAY (1987) CANNON/UNITED BRITISH ARTIST  Oliver Reed and Amanda Donohoe in based-on-a-true-story adventure of raggy middle age man advertises for female companion to accompany him for one year on a remote South Sea island.  To his amazement a beautiful, young but independent woman applies but once on the island, his dream year turns very shaky and dramatic.  Set in the tiny Tuin Island near Moa and Bandu Islands but shot elsewhere.  Some natives and nuns from neighboring islands assisted them as needed.  Directed by Nicolas Roeg.
CASTAWAY COWBOY (1974) DISNEY  James Garner shipwrecks on Kaua’i and helps widow Vera Miles in this Paniolo western.  Also co-stars Elizabeth Smith, Manu Tupou and Nephi Hannemann. Also Ralph Hanalei. Some Tiki in cave scene.               
CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OLYMPICS (1937) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Katherine DeMille.  Starts in Hawaii with stolen secret plane.
CHARLIE CHAN AT THE RACE TRACK (1936) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Warner Oland and Keye Luke in another Honolulu to L.A. cruise liner murder mystery.  Starts in Honolulu.  No apparent Hawaii location shooting.
CHARLIE CHAN AT TREASURE ISLAND (1939) 20TH CENTURY-FOX   Chan only flies out of Honolulu here.  On board the flight to San Francisco he encounters a murder. But at Treasure he is invited to the Hawaiian Village at the world’s fair w fake leis and palm trees.  There is a Polynesian troupe with Hula & fire knife dance in b.g..  Al Kikume has a bit part.
CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON (1931) FOX  Warner Oland now stars and headlines credits as Scotland Yard detective on world cruise is killed in Chan's Honolulu office.  The who-done-it plot continues on cruise ship.  Some stock footage of Honolulu.  Remake: CHARLIE CHAN'S MURDER CRUISE (1940).  Portuguese version, ERAN TRECE (THERE WERE THIRTEEN), was made at same time with different cast.
CHARLIE CHAN IN HONOLULU (1938) 20TH CENTURY FOX  Sidney Toler as Chan. Setting are Chan's Honolulu home interior and in a freighter in city's harbor.  No Hawaii shooting except for stock footage of Diamond Head behind the front and rear credits.  Al Kikume as uniformed cop.
CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO (1939) 20TH CENTURY FOX  Sidney Toler as Chan.  Starts in Honolulu police lab then Chan flies to the mainland to help a "Hawaiian girl" in trouble in Reno, Nevada. 
CHARLIE CHAN'S GREATEST CASE (1933) FOX   Remake of HOUSE WITHOUT A KEY (1926)   This time with haole lead Warner Oland.  No location shooting but set is Waikiki.
CHARLIE CHAN'S MURDER CRUISE (1940) 20TH CENTURY-FOX   Remake of CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON (1931) this time with Sidney Toler.
CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET (1936) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Oland as Chan starts in Honolulu in boat offshore with real a Polynesian crew.  Of course captian and skilled divers are Caucasian.  Chan then flies to San Francisco for rest of movie to solve murder case.  All shot on Hollywood stage and lot.  
CHIEF ZABU (1988) INTERNATIONAL FILM MARKING.  Limited release film which by the title suggests African but Manu Tupou plays the chief and the setting is a fictional Polynesian island and NYC.  The chief is deal making with two outside aspiring developers but it all goes bust when we learn the French is testing nuclear bombing next door.  This little known comedy that starred Zack Norman and Allen Garfield reached cult status because of its obscurity.  It’s listed in Fifty Most Obscure References for popular TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988-99) there, the quote; “Zack Norman is Sammy in Chief Zabu” is offen used and more recently (08-08-13) the popular character, Stefon (Bill Hader), from SNL uses this same obscure reference on his official twitter page.  Apparently it’s from a relentless ad in Variety that ran from 1985 to 1988.  One can buy a tee-shirt on the internet repricating this ad.
CHINA CLIPPER (1936) FIRST NATL./WARNER BROS.   Pat O'Brian tries to fly across the Pacific.  One stop was Honolulu.  This fiction also starred Humphrey Bogart.
CHINESE PARROT, THE (1927) UNIVERSAL  Charlie Chan caper set in Honolulu and elsewhere.  Filmed in Hollywood with Japanese lead.  Retitled CHARLIE CHAN’S COURAGE (1934).
CHIPWRECKED (2011) FOX  While set location not mentioned all the promos have the Chipmunks wearing Aloha attire and leis.  All the shipwrecked cliques are used especially a volcano ending. Also Wilson the volleyball from CAST AWAY has ball friends on this island.
CHRISTMAS VACATION 2: COUSIN EDDIE’S ISLAND ADVENTURE (2003) WARNER BROS.  Griswold’s cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) gets fired on Christmas but to avoid a lawsuit Eddie’s boss sends he and his family to a South Seas vacation on fictitious Maluka Island.  There they shipwreck, off a chartered boat, on a Pacific outlaying island but the bumbling Eddie does well to survive or provide for his family.  Family’s last name?  Tuttle ha ha.  Hawaiian girl played by Korean.  Film in southern California with lots of potted tropical plants, computer generated green jungles, Pacific blue sky and ocean with mostly Asian/Americans as natives.  Also starring Ed Asner, Fred Willard and a cameo by Eric Idle.
CLANDESTINA A TAHITI (1958) SILVER FILMS (Italy)  AKA: THE STOWAWAY Filmed and set in Tahiti, about man who settles in paradise but then inherits lot of money from his uncle.  Story is about all those that are now looking for him both for good and evil reasons.  Maea Flohr co-stars.  Bits by Charles Mauu & Teheiura Poheroa.  Stars Euro stars Martine Carol, Karlheinz, Serge Reggiani, Roger Livesey & Arletty.  Said director paid more attention to the island scenery then to the cast.
CLOUD ATLAS (2012) WARNER Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and more play different roles in difference times as one can eventually connect them together.  Earliest time story takes place in the South Pacific, on an island and on a ship.  Since the filming location was on a dry Spanish island the extras as Polynesians were European African immigrants.  Couple of the Polynesian cast were also of African descent. Couple of nice carved tikis are found on the island set.
COBRA WOMAN (1944) UNIVERSAL  Maria Montez and Jon Hall star in this early “B” Horror movie about Maria and her evil twin.  Also stars Lon Chaney Jr. And Sabu.  Volcano is in this South Seas island setting.
COCK-EYED WORLD, THE (1929) FOX  Silent, directed by Raoul Walsh   Two marines are sent to a South Seas island where, there they fight over a native girl.
COME ON MARINES (1934) PARAMOUNT  A marine and fellow leathernecks rescue pretty woman and her finishing school friends from a deserted Pacific island.  This comedy/drama stars Richard Arlen, Monte Blue, Ida Lupino and Ann Sheridan. CONQUERING WOMAN, THE(1922) AM EXHIBITORS (Silent) Directed by King Vidor and stars Florence Vidor and David Butler.  Stoy of a wealthy man who ships his spoiled brat daughter (F. Vidor) to a South Seas island to learn basic lessons of life.  There, Vidor is appalled by the island American rift-raft and misses her  French Count fiancée.  Well the father wasn’t intirely ruthless because he had hired a cowboy (Butler) a bunch of sailors to watch after his daughter without her knowing.  As luck would have it the daughter falls for the cowboy but the French fiancée kidnaps her in a jealous rage. Realizing the situation, the father recues her with his resources and blesses her new relationship with the cowboy.
COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG (1967) UNIVERSAL Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren.  Loren as a Russian émigré, with a spotted past and no visa, stows away in stateroom of an American diplomat, Brando, who is leaving Hong Kong.  As they stop in Honolulu, Brando’s wife meets them, Loren, posing as a Hawaiian with leis and a sarong, jumps ship as though diving for coins.  Brando who is trying to get a divorce but for appearance sake holds off decides to leave wife Tippi Hedren on board.  “What about your career?  I’d rather be happy than be President.”  A lost and lonely Sophia, wet, on a Hawaiian shoreline, almost can't blame him.  Directed, produced and bit part by Charlie Chaplin. Filmed at London’s Pinewood Studios with stock footage of Honolulu Harbor and painted backdrops.  All Hawaiians are Asians.  Bit by Geraldine Chaplin.
COUPLES RETEAT (2009) UNIVERSAL  Comedy starring Vince Vaughn who as four couples (including Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau and Kristen Bell) in a Tahiti.  Temuera Morrison has a part as the Guru’s assistant.  Couples go on group rate to a couples therapy retreat in Tahiti with one couple in marriage trouble.  They soon find out they all have to participate in the therapy.  Fun comedy but Tahiti in only the back drop with only Maori Morrison as a native and an assistant to therapist but his dress was east Indian at times?  There is a giant tiki luau party at the other end of the island.  Beautiful cinematography
CROOKED EARTH (2001) PANDORA FILMS (New Zealand)  Produced by and stared famous Maori actor Temuera Morrison this independent production has mostly native cast engaged in conflicts with the pakea and themselves.  Tem plays a clean-cut, recently retired, military officer who after serving his country well, comes home to a younger brother who is a violent militant fighting for Maori rights.  Great, true and believable conflict for natives.
CROSSWINDS (1951) PARAMOUNT  Stars Rhonda Fleming, Forrest Tucker and John Payne.  Set in New Guinea.  Captain loses his schooner to a couple of gold thieves, he fights to get the boat back along with the beautiful widow left aboard.  Also a native uprising. Filmed in Florida probably w African/Americans as Melanesians.
CULT OF THE DEAD (1971) COLUMBIA  Boris Karloff  on a South Pacific island with voodoo, zombies, an evil dwarf with LSD cravings, a reptile woman and of course a mad scientist.  aka: ISLE OF THE SNAKE PEOPLE, THE
CURSE OF THE KOMODO (2004) ROYAL OAKS ENT./FOX  “B” Movie filmed on Kauai and set on a remote tropical island “near Hawaii”.  Giant Komodo lizards by experiments gone wild.

DAMIEN (1950) ???   Hawaii produced story of the "Leper Priest".  Location shooting on O'ahu and Kalaupapa.  Purportedly new producers added new scenes in 1952 and then released on mainland U.S.. Need more information?
DAMIEN (1977) P.H.A.  Starred Humberto Almazan.  Fictionalized account of the famous Leper Priest.  Filmed in and around Koko Crater as Moloka'i.   Was made at this time but not released.  This one was directed by Don Murray also an actor who directs Christian films.
DANGER IN THE PACIFIC (1942) UNIVERSAL  WWII spy movie set in the Pacific with Andy Devine.  Trio of heroes escape from native headhunters and spoil a plan of Nazis to invade the South Seas by finding a secret cache of weapons in the islands hills.
DANGEROUS INNOCENCE (1925) UNIVERSAL  Cruise ship mystery filmed aboard the S.S. Calawaii in route from L.A. to Honolulu.
DANGEROUS MONEY (1946) MONOGRAM  Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan on board a San Francisco cruise liner bound for Sydney.  Chan boards from Hawaii on its way to the liner’s next stop, Samoa where he helps stop a counterfeiting ring in the South Seas.  Big hang out in Samoa is the Mango Inn where we find South Seas decor, real Samoan band, dancers, bartender & waiters but no Tikis.
DANGEROUS PARADISE (1930) PARAMOUNT (Silent)  Set in the South Seas with Richard Arlen and Warner Oland.  All the danger here is cause by unscrupulous foreign Euro-American characters.  Typical women escaping from her questionable past, finds herself on an island full of evil men.  Arlen, a recluse with some morales saves her.  Hula dancers Hawaiian music.
DARK HORSE (2014) BROAD GREEN PICTS. (NZ) Cliff Curtis stars as Genesis Potini, who by appearance is an unlikely Maori speed-chess champion.  This lower class native suffers from bipolar disorder which could explain his appearance but not his genius.  Idle and discontent with his life, Potini decides to mentor disadvantaged children by teaching them chess.  Based on a true story.
DEAD CALM (1988) WARNER BROS.  Sam Neill stars in murder-thriller on the high seas, somewhere between Tahiti and Fiji, but actually filmed off Australia.  More haoles escape to, not paradise but hell.  No natives portrayed. First big role for Nicole Kidman.
DEATH WARMED UP (1984) TUCKER PRODS./NZ FILM COMM.  An ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU rip-off of a brain doctor who turns humans into mutants on a Pacific Island.
DEATHWISH (1974) PARAMOUNT  Big Charles Bronson film which opens in Hawaii as he and his wife are on a happy vacation.  The rest of film is set on the mainland.
DECEMBER 7TH: THE MOVIE (1922) US WAR DEPT.  Eighty-two minutes restoration of John Ford’s award winning W.W.II movie.  Ford won his fourth Oscar for his thirty-four minute censored docudrama.  The fuller version includes Japanese roles and how the US screwed up twenty-four hours before the infamous Pearl Harbor attack.  Ford deserved the award even more. Lots pictures of pre and post Pearl attack, including the Academy of Arts, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and many other locations and people.
DECKS RAN RED, THE (1958) MGM  High drama in the high seas.  Stars James Mason, Dorothy Dandridge and Broderick Crawford.  Famous African/American beauty plays a flirtatious Polynesian wife of the ship’s cook.  This added to the mix of a new captain and a ruthless crew that want to kill the captain to sell the freighter which is based out of New Zealand.  Poor reviews but big audiences who wanted to see Dandridge perhaps in a sarong.
DEEP RISING (1998) WALT DISNEY PRODS.  Group of professional pirates are about to raid a luxury cruiseliner in the South Seas only to find the ship empty except for SEA MONSTERS!!!  Treat Williams stars along with Maori Cliff Curtis in cast.  No “B” movie, big budget effects.  South China sea is mentioned but they head east.  Besides Cliff as a Polynesian pirate there are two Tahitian and one Samoan dance troupe in the main promenade of the ship.
DEEP SIX, THE (1958) Warner Bros.  Allan Ladd, William Bendix, Keenan Wynn, James Witmore and Efrem Zimbalist Jr.  In WWII Pacific plot with Ladd raised as a pacifist Quaker and now a soldier.
DELIGHTFUL ROGUE, THE (1929) RKO-RADIO  Man's tries to win heart of a dancer in a South Seas cafe.
DEMON OF PARADISE (1987) WARNER  Can you believe a remake of one of the worst films of this filmography, Roger Corman’s UP FROM THE DEPTHS.  Fake-looking man in a sea monster suit attacks people in Hawaii.  Not made in Hawaii. Possibly in the Philippines.  Set on a small Big Island resort full of tikis which can be found in the fictions town of Kihono.
DESCENDANTS, THE (2011) FOX SEARCHLIGHT  Directed by noted Director Alexander Payne and starred George Clooney.  This award winning and nominated drama was written by part Hawaiian Kaui Hart Hemmings.  Very realistic but limited side of Hawaii that is not really popular by most of the State’s populace because it deals with the rich.  The story has George a super busy attorney who wife’s suddenly goes into a coma though a boating accident.  Now while his life is in scrambles dealing with his kids as a first time single parent also he find out that his wife has been having an affair.  Only tiny fault in this film is Cooney wears covered sandals not a thong like flip-flops.
DEVIL AT 4 O'CLOCK, THE (1961) COLUMBIA  Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra, Tracy as alcoholic Priest and Sinatra as convict both helping leper children escape from catastrophic volcano eruption of a small Tahitian isle.  Compare escaping volcano scene in WHEN TIME RAN OUT (1980).  Filmed in and around Lahaina, Mau'i. Native first kiss scene with Sinatra and blind wahine played by mixed Latina Barbara Luna.
DEVIL MONSTER (1946) WEISS & LANDRES   A Schooner disappears in the South Seas.  Years later a Mother of one of its sailors hears rumors that he might be alive.  She hires another boat to find him.  They do find him on a South Seas island and he doesn’t want to leave.  He also has a native lover, the chief’s daughter. They then kidnap him, but as they return him home, he leads the boat to tuna grounds where they strike it rich but the devil monster, a legendary giant manta ray strikes him.  The captain has to amputate an arm.  Although bummed he still returns home to his greatful fiancé and mom.   Also native rituals feast, with faux sensual dance and wahine lagoon swim, topless wahine paddling canoe, native nude swim.  Most natives are Mexican American.  Possibly reedited from THE SEA FRIEND (1938).
DEVIL'S APPLE TREE, THE (1929) Tiffany Dorothy Sebastian in another South Seas story.  This time she boards a liner to meet a man (George Cooper) from a marriage agency.  On board she has cold feet, changes her indentiy and avoids Cooper.  She goes after rich plantation owner instead but a native upraising results in Sebastain being kidnaped and the planters death.  Cooper rescues her and they fall in love.
DEVIL'S MOUNTAIN (1976) MILAS HINSHAW   Docudrama about filmmakers bad luck after taking human bones from an ancient Tahitian marae (temple).  Film was completely narrated with lots of live action. Canoe greeting scene in a reenactment and a dancing scene.  Good morale to story because he returns bones and then he climbs dangerous cliffs of Bora Bora where he finds small religious caves and a large burial cave all with artifacts which they photograph only and replace.  Also lots of sharks.    
DEVIL’S PIPELINE (1940) UNIVERSAL  Richard Arlen, Andy Devine, Jean Brooks and Mala as Talamu in this South Seas drama of evil oil man who enslaves anyone who comes to his island for free labor, including both natives and non-natives..
DEVIL'S PIT, THE (1929) UNIVERSAL  Son of a Maori chief kills rival for hand of another chief's daughter, leading to war.  Filmed in New Zealand.  
DIAMOND HEAD (1962) COLUMBIA  Charlton Heston stars as hypocritical prejudice kamaiana family head.  Filmed all over Hawaii.  Also starring Yvette Mimieux, Francis Nuyen and James Darren.  Luau scene where Darren a hapa haole gets killed. Reverse sex roles.
DIE BLUME VON HAWAII (FLOWER OF HAWAII, THE) (1933) RO-FILMS GmbH (German)  Film version of the 1931 operetta by Paul Abraham.  Stars Martha Eggerth.  A Hawaiian queen disguised as waitress in a Paris cafe (did she uses Michael Jackson's white skin treatments?) is kidnapped and taken back to Hawaii to marry the king.  She had already fallen deeply in with an American officer so the king then nobly stands aside.  Any location shooting? Remade in 1953 with filming in France with Maria Litto as princess Lia and William Stelling as Lilo-Taro.  Also Kilima Hawaiians credited as singer and the band in this anti-American colonial film.. This musical was also remade for TV in 1971.
DINOCROC VS SUPERGATOR (2009) BAY CITY PRODS  For the Sci Fi cable channel. Roger Corman  “B” movie sequel to SUPERGATOR which was set and filmed straight to video and cable on Kauai.  Earlier Corman did DINOCROC in Australia so it makes sense to do this monster battle since he still owns the mechanicals.  So good to be green a recycle Roger, like your scripts and plot.  See UP FROM THE DEPHTS (1979).  Aka: VOLCANIC (2009) also last film for David Carradine.
DINOSAUR ISLAND (1993) New Horizons Some U.S. soldiers crash land on an uncharted South Pacific island of scantly clad white cave women and dinosaurs.  No South Seas islanders.  Compare Untamed Women.
DIOSA DE TAHITI, LA (1953) ESPANA SONO FILMS (Mexico) Translates to the Goddess of Tahiti staring Rosa Carmini & Arturo Martinez.  Need more information?
DIPLOMATIC MISSION, A (1918) Vitaphone  Earle Williams and Grace Darmond.  American Williams get kicked out of one island by striking a German prince and saving some British from the Germans.  The British send him to another island to quell native unrest.  The native overwhelm him and the British but our lonely American escapes finds a wireless to summon a US warship to rescue everyone.  During the end of WWI this propaganda film shows British/American alliance and shows that Germans and island natives are enemies.
DIVE BOMBER (1941) WARNER BROS.  Errol Flynn, Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy and Alexis Smith star in formula war story about pilots experimenting to eliminate blackouts.  Set in "the Hawaiian Waters".  The detailed footage of Pearl Harbor, shot earlier by Errol Flynn might have been used by Japan for the Pearl Harbor attack preparations.  One scene in a Polynesian restaurant.
DO OR DIE (1992) A. SEDARIS  Another low budget movie with same Moloka'i federal agent characters as SAVAGE BEACH, HARD TICKET TO HAWAII, GUNS and PICASSO TRIGGER  but this time co-starring Erik Estrada and Pat Morita.  Also locations in Nevada and Louisiana.  Film opens with Polynesian revue.
DONOVAN'S REEF (1963) PARAMOUNT  John Wayne, Dorothy Lamour & Lee Marvin.  Classic film about white folks living on Pacific isle.  Directed by John Ford and filmed on Kaua'i with lots of Hawaiiana while the set was on the fictitious island of Haleakaloha. Only film with both the King and Queen of the genre in same movie but unfortunately they are not a couple. Also Bell and Christmas Pageant scenes. Also stars Cesar Romero.
DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP (1959) PARAMOUNT/HAL WALLIS PROD.  Jerry Lewis stars in comedy about him losing a ship at the end of WWII.  After his ship served in the Pacific it returned to Pearl Harbor where Lewis as an Ensign was to return the ship to San Diego but he got lost and ended up on a tropical Pacific isle instead.  There the Japanese found him after getting lost from his landing party and they captured him not knowing the war was over.  His ship left him thinking he was dead.  Note giant octopus scene and spoof of Humphrey Bogart in another South Sea Cinema film THE CAINE MUTINY (1954) as Lewis fumbles with ball bearings in his hand during his Naval trial.      
DON'T GO NEAR THE WATER (1957) MGM  Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Keenan Wynn and Eva Gabor star in WWII South Pacific Island movie of a Naval P.R. unit stationed on this island called Toura with Naval nurses and pretty natives. The "simple minded" natives, who live in the village of Tanoloa, have early Spaniard blood and use the Spanish language.  Note brown body makeup on Gia Scala. Some native islanders are pretty and educated while other are the opposite.  Glenn has a thing for one of the pretty and educated natives.
DOVE, THE (1974) PARAMOUNT  True story of 16 yr. old circles the globe on a sailboat, meets the love of his life and lots of interesting locals including a young Fijian played by Setoki Ceinaturoga. Joseph Bottoms
DOWN AMONG THE SHELTERING PALMS (1953) 20TH CENTURY FOX  Jane Greer, Mitzi Gaynor, Gloria DeHaven, Gene Lockhart, Jack Paar, and William Lundigan in musical with love problems of two army officers in post WWII Pacific.  Gaynor plays "lovely native" in brownface. Plot is about officer compelled by duty to enforce rule of “nonfraternization between service men and the native women”.  Problem is Lundigan has three gorgeous women after him, Greer the daughter of a missionary, DeHaven a war correspondent and Gaynor a brown-painted native princess.  Good fun comedy with tempting female dances and costumes.  As the harsh rule is finally dropped one can imagine the huge release of sexual tension between the soldiers and island maidens. Of couse no one notes the dismay of the island men.  Based on a story by Edward Hope.  Some L.A. Hawaiians Al Kikume and Luukia Luana with parts also Lee Marvin, George Nader, Bob Crosby all uncredited.  Lundigan is also appointed Governor, what about the big chief?  Sensual dance mating ceremony for Lundigan who don’t realize it. Set in the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati). Song: "I'm a Ruler of a South Seas Island."
DOWN TO THEIR LAST YACHT (1934) RKO RADIO PICTS.  Group of rich people shipwrecked with Mary Boland playing the queen of Malakamokalu a South Sea island.  The queen forces the survivors to wear sarongs, grass skirts and malos while she wears their rich clothes.  The queen also want to marry one of the rich passengers who is in love with another passenger. A musical/comedy with one song; "There's Nothing Else to Do But Ma-La-Ka-Ma-Ku But Love" sung by natives.  Also song: “South Sea Bolero”.  Obvious by the plot this was a legendary financial disaster by RKO and it almost bankrupted the studio..  AKA: Hawaiian Nights (1934) RKO not (1939) Universal of the same name.
DRIFTWOOD (1928) COLUMBIA PICTURES   Stars Jim Curtis and Don Alvarado in silent about wanderer, beachcomber, driftwood  who is helped by beautiful girl, Marceline Day, women with a questionable past.  Setting in South Seas natives women in b.g. are in sarongs with pearl necklaces & flowers in hair.
DRUMS OF TABU (1967) SPLENDOR/FISA (Ital./Spain/US)  Set in South Seas near Fiji.  A native girl is forced to marry cruel night club owner, she refuses and is tabu because marriage was arranged by High Priest.  A drunken beachcomber finds her, disregards tabu, and they live
happy ever after. Aka LA VERGINE DI SAMOA (Italy), FUGITIVOS DE LAS ISLAS DEL SUR (Spain)
DRUMS OF TAHITI (1953) COLUMBIA  Dennis O'Keef helps revolt against the French annexation of Tahiti.  Volcano and hurricane at the end of this one.  Also originally shot in 3-D.

EARTH'S FINAL FURY (see WHEN TIME RAN OUT)
EBB TIDE (1922) PARAMOUNT/FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY (silent)  A Robert Louis Stevenson story with Noah Beery Sr.  In a flight of jealous rage a shipwrecked man kills wife and friend on a South Seas island.  He then forces natives to get pearls.  Later three sailors get stranded on same island, two of them are evil.  At end the mad man and two evil sailors die.  The third sailor marries mad man’s beautiful daughter and don’t dominate the natives. Remake (1937) PARAMOUNT/ ZUKOR  Barry Fitzgerald, Ray Milland, Frances Farmer, and Lloyd Nolan.  Fate of ship members hinge on uncharted South Sea island's mad religious ruler, who the few natives view him as a god.  Hero Milland had opportunity to kill Nolan but doesn’t. The natives choose to leave the island and leave Nolan by himself.   Edith Head sarongs. Filmed in Sol Cal.  Ebb Tide theme song is mixed with Hawaiian lyrics but no credit.  Poly speaking parts no credit.  Also ADVENTURE ISLAND (1947) a PARAMOUNT remake. And (1915) silent short 3 reeler where a British drifter and a beachcomber both fall for the newly arrived daughter of a ship’s captain & (1932) British.
EDDY DUCHIN STORY, THE (1956) COLUMBIA PICTS.   After fighting in the Pacific in WWII a band leader comes home to his motherless son in NYC.  Eddy doesn’t really know how to be a single parent as he leads his band so a big generation gap forms.  He finally hires a good nanny and as his relationship improves with his son he finds out he has a terminal illness.  Sad saga.
ENCHANTED ISLAND (1958) WAVERLY PRODS./WARNER BROS.  Sailor jumps ship & falls in love with native of, we later find, a tribe of cannibals. Stars Dana Andrews and Jane Powell as hapa granddaughter of Chief in brown-face.  Story based on Herman Melville's book of Marquesas Islands entitled "Typee". Realistic Polynesian background players but key native roles are obviously played by white actors, noticeably the Kahuna and Powell also the chief, played by Friedrich von Ledebur, tall, very fair aristocrat from Austria, has played in two other Polynesian roles.  All three in two years.  Von Leadebur also played an island native chief in VOODOO ISLAND, and the famous Maori mate, Queegueg, of Captain Ahab in MOBY DICK.
ENCHANTED ISLAND, THE (1927) TIFFANY Father and daughter marooned for years on a South Seas island.  The castaways form a ship lost in a storm, a bad guy, a good hansome rich guy and the African-American ship’s cook.  Father hate them all, hide daughter as a boy.  Bad guy figures it out and kills father for the girl, rich and nicr guy doesn’t figure it out but befriended the boy until she told him.  Bad guy ready to kill more.  The cook steps in and a fight ensues and ends as the both tumble over cliff and fall into flow lava of active volcano.  Early African-American hero found within any cinematic genre.
ENSIGN PULVER (1964) WARNER BROS. Sequel to MISTER ROBERTS but with Robert Walker Jr., Burl Ives, Walter Matthau and Tommy Sands.  Some islands mentioned: Elision, Apathy and Ramos where the Ensign and the Captain land after going overboard in a storm.  Ramos is filled with sexy native women who greet this half-dead men upon their arrival with leis but not rendering aid.  Kava is experienced.  Bits by Jack Nicholson, Larry Hagman, James Farentino and others. Directed by Joshua Logan.
ETERNAL SEA, THE (1955) REPUBLIC  Sterling Hayden, Dean Jagger and Alexis Smith. in bio. of Admiral John M. Hoskins.  Set in the Pacific, scenes in Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Base.
EXTRAORDINARY SEAMAN, THE (1969) MGM  Barely released stinker of a movie with extraordinary cast, David Niven, Faye Dunaway, Alan Alda, Mickey Rooney, Jack Carter and of all people Manu Tupou as an American Indian Seaman 1st Class.  Directed by John Frankenheimer.  Four stranded WWII naval seamen in the Philippines run in to a ghost from WWI, Niven who with his old boat takes them to Australia, Faye Dunaway also appears before they head out.  They run into the Japanese on the way.  What seems to be a cute storyline was actually anti War movie while Vietnam was building up.  Lots of older news reels and film clips were inter cut in the story to help with the point.  One was a Dorothy Lamour film.  PR folks had a field day with the Dunaway castaway name.

FALLEN IDOL, A (1919) FOX A Hawaiian princess and composer visits California and gets courted by wealthy host's nephew and prejudices are exposed.  Island scenes filmed in Miami.  Evelyn Nesbit plays the princess Lanoe.  A scene where the Princess is forced to have sex.  Also under water swim shots of a young Hawaiian girl, Lota,  played by Cauasian Thelma Parker.  Character namedTushau???
FATHER GOOSE (1964) UNIVERSAL  Cary Grant, Leslie Caron, Trevor Howard in WWII comedy/adventure.  Beachcomber Grant gets traPped as sea watcher on a remote island off New Guinea, he ends up sheltering seven young girls and their teacher.  Filmed in Hollywood.
FEET FIRST (1930) HAROLD LLOYD CORP./ PARAMOUNT  Lloyd as Honolulu shoe clerk delivers shoe aboard S.S. Malolo at pier 11 and the fun starts.  Early talkie.  Location shooting at Honolulu Harbor.          
FERRYMAN, THE (2006) SOUTH PACIFIC PICTS. (NZ)  Group of New Zealanders, including Maori go to Fiji only to encounter great horror.  Need more information?            
FIFTY CANDLES (1921) WILLAT PRODUCTIONS  Sentenced to be deported to China from Hawaii this Chinese man, played by Bertram Grassby, pledges twenty years of service to family, of which frustrates him.  He later slays master after they move to San Francisco.
50 FIRST DATES (2004) COLUMBIA  Stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore and Rob Schneider.  Adam falls in love with Drew but because of an auto accident earlier Drew has short term memory. Because of Adam’s love, he has Drew fall in love with him from scratch every day.  Filmed & set on O’ahu.  Hapa Philipino Rob plays a Hawaiian with decent pidgin English.
FIGHTING COAST GUARD (1951) REPUBLIC  Stars Brian Donlevy and Forrest Tucker.  Typical WWII war action drama with internal problems between Donlevy and Tucker, but as is well at the end when everyone fights valiantly.
FIGHTING SEABEES, THE (1944) REPUBLIC  John Wayne, Susan Hayward, WWII Wayne wins girl and battles the Japanese with shovels.
FINAL COUNTDOWN (1980) UNITED ARTISTS  Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen sails in modern aircraft carrier and goes back in time, right before the Pearl Harbor attack.  Good movie with little notice.
FINAL EXAMINATION (2003) ARTISAN ENT.  Soft-core straight to video about sorority girls come to Hawaii and get murdered one by one.  Kalau Iwaoka credited.
FIRE BRIDE, THE (1922) WID GUNNING (Silent) Set and shot in Tahiti.  Need more info.? Local cast Paki & Taura listed.
FIRST TO FIGHT (1967) WARNER BROS.  Stars a young Chad Everett and veteran movie actors,  Dean Jaggar, Claude Akins and Gene Hackman in this WWII Pacific flick.  Everett earns medal of honor at Guadalcanal, goes home to receive it, sells bonds, gets married and has to go back but his fighting is different and there is doubt that he earned the metal.  In fighting in Saipan he proves otherwise and his true self returns. William Conrad was the Executive Producer.
FISTS OF STEEL (1989) SANFORD ENTERTAINMENT (limited release)  Carlos Palomino plays one of first Spanish-American leads as ex-boxer, ex-CIA on revenge in Hawaii tracking down killer international syndicate.
FIT TO KILL (1994) A. SEDARIS  Another low budget movie with same Moloka'i federal agent characters as SAVAGE BEACH, HARD TICKET TO HAWAII and PICASSO TRIGGER but this time Hawaii is only stock footage.  Filmed in California, Nevada and Arizona.
FLAMING SIGNAL (1933) INVINCIBLE  Noah Beery Sr. in story of daredevil pilot who is forced to land on small South Seas island in the middle of a native uprising.  An evil German trader tries the reputation of a pretty native girl named Manu.  The pilot saves a missionary daughter but all other whites are massacred.  Also stars dog, Flash.
FLAT TOP  (1952) REPUBLIC  Sterling Hayden in WWII film about aircraft carrier pilot training in the Pacific.  Need more information?
FLIGHT FOR FREEDOM (1943) RKO  Loosely based on the Amelia Earhart story with Rosalind
Russell but at the end Rosalind is on a spy mission for the war efforts and disappears.  Also
stars Fred MacMurray.
FLIGHT OF THE ALBATROSS (1996) TOP SHELF PRODS..NZ FILM COMM.  Stars Taugaroa Emile along with Julia Brendler as two young lovers involved in a story of Maori curse, sacred mountain w burial ground, spirit hamakua Aunt and a special golden comb that must be returned to the island.  Written by Riwia Brown.
FLIGHT TO HONG KONG (1956) UNITED ARTISTS  Rory Calhoun as thief running from gang all over the East to San Francisco with stop in Hawaii.  B.g. shots only.
FLIGHT TO NOWHERE (1946) SCREEN GUILD PICTS.  Alan Curtis and Evelyn Ankers.  Movie opens in Honolulu where a Korean courier is set to hand over an important map of South Seas uranium deposits to a former U.S. G-man.  The courier is murdered and the drama begins.  The plot is also set in Death Valley and Las Vegas. 
FLIRTATION WALK (1934) FIRST NATL./ WARNER BROS.  Green soldier at Schofield Barracks chauffeurs general's daughter, has romantic time at luau and gets in trouble than story and character move to West Point short years later.  Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler and Pat O'Brien star.  Chorus line of 100 island dancers.  Oscar nominations for best picture and sound.
FLY AWAY BABY (1937) WARNER  Luau scene possibly in Hawaii with Hula dancer?  There is an around the world airplane race.  Need more info?
FLYING FLEET, THE (1929) MGM  Young naval pilots attempt flight to Honolulu and fail with Ramon Novarro and Anita Page.
FLYING FOX IN A FREEDOM TREE (1989) GRAHAME McLEAN/NZ FILM COMM. (New Zealand)   Drama of a young Samoan man's rite of passage.  Written by Samoan Albert Wendt and an Afatia Aloese listed as one of the stars.  Learns and hates western ways and their colonial system, hate his Samoan father who exploits Samoan land like a westerner.  Also knows he is descended from Samoan high chiefs and Samoan gods.  Stars Faifua Amiga Jr., Fuialo Molimau, Aloema Anae, and Peseta Sinave Isara.
FLYING LEATHERNECKS (1951) RKO RADIO  John Wayne and Robert Ryan in WWII Pacific story of famous flying squadron fighting in Guadalcanal Island in the Solomons.  Movie starts from the squadron's base Ewa Marine Airbase on O'ahu with stock footage of base. Diamond Head shot opens the movie. Compare HIGH & THE MIGHTY opening. Quote: "No one of those beautiful gals on those lovely tropic isles couldn't tempt me."
FOLLOW THE BOYS (1944) UNIVERSAL  One of many troop tributes put on by the studios with everyone on the lot (or on contract) usually involved.  This is Universal’s version with a South Seas set.  Storyline is older show biz couple whose careers start to take off then came Pearl Harbor.  Instead of sitting the couple take the entertainment to the troops on the islands via the USO.  AKA: THREE CHEERS FOR THE BOYS
FORBIDDEN ISLAND (1958) COLUMBIA Jon Hall dives for treasure but his boss is a murderer and blames Hall on the dimise of his recent victim..  Filmed on O'ahu and set in the South Seas and on forbidden isle.  Martin Denny and Peter Kaluna credited. One scene shot in Trader Vic’s in Waikiki with Denny on piano.
FORBIDEN WOMEN (1948) LLOYD FRIEDGEN (Philippines)  Camp film set on “an unknown Island in the South Pacific”.  Art direction all wrong.  Confusion between the South Seas and the mid-east.  A young prince is hiddenen by a sympathetic but bad guy on a far away outher island where the dress is more South Seas w sarongs and flowers in hair.  There is an evil Sultan who slowly posions the good Saltan who is his cousin and is the real leader of the island.  The prince finds the truth and returns to save the father and the kingdom.  Made in the Philippines.  Forbiden women is a strange place of taboo beautiful women that at times shelters the Prince.  Not really important in plot but it is a sexploitation set for the audience with a topless shot used throughout the film’s promotion even with the main character a young teen.
FORCED LANDING (1941) PARAMOUNT  Richard Arlen stars as an ace pilot for hire goes to work for a South Pacific island air corps.  He finds the island leader is a pilot and a bad guy who also leads the air corp.  Arlen falls in love with the leader’s girlfriend.  There is a dog fight at the end which Arlen wins.  He wins the girl also.  A part for Eva Gabor.
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (2008) UNIVERSAL/APATOW  Young man Jason Segel wants to forget ex Kristen Bell so he goes to an exclusive Hawaiian resort where he runs into his ex and new famous  boyfriend Russell Brand.  By hard luck they are staying at same hotel, adjoining rooms, restaurant reservations are at same time with next door table, etc.. all a stage for a good comedy. Filmed at Turtle Bay, Oahu. Some tikis, luau with Polynesian entertainment.  Hilarious prep luau pig scene.   With Samoan and new HAWAII 5-0 co-star Taylor Wily and Jonah Hill & Kala Alexander.  Bits by Branscombe Richmond & Kalani Robb.
FRESH MEAT (2012) GIBSON GROUP  Stars Temuera Morrison.  Black comedy horror of gang of criminals take hostage of a Maori family only to find the family practices cannibalism.  Oh oh, the blood start flowing.
FROGMEN, THE (1951) 20TH CENTURY FOX  Set in WWII Pacific of underwater demolition divers. Stars Dana Andrews, Jeffery Hunter, Robert Wagner, Jack Warden and Richard Widmark.
FROM HELL IT CAME (1957) ALLIED ARTIST PICTS.  50’s “B” Horror movie of giant tress growing on grave of South Seas chief’s son.  Walking tree terrorizes villagers.
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) COLUMBIA  Classic drama starring Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed in O'ahu army life story before the Pearl Harbor attack.  Exteriors filmed on O'ahu.  Oscars for Reed and Sinatra and six others for a movie that no studio wanted to touch.  Too racy.  Most famous love scene on beach was mostly a big argument and spoofed in AIRPLANE, 10, and PRIVATE NAVY OF SERGEANT O'FARRELL, THE among others.

G.I. JANE (1951) LIPPERT PICTS.  Lobby card shows soldiers on beach watching the silhouettes of two hula maidens dance behind white sheets.  WACs in the Pacific
GAPPA: THE TRIPHIBIAN MONSTER (1967) NIKKATSU/MANSON CORP Another South Seas 60's Japanese "B" Monster movie. Theory is after Hiroshima and nuclear testing on Pacific Islands by France and US, most of these monsters were born from these test, they seem to later destroy Japanese cities like the bomb itself. Anyway no difference in this movie. South Pacific island natives worship their god Gappa. Compare MOTHRA. Japanese scientist on the island find strange giant lizard like hatchling in a cave that was opened up by resent earthquake. Compare GODZILLA. Against native warnings they take the hatchling home to Japan. Soon after Ma & Pa Gappa destroy city to find their baby.
GARGANTUA (1998) FOX TV Made for cable movie, released widely on video.  Scientist and son arrive on a Polynesia island of Malau to study the effects of marine life due to resent large earthquakes. The effects are big, monsters from the deep. Cheap looking, in a time of good inexpensive computer visual effects monster movies.  Made in Australian. Set is a Polynesian Island called Malau.
GALLANT HOURS, THE (1960) UNITED ARTIST/CAGNEY-MONTGOMERY   WWII Biography of Admiral "Bull" Halsey detailing his account of the battle for Guadalcanal.  Some narration, not much battle scenes and no natives.  James Cagney making the perfect Halsey and Co-starred Dennis Weaver and Richard Jaeckel.
GHIDRAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1965) TOHO (Japan)  The second Mothra but this one as a caterpillar.  One scene in his Polynesian island where the natives are dancing and worshipping the under developed moth in the typical, tacky, Japanese way.
GIDGET GOES HAWAIIAN (1961) COLUMBIA   Beach party type movie with James Darren, Deborah Walley, Michael Callan and Carl Reiner.  Set and filmed at Royal Hawaiian Hotel.  Mixed Polynesian dance number.  Darren sings snappy title number:  "Gidget Goes Hawaiian". Surf scenes one with Gidget tandem surfs w Diamond Head in b.g. 
GIRL IN EVERY PORT, A (1928) FOX FILM CORP.  Stars Victor McLaglen & Robrt Armstrong with Lousie Brooks and a bevy of beautiful actress because as the title indicates, the two leads are sailors traveling the world and their past time is picking up girls in, must I say it, in every port.  One actress, Natalie Kingston played the “South Seas Island girl.  Directed by a young Howard Hawks who, according to Hollywood insiders had a good eye for good looking female talent.
GIRL OF THE PORT (1930) RKO-RADIO  Burlesque girls stranded in Suva, English Lord turned beachcomber.  As barkeep (Sally O’Neil) is sexually harassed by a local half-caste.  Beachcomber (Reginald Sharland) saves her and she save him from the bottle.  The cause of his drinking is a fear of fire so there is a fire-walking scene by the natives and Sharland passes the test.  With Duke Kahanamoku.  Women of questionable past. 
GIRLS OF PLEASURE ISLAND (1953) PARAMOUNT  Gene Barry, peaceful lives of Englishman and three daughters on South Seas island are disrupted by a group of Marines arriving to build a airstrip.  Despite title it is a very proper movie, , except when the Marines witnessed native women dancing, they shouted to take their tops off, in the novel anyway, not sure of this film version.
GOBS AND GALS (1952) REPUBLIC  Two sailors on a remote South Seas island weather station where through boredom and loneliness they trick gals from all over the states to send them gobs of goodies by using a photo of their handsome commander.  As they get loaded with cookies and candy Russian spies appear.
GOD'S GOLD (1921) Independent Films  Stars Neal Hart and Audrey Chapman.  Chapman play a rich daughter of a shipping company owner.  She convinces her dad for her to go on a rescue mission because a lost ship at sea.  He says yeas but she says no to the captain that don’t dress well.  She assigns her fiancé to captain instead.  Toward the end of the voyage the crew mutinies, Chapman and her lover are saved by Neal who was hiding below because talk of treasure.  The three land on an South Seas island of unfriendly natives.  Neal becomes the hero again while the fiancé shows his true side, especially when he is caught spying on Chapman swimming nude.  Neal ends up with Chapman of course.    
GODLESS MEN (1920) GOLDWYN PICTS.  Misanthrope captain of a schooner in the South Pacific confronts that his bad son is bad because of his behavior.  While docked on an isle son meets and falls for beautiful missionary girl.  Things fall apart or fall together when we know captain is embittered because wife ran off with a lover but he didn’t know she was pregnant at the time with this pretty missionary girl that had been adopted by a missionary couple.  A young James Mason plays the son.
GODZILLA (1998) TRI-STAR PICTS.  Big American budget of this Japanese “B” movie classic.  Starring Matthew Brodwrick.  This time the big lizard destroys New York city.  The movie establishes that he was created by nuclear explosions from French Polynesia.  Years later Godzilla comes out with a feeding frenzy, French secret service and secret US military and science group take notice of this unusual attack pattern that starts near Tahiti, Panama, Jamaica (all filmed in Hawaii) and the east coast.  Looks like something going to take a big bite out of the Big Apple.
GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORAH (1991) TOHO (Japan) This newer version of Godzilla gives the history of Godzilla as a surviving dinosaur on a small island Ragos near Kwajalein during WWII.  This dinosaur saves the doomed Japanese soldiers there from the Americans.  Its wounded badly but the Japanese can’t save him.  American nuclear test in nearby Bikini Is. in 1954 strengthened the dino and mutated him into Godzilla.  A complicated plot in this film involving time travel confirms this history, mutates three cute pets into three-head Ghidorah, a new bigger meaner Godzilla and a newer bionic King Ghidorah.  Interestingly, the US version blames French nuclear tests, the Japanese blame US tests.
GODZILLA VS MAGALON (1973) TOHO (Japan) This time Godzilla teams up with Jet Jaugar to battle Megalon and Gigan who are from the undersea world of Seatopia who main symbol is the moai, suposenly they built the moai anf hve people on easter Island.  In the film they are angered by the surface world’s use of nuclear weapons and they should be. There is a silver moai and a glimpses of Rapa Nui.  Of couse a big Kanji battle persues.
GODZILLA VS MOTHRA (1964) TOHO PRODS. (Japan)  Classic Japanese cult movie, stars a giant, city destroying, moth.  Ooohhhh I'm scared!  Interestingly, this monster mother of a moth comes from a "enchanted South Seas Isle", named Alilena, inhabited by natives who speak in "a Polynesian dialect".  Natives are Japanese extras with badly dark painted skin and two very Japanese looking, one foot tall, singing twins who get captured and Mothra seeks to find them.  Mothra is worshipped much like King Kong but he is a friend to the natives.  Two stagey musical dance numbers (Japanese style), one is purposefully tacky on stage, the other by the real natives is just as tacky. AKA: GODZILLA VS. THE THING (US), MOSURA TAI GOJIRA (Japan) (1992) TOHO AKA: GODZILLA AND MOTHRA: THE BATTLE FOR EARTH (US), GOJIRA TAI MOSURA (Japan) An :”Indiana Jones” like updated version with a bigger save the earth’s environment theme but debatable if better. Same mini Twin girls, but this time they are from an Indonesian island with no other natives.
GODZILLA VS. THE  SEA MONSTER (1966) TOHO (Japan)   Godzilla beats a giant Lobster and wrecks a nuclear plant on this island which is near Mothra's Polynesian Infant island.  Lots of the giant moth's Polynesian friends are captured and held slaves to the nukes and at the end Godzilla elects not to fight Mothra but lets the moth fly the now free natives to safety before the island blows up. 
GOIN' COCONUTS (1978) OSMOND FILMS  Donny & Marie Osmond bomb.  They chase down Marie's necklace all over O'ahu.  TVM quality.  Donny does the Samoan Slap dance.
GOODBYE PARADISE (1991) LATITUDE 20  Hawaii produced feature with Pat Morita, James Hong and Danny Kamekona as well as lots of Hawaiian talent including: Varona Tiki, Richard Vales, Don Nahaku and Ray Bumatai.  Limited plot, limited budget and limited release film about old local bar about to shut down in Honolulu's Chinatown.
GREAT MORGAN, THE (1946) MGM  Unusual movie from an actor who turns producer and fails.  To complete the movie Frank Morgan uses MGM clips, one of Maori Tikis and another one of supposedly missing footage of Eleanor Powell in the movie Honolulu.  Must see 1 hour film.
GREEN DOLPHIN STREET (1947) MGM  Lana Turner, Van Heflin and Donna Reed in film of two French sisters madly in love with Richard Hart who has started a lumber company in New Zealand with Van Heflin.  Hart being drunk sends for the wrong sister to marry but out of pity and force and decency by Heflin he marries her after traveling so far for him.  All this during the Maori Wars against the early white settlers and that Heflin without telling Hart loves the wrong sister that he forced Hart to marry.  Lots of interplay with Maori friendly to the whites as they were his
neighbors, friends and employees.  Oscar for great earthquake special effects.  Al Kikume credited as Maori.  A bell gets knocked over in quake.
GUADALCANAL DIARY (1943) 20TH CENTURY FOX  Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte and Anthony Quinn in WWII account of the battles of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific.  This story is more true than most movies because the author was an actual military reporter on the Guadalcanal battle fields.  Hula aboard ship before fight with Aloha Oe song.
GUNG HO (1943) UNIVERSAL/WALTER WANGER  Randolph Scott, Grace McDonald, Noah Berry Jr. and Robert Mitchum in WWII story of tough Marine unit which invaded the Japanese occupied Makin Islands.  This unit finished their training on O'ahu with a Pearl Harbor shot as they arrived and a Diamond Head shot as they departed to the South Seas.  This true story of the 2nd Raider Battalion started the first ground offensive in the Pacific theater.  There are glimpses of Polynesian type natives of Makin who "helped care for the wounded".  South Seas movie connection: one officer yelled at private (Mitchum) because of his ignorance of their destination; "What did you expect, movin' pictures of Dorothy Lamour on them islands!".  Another soldier always dreamed from the wheat fields about the South Pacific.  Basically L.A. shooting only.    
GUNS (1990) SEDARIS/RCA  Another low budget movie with same Moloka'i federal agent characters as SAVAGE BEACH, HARD TICKET TO HAWAII and PICASSO TRIGGER  but this time costarring Erik Estrada.
GUY NAMED JOE, A (1943) MGM Spencer Tracy dies as a pilot in WWII.  His devoted girlfriend pilot Irene Dunne is stricken hard over his death.  Tracy ends up in heaven where he is assigned as a guardian angel to a young pilot Van Johnson.  Well Van get transferred to New Guinea where he meets and falls in love with you guessed it Dunn.  What’s an Angel to do?

HALLS OF MONTEZUMA (1950) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Richard Widmark, Jack Palance, Robert Wagner, Karl Malden, Richard Boone and Jack Webb in WWII, Marine action in the South Pacific.  Title is part of Marine battle hymn not the name of generic Japanese held Pacific island the men in this movie sacrifice to overtake gallantly.  Directed by Lewis Milestone.
HARD HUNTED (1992) SEDARIS/COLUMBIA  Low budget, low grade, and low neckline movie.  One in a series filmed on Molokai and in this case also Arizona.
HARD TICKET TO HAWAII (1987) SEDARIS/WARNER  Low budget, low grade, and low neckline movie. One in a series filmed on Molokai.
HAWAII (1966) MIRISCH/UNITED ARTISTS  Very good movie of James Michener's tell-it-like-it-was account of the 1800's missionary influence on the islands.  Julie Andrews, Max von Sydow, Richard Harris, Gene Hackman, Carroll O'Connor star with Manu Tupou, a South Seas Polynesian starring as young Hawaiian chief.
HAWAII CALLS (1938) RKO-RADIO  Two young stowaways on liner from San Francisco become involved in hunt for spies and are befriended by locals.  Mamo Clark has an early role while Pua Lani plays one of the young boys, a Hawaiian.  Songs: Hawaii Calls, Aloha Oe and That's the Hawaiian in Me. Good use of LA real locals but writing and acting average.  Big hula dance number at a big luau.  Boys diving for coins scene.  Filmed in a L.A. sound stage with lots of rear projection and stock footage. Hulas choreographed by and lead dancer Aggie Auld.  Produced by Sol Lesser.
HAWAII CHINDOCHU (UNUSUAL TRIP TO HAWAII) (1954) SADAO SUGIHARA/SHINTOHO (Japan) Japanese comedy filmed on O'ahu and Kaua'i.
HAWAII NO IKIRU (LIFE IN HAWAII) (1967) ??? (Japan)  Need more information?
HAWAII NO WAKADAISHO (YOUNG GUY IN HAWAII) (1963) TOHO (Japan) Adventurous Japanese young man comes to Hawaii and returns to Japan to win a sailboat race.  Filmed on location. One movie in a series, later MINAMI TAIHEIYO NO WAKADAISHO 1967 (YOUNG GUY IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC) TOHO which was filmed in Hawaii.
HAWAII NO YORU (HAWAIIAN NIGHT) (1953) SHINTOHO (Japan)  Japanese swimmer meets local Japanese girl, falls in love, returns as POW and dies.  Hawaii shooting.
HAWAIIAN BOY (1960) ??? (Philippines)  Fernando Poe Jr. play a pineapple worker who gets fired and becomes a singing boxer.  Like an Elvis movie.  "A Giant Rock-n-Roll Hit."
HAWAIIAN BUCKAROO (1938) 20TH CENTURY-FOX / PRINCIPAL PRODS. Smith Ballew and Pat O'Brian in movie of young man who buys pineapple land only to find it a lava flow.  He should of known, the land he bought was part of Kalapana Ranch.  Works, fights and sings at cattle ranch nearby where he helps pretty girl owner.  Backgrounds filmed on Parker Ranch on the Big Island.  Couple of hula solos by natives wearing cellophane skirts.  The Hawaiian cowhands were the loyal good employees while the haole and Spanish guys were the bad guys.
HAWAIIAN DREAM (1987) FUJI TELEVISION (Japan) Low-life events in Honolulu with two young Japanese men.  Starred Saburo Tokito, Johnny Ohkura, Kaori Momoi with Americans Tamlyn Tomita and G.W. Bailey.  Filmed entirely on O'ahu.  Good role for Esmond Chung.
HAWAIIAN NIGHTS (1939) UNIVERSAL  Hotel magnate sends son, Johnny Downs, to run chain's Honolulu hotel, he takes his band with him and plays at rival hotel and woos the owners daughter.  Some Hawaiian music, hulas and a "pineapple king".  Waikiki background shots only. Aloha Oe played while they arrived to Hawaii.  First South Seas film about the tourist industry in plot.
HAWAIIANS, THE (1970) UNITED ARTISTS  Sequel to HAWAII with second generation missionary hoarding land, exploiting Chinese immigrants and the overthrowing of Queen Liliokalani. Starred Charlton Heston and Geraldine Chaplin as a part Hawaiian.  Bit by Danny Kahalekini. Filmed on Mau'i.       
HEAVEN KNOWS, MR. ALLISON (1957) 20TH CENTURY-FOX   Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr as a U.S. marine and a nun, both stranded on a small Pacific isle, called Tuasiva of possibly the Tu'a group, during WWII.  Good male/female surving on an island conflict. We he be an officer and gentelman? Will she keep her faith? The Japanese take the island over shortly after then it's back to being a war picture..  Directed by John Huston.  Filmed in the West Indies. No natives.
HE IS MY BROTHER (1975) CINEMA FINANCIAL OF AMERICA Starred Bobby Sherman and Keenan Wynn.  Survivors of a shipwreck land on an island leprosy (Hansen's Disease) colony.  Struggles between natives and colonist on a South Seas island
.HEARTS ADRIFT (1914) FAMOUS PLAYERS Although technically a short or Featurette this is a major film from a major studio, at the time, and a major star, Mary Pickford.  This is a South Seas adventure of two survivors of a shipwreck who thought they would never see home again.  The two fall in love, declare themselves married and have a child togrther.  All is well until the man’s loving and devoted wife finds them.  Pickford is so distraught she throws herself and child into a living volcano at the end.  Though many would assume is is the first filmatic South Seas volcanic sacrifice but this is not a true trope where a native virgin is sacrificed to a volcano god to save her people.  Pickford was not a native nor a virgin.  The true and orginal trope did exist at this time in the popular play “Birds of Paradise”.  The real trope appeared in film the following year in Aloha Oe.
HEI TIKI (ca.1930) FIRST DIVISION (New Zealand?)  "A weird Maori drama created by Alexander Markey on the Isle of Ghost."  Need more information?
HELL IN THE PACIFIC (1968) CINERAMA/ABC PICTS. CORP.  Lee Marvin & Toshiro Mifune in small version of NONE BUT THE BRAVE with aforementioned actors as enemies on a remote Pacific isle.  Filmed in Palau.  No natives nor evidence of them.
HELL SHIP MUTINY (1957) REPUBLIC   Jon Hall, John Carradine and Peter Lorre in tale of a ship's captain helping natives from being exploited. Giant monkey head Tiki. Luau with Tahitian and Samoan (slap) dances with native kiss scene at the end.  Also at the end, Hall marries native princess (Roberta Hayes) before children and after killing bad guys Carradine and Mike Mazurki.  Hayes also played native beauty in Return to Paradise (1953).
HELL TO ETERNITY (1960) ATLANTIC PICTS. PRODS.  David Janssen, Vic Damon and Jeffery Hunter who was raised by Californian Japanese Americans and later becomes WWII war hero in the Pacific.  Honolulu bar - with non Hawaiian bad girls.  Not filmed in Hawaii but battle scenes were set in Saipan.  Sessue Hayakawa also stars.  
HELLCATS OF THE NAVY (1957) COLUMBIA  Ronald Regan stars as WWII submarine commander based out of Guam, trying to figure out why sonar will not detect Japanese mines.  Regan then sees lots of action on the Strait of Japan.  Nancy Davis co-stars as his love interest and we all know what happened after that.
HELL'S HALF ACRE (1954) REPUBLIC  Evelyn Keyes seeks missing husband Wendell Corey with the help of local taxi driver played by Elsa Lanchester in seedy side of Honolulu.  Good location shooting of the seedy side of Honolulu's Chinatown. Film Noir. One scene shot in Don the Beachcomber in Waikiki.
HER JUNGLE LOVE (1938) PARAMOUNT/ ZUKOR  Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland in romance between pilot who wrecked on a South Seas island and mysterious white goddess/ruler of crocodile-worshipping natives.
HIDDEN PEARLS, THE (1918) PARAMOUNT(Silent)  Fictitious Pacific island filmed in Hawaii, lots of Hawaiian/Hollywood culture.  Haoles (whites) as islanders and a Hollywood hula with Sessue Hayakawa.   Sessue plays a half-bred Hawaiian who was raised on the Continental U.S.  He is also a son of a Hawaiian princess who leans that his Hawaiian family fortune is gone.  His fiancée refuses to marry a poor man.  He hears mother has pearls hidden on her island and he goes to retrieve them.  While there he is treated well by his fellow indigene and they recognize him as their rightful king.  A native women, played by brown-faced Caucasian Margaret Loomis, fall for the new king.  Sessue finds pearls and darts to Honolulu where he meets his fiancée.  There he realizes that she just a materialistic golddigger and he fills guilty about leaving his people who are angry that he left them. Sussue returns to his new home and true love and marries her.
HIGH AND THE MIGHTY, THE (1954) WAYNE-FELLOWS/ WARNER BROS. First modern passenger air disaster film, flight leaves from Hawaii and heads to San Francisco.  Starring John Wayne and Robert Stack.  Shot in Hollywood. Compare latest Air disaster film SNAKES ON A PLANE.
HIGH TENSION (1936) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Brian Donlevy in comedy of brawling cable layer who doesn't want to get married but after dangerous work in Hawaii and rescuing a friend he changes his mind and marries.  Shows people are lazy in Hawaii.  Cable runs between Honolulu and San Francisco.
HIS CAPTIVE WOMAN (1929) FIRST NAT. PICTS.  Fugitive dancer, Dorothy Mackaill, is caught in South Seas but on returning, herself and captor are shipwrecked on deserted isle where they fall in love, swim nude and get attacked by a shark.  Some Hawaii scenery at Kalapana .Remake of Woman God Changed (1921)
HIS MAJESTY O'KEEFE (1953) NORMA PRODS. (U.K.)  Burt Lancaster in title role as over thrown captain of mutinous ship who washes ashore on the island of Yap.  The opportunistic Yank tries to export copra and tries to get the natives to help.  He marries hapa-haole girl from Palau, a brown-painted Joan Rice and defeats the notorious Bully Hayes who is bullying the natives.  The natives in turn make him king.  After many lessons Lancaster finally learns the Island ways. Based partially on a true story and filmed in Fiji on the island of Viti Lemu.  Also set in Palau with Micronesians portrayed by Fijians who are Melanesian.  The large money stone used by the Yapese called, Fe', was heavily featured.  Also there were Hawaiian tikis and Rapa Nuian (Easter Island) Moai (giant tiki) incorrectly shown. Lancaster first kisses hapa native Rice in an unusual non-conquering and apologetic manner.
HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN (1944) WARNER  WWII musical variety where two soldiers are entertained by big stars before being shipped to New Guinea.  There they find their dream girls but the farewell at the train station is said to be one of the most touching in film history.
HOLY MATRIMONY (1943) 20TH CENT. FOX  Painter and his butler on a tiny Pacific island alone. He later gets recognized back home by the king who wants to knight him.  On the way home the butler dies and the shy and humble painter takes on his identify but lots of problems arises from the shift.
HOME OF THE BRAVE (1949) UNITED ARTIST/SCREEN PLAYS II  James Edwards, Lloyd Bridges and Frank Lovejoy.  WWII African/American soldier in Pacific being taunted by fellow white GIs. Standley Kramer produced film.
HONEYMOON IN VEGAS (1992) CASTLEROCK  James Caan, Nicolas Cage, Pat Morita, Danny Kamekona and Peter Boyle.  Crazy story of a young man (Cage) who mentally has trouble getting married to his lovely girlfriend.  He finally takes her to Vegas for a quick marriage but instead gambles her away for one weekend to a big time, mob gambler (Caan).  She finally agrees because Caan guarantees that he would be a gentleman and tempts her with the fact that the weekend would be in Kaua'i.  There at his beautiful beach house they have the time of their lives traveling all over the scenic areas of the island and even to the big island to see the volcano erupt which was stock footage.   Kamekona is his housekeeper.  When Cage arrives to retrieve her he's diverted by a Taxi driver (Morita) and taken to a crazed and insulting Hawaiian Chief (Boyle) who barely speaks English.  The chief loves movies, especially (South Seas movie connection) SOUTH PACIFIC, and he begins to sing Bali Hai and all the others.  Bit by Hawaiian doorman, need name?  Also Willie Nelson sings Blue Hawaii in the score.    
HONOLULU (1939) MGM  Teenage idol, movie star and look-a-like plantation owner switch places. Musical with George Burns, Gracie Allen, Eleanor Powell and a young Robert Young.  Powell did a "black face" number.  Why?  Cellophane grass skirts, hula dance numbers (some tap dancing and one elaborate MGM style) moonlight on beach romance scene, waterfall-slide.  Filmed in Hollywood with stock shots of tropical island scenes and of course a stock backdrop of Diamond Head.  Boys diving for coins & surfing scenes. A Kealoha Holt credited as "Native Dancing Girl" with no speaking lines.  Hapa-haole songs: Honolulu and Hawaiian Medley with the second played by Andy Iona's Islanders.  All haole cast with L.A. Polynesian extras as playful natives.        
HONOLULU LU (1941) COLUMBIA  Mexican performer in Honolulu night club is named "Miss Honolulu" by gang of sailors who invades her club.  Stars Lupe Velez.
HONOLULU-TOKYO-HONG KONG (1963) TOHO (Japan)   Romance comedy about love triangle with a Japanese student at the University of Hawaii his visiting brother and a beauty queen.
HOP (2011) UNIVERSAL In this mixed animation feature we find that the Easter Bunny lives where else but under a Moai in Easter Island (Rapa Nui). 
HORIZONTAL LIEUTENANT, THE (1962) MGM  Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Jack Carter and (GILLIGAN'S ISLAND's) Jim Backus in naval comedy during WWII.  Hutton while stationed in Honolulu seeks Prentiss' for a girlfriend but he gets shipped out to a remote fictitious Pacific isle.  His assignment is to capture a Japanese legend who steals supplies from base.  Later Prentiss gets transferred there also. Native villagers are Japanese country folk.  Try to figure that out? One is supposed to be Carolinian a Micronesian.  Filmed in a L.A. studio lot.
HORROR ISLAND (1941) UNERVERSAL  Based on the story “Terror of the South Seas.”  But because the low, low budget the South Seas setting is not noticeable nor revealed just a generic island.
HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND (1962) PACEMAKER PICTS.  Campy sexploitation 60s “B” movie about a group of loose dancers on the way to Singapore who crash land in the South Pacific. Man is bit by a giant spider and he turns into a sort of a hairy werewolf? Go figure? The women scream and scream. To bad for him because the women out number the men about 6 to 1. Talk about paradise Lost! First released in West Germany as EIN TOLER HING IM NETZ aka IT’S HOT IN PARADISE.
HOULA HOULA (1959) LES FILMS CORONA (French)  Need more information on this French comedy starring Fernand Raynaud and co-starring Maea Flohr as the Tahitian love interest,  Nice poster.
HOUSE WITHOUT A KEY (1926) FOX  Set in Honolulu this Charlie Chan mystery was shot in Southern California.  Chan, Chinese, was based on a Hawaiian but this time shot with a Japanese who was listed twelfth on the credits.  Also entitled CHARLIE CHAN’S GREATEST CASE.
HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI (1965) AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL   Beach classic with Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman (Dobbie Gillis), Mickey Roney and Buster Keaton.  Annette is in Malibu fighting off Dwayne while Frankie is in the Navy reserves stationed on a South Pacific island called; "Guna Guna" were the local native girls are fighting over him.  Frankie seeks a Kahuna type witch doctor, Keaton, who keeps Annette loyal long-distantly.  The tropical island setup is typical Hollywood tack with haole and Asian natives.  Keaton's scenes would make great still photos though with his tacky grass skirt outfit and pretty, sarong-clad, hibiscus over ear, babes at his side.  Only thing real are stock scenics. 
HULA (1927) PARAMOUNT  Clara Bow starred in this "shot in Hollywood" Hawaiian tale of which she played a local haole (Caucasian), independent young woman in the fast lane, hanging with the Hawaiian workers not the conventional westerners of her own race and class.  She does a Haolewood hula at a luau.  Duke Kahanamoku also had short role but not credited.  Part of opening read: "...where volcanoes are often active and maidens always are.".  Hula was a spoiled and naive daughter of a drunken plantation owner, falls in love with an English builder who later confesses of being married.  Happy ending with gold digging wife finally granting him a divorce.  Hula is raised by a Hawaiian farmhand played by a Mexican/American.  All other cast were haole.  Directed by Victor Fleming (THE WIZARD OF OZ).
HULA-HOPP CONNY (1958) UNISON-FILM (Germany)  Stars Cornelia Forboess.  Sounds like a German Gidget. Need more information?  Aka VACANZE A HONOLULU (Italy)
HULA HONEYMOON, A  (1922) EDUCATIONAL PICTURES  Early silent comedy about zany couple winning a trip to Hawaii. Lots of location filming but all natives were haoles with painted faces, like locals couldn't act even in a silent comedy, when most white actors couldn't act either.  Extras on pier and boys diving for coins were real Hawaiians.
HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (2016) THE ORCHARD (New Zealand)  Another film written and directed by Māori Taika Waititi.  This comedy star Sam Neill, Rima Te Wiata and Julian Dennison.  Story of a wayward boy (Dennison) who is rejected from a few foster homes.  He finally lands in home far out of town and on the edge of the wilderness.  There though the love, patience and toughness of his new foster mother (Te Wiata) the boy adjusts and finally feels loved and welcomed by his foster mom anyway and not by his grumpy, wilderness foster father, who loves is wife and barely tolerates his wife’s charitable acts.  Te Wiata suddenly dies and Dennison runs away into the wilderness.  It doesn’t take long for Neill to track him down to return him to the authorities but Neill inadvertently breaks his leg on the return and tough as he is wait out the healing process while teaching the boy to survive in the jungles.  Meanwhile the authorities believe Neill has kidnapped the boy and is doing unspeakable things to the boy in the wilderness.  Neill catches wind that is a nationwide man hunt for this pedophile madman.  So he and the boy are on the run.
HURRICANE (1929) COLUMBIA  Hobart Bosworth as captain Hurricane Martin who deals with Pirates on a South Sea island.
HURRICANE (1979) PARAMOUNT/DE LAURENTIIS  Multi-million remake of 1937 film classic, starred Jason Robards, Mia Farrow, Max von Sydow, Trevor Howard, Timothy Bottoms and Hawaiian, Dayton Ka'ne with Manu Tupou.  Samoans protested use of Tahiti, with its people and culture, as Samoa.  Retitled: FORBIDDEN PARADISE for TV.  Canoes greeting ship scene.  Good effects.  Note: This is the movie Roman Polanski was set to direct but he was charged was rape.  Forced color in art direction, not realistic.  Aka: FORBIDDEN PARADISE for later TV release. Reverse native gender seduction                     
HURRICANE, THE (1937) SAMUEL GOLDWYN/UNITED ARTIST John Ford directed Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, Raymond Massey, John Carradine and Mary Astor in film classic of jailed native who finally escapes back to his island and bride.  Hurricane wipes out atoll and the couple paddle off to a new life.  Incredibly filmed in the Goldwyn Studios with background footage of doubles shooting in Samoa.  Also roles by Mamo Clark, Kuulei DeCleag and many Hawaiian/Polynesian L.A. extras.  Oscars for Sound and SFX.  Famous song The Moon Of Manakoora sung by Lamour during intermission.  A bell scene.
HURRICANE SMITH (1952) PARAMOUNT  Yvonne De Carlo, John Ireland are shipwrecked on a South Sea island.  Sound familiar, note big shark scene.
HURRICANE'S GAL (1922) FIRST NATIONAL (Silent)  Stars Robert Ellis, Wallace Berry, Dorothy Phillips, and Gertrude Astor.  Complicated story of a U.S. Secret Service agent Ellis who goes undercover by playing a stowaway aboard the Tahiti Belle, a suspected Pacific smuggling ship.  Ellis gets caught but doesn’t blow his cover.  He is brutalized by mean first mate Berry but is saved by Phillips the daughter of the ship’s owner, the late notorious smuggler who goes by the name “Hurricane”.  Back in San Francisco the Belle is boarded by U.S. agents and Ellis’ true indemnity is revealed.  But Phillips and Berry escape and revenge themselves by kidnapping Astor, Ellis’ fiancée. The two bad guys head to an unchartered South Seas island with Astor on board another smuggling ship.  In the end Ellis and the U.S. Navy catch them and all is well.

I BOMBED PEARL HARBOR (1961) TOHO (Japan)  Toshiro Mifume starred in Japanese made movie released in the U.S. in 1961.  Despite its title it's about the entire WWII Pacific not just the Pearl Harbor attack.
I SAILED TO TAHITI  WITH AN ALL GIRL CREW (1968) REPUBLIC PICTS.  Gardener McKay in "B" movie.  In the story they do reach Tahiti and stop at other islands but for filming, cast and crew never leave Hawai'i.  There are two boat races, first one, as a bet, are with women crews but Garner’s rival cheats so his win doesn’t count.  Next attempt Garner wants to use baboons as crew but his rival doen’t know the baboon are a Polynesian music group that are expert sailors.  Hawaiians credited are Doug Mossman, Zulu, Al Alawai as part of the new crew.
IDOL DANCER, THE (1919) 1ST NATIONAL  Famous D.W. Griffith directed film about drunken beachcomber revived by hapa-haole girl in a South Sea village.  Lots of brown painted skin whites, some blacks playing Polynesians and Melanesians, poor art direction, wardrobe and very inaccurate cultural portrayal especially the dance.  Filmed in the Bahamas.  That explains a lot. Also tiki worship, prejudice preacher and an evil blackbirder looking for pearls and slaves.
IDOLS OF CLAY (1920) PARAMOUNT  Set on a South Seas isle, where a sculptor who runs away from his former lover finds and falls in love with a pearl smuggling daughter.  He goes back alone, becomes famous, but the new lover chases after him when her father dies.  Also on the mainland the former girlfriend learns the bad ways of illegal drugs.  The sculptor, David Powell, finds her, Mae Murray, spaced out and they both return to the island paradise to live happily ever after. 
I'LL GET BY (1950) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  June Haver, Gloria De Haven, Dennis Day, Harry James and Steve Allen star in film of a couple of down song writers who meet a couple of singing sisters with success.  Writer boycott breaks them up but they later reunite in WWII South Pacific.  Guest; Victor Mature and Dan Dailey.
IN GODS HANDS (1998) SONY PICTS.  90s surf movie with a decent budget and believe it or not a script.  A reporter follows three great surfers, one Hawaiian, across globe.  The three end up training for giant Hawaiian tow-surfing with an elite surf group including Hawaiians; Brian Keaulana and Pete Cabrinha.  One of the three drowns because he insisted on surfing the giants without tow, natural.  Another one of the three jumps on a plane, train and hitches to catch the same swell in Mexico without tow to honor his friend.
IN HARMS WAY (1965) PARAMOUNT John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Patricia Neal and many others star in this WWII ship out of Pearl Harbor.  Directed by Otto Preminger.  Filmed partly on O'ahu with the Kaneohe Marine base used as featured location.  Very dramaic and very dark & scary end-credit sequence.
IN LOVE AND WAR (1958) 20TH CENTURY-FOX  Robert Wagner, Jeffery Hunter, Hope Lange, Sheree North, Frances Nuyen, Mort Sahl and Bradford Dillman.  Fighting in WWII South Pacific by three soldiers, one falls in love with "Hawaiian" nurse,Kalai, played by Nuyen.
IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS (1962) DISNEY  Maurice Chevalier and Hayley Mills in classic Jules Verne story and Disney style of sister and brother looking for lost British naval captain father.  They search in the Andes with help of native Indians and in New Zealand with hindrance of the fierce Maori.  Although the Maori looked, sounded and danced culturally correct they were portrayed as scary, fierce and bunbling dummies.  Volcano scene, Maori warrior dance (haka) and white man trading guns to natives.  Filmed in England with real Maoris, like Inia Wiata who was credited.     
IN THE NAVY (1941) UNIVERSAL  Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Powell, Claire Dodd and the Andrews Sisters.  Two bungling sailors, Powell as a famous singer hiding in the Navy from the public and Dodd hiding from the Navy as a female reporter trying to get Powell’s story all aboard a battleship bound for Hawaii .  They do make to Hawaii (in some versions they don’t), actually they make it to a sound stage with a classical Hawaii set.  Hawaiian music in b.g. lots of flowers, coconut trees, moonlit shore, native feast, real Hawaiian band, fake hula dancers with fake cellophane grass skirts and the Andrew sisters singing and dancing an old Hawaiian Hula Ba Luau big band boogie number. 
IN THE WAKE OF THE BOUNTY (1932) CHAUVEL PRODS. (Australian) Errol Flynn as Fletcher Christian in his first, untrained movie role.  His good looks and cockiness probably landed the lead role.  This version was distributed as widely as an Australian movie could go at this time, not very far.  The Pitcarin Island scenes where documentary style with the first film footage of the skeleton remains of the Bounty which might not exist today due to deterioration. Gratuitous topless tahine scenes including dance numbers and waterfalls into lagoon swim scene.
INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957) UNIVERSAL  Man and wife are vacationing on boat in the Pacific when radioactive fallout from test bomb causes exposed man to shrink.
INDECENT OBSESSION, AN (1985) PBL PRODS. Australian  A nun in a WWII military psychiatric hospital develops a sexual attraction with one of the patients.  Set in Australia and a Pacific island.
INFERNO IN PARADISE (1973) MANSON PRODUCTIONS  This locally produced film was released in Latin American countries and released on video in the U.S. in 1985.  Originally titled; SMOKEATERS, then HFD, this story was about a warehouse fire and the mystery of how it was started.  One of the producers was Bob Smith former “Captain Honolulu”.
INFIDEL, THE (1922) ASSOCIATED FIRST NATIONAL  Stars Robert Ellis (his second South Seas film this year), Katherine MacDonald, Melbourne MacDowel and a younf Boris Karloff..Confusing story of first an atheist MacDonald who finds god on the South Seas island which is the set for the rest of the story.  Ellis an island trader warns newcomer MacDonald to stay away from the ruthless MacDowell.  Devious MacDowell still tricks MacDonald to persuade good guy Ellis to leave the island and he incites a native uprising.  After a serious prayer for help by MacDonald, her prayer was answered by the U.S. marines and Ellis to suppress the upraising.  How is the natives suddenly the bad guys and not MacDowell?
INFINITY (1991) ALTERNITIVE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS  Veteran pilot is drawn to a South Pacific island where he once crashed.  He brings his wife and daughter along where they met a special young man with telepathic powers and is also educated in religious and philosophic teachings.  Sounds like a hippie movie of the 90s.
INTO THE BLUE 2:The Reef (2009) MGM Straight to video sequel to INTO THE BLUE without the stars.  This time the water action is on the island of O’ahu where a physically healthy couple who owns a diving charter boat, take a suspicious couple to find a sunken treasure but instead they find guns, a bomb and a lot of trouble.    Although filmed in Hawaii not many natives featured in this video except a bad guy (Kala Alexander) who talks in Hawaiian and has an interrupter.  Like Hawaiians only speak in Hawaiian.  Some Tiki.
INTRUDER, THE (2004) WELLSPRINGS MEDIA  France  After a heart transplant an older man goes to Tahiti to seek after his half Tahitian son. AKA: L’INTRUS  Henri Tetainanuarii, Jean-Marc Teriipaia & Anna Tetuaveroa all have parts.
INVITATION FROM BEACH (1978) ???(Japan)  Need more information?
IS DIVORCE A FAILURE? (1923) PATHE (Silent)  Leah Baird and Richard Tucker in plot of a couple that recently divorced and the ex-wife has a new boyfriend but her lawyer sends the three of them on a Pacific cruise to see if things work out.  Well the ship wrecks in the deep Pacific and the same three survive on a remote island.  Then the bad guy, who is the ship’s steward swims on the isle also.  To make matters worse an island volcano erupts among them but they are rescued in the nick of time.  Back home and after their South Seas experience, our couple decided to get back together and work it out.
ISLAND CAPTIVES (1937) FALCON FILMS  Eddie Nugent and Joan Barclay.  Producer, Stephen Tabor.  Plantation Owner in Tahiti is murdered by thugs hired by a cannery company boss and his handsome son.  The same son is traveling on a cruise liner as daughter of deceased Plantation owner but thinking she will fall for him she falls for the ship’s communication officer instead.  Ship wrecks on a reef and the main characters are found stranded on a remote Polynesian isle.  But there is more, the isle is also home of a large smuggling ring with an evil leader with a wahine (played by Mexican /American)  that has a crush on the ruler.  Stock of Tahiti with Hawaiian steel guitar music. Evil leader is also connected with the murder.
ISLAND OF DESIRE (1952) UNITED ARTIST (British) Tab Hunter and Linda Darnell stars a in WWII story of plane crash on deserted tropical isle with Marine, nurse and pilot surviving.  “A South Seas Shangri-La” with sharks.  Filmed in Jamaica. AKA: SATURDAY ISLAND. Also 1930 PACIFIC PICTS (UK) aka THE LOVE TRADER with Noah Beery and produced by Sol Lesser.
ISLAND OF DESIRE, THE (1917) Fox (Silent) With George Walsh and Margaret Gibson.  Walsh and two partners of questionable morals hook up with Captain and daughter who knows the existence of pearls on a South Seas Island. While there the captain dies and Walsh and Gibson escape on the boat with their own pearls but without the bad partners. One of the first “greedy for pearls” tropes.  
ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, THE (1977) AM. INTL. PIC./ORION  Burt Landcaster, Michael York, Barbara Carrera and Richard Basehart. Remake of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1933).  This H. G. Wells horror story is about a mad doctor who creates half-animals half-men who could terrify anyone walking though the jungles if they escape.  The 1977 version takes place smack in the middle of the pacific one thousand miles from anywhere.  Filmed in the Virgin Islands.  (1996) NEW LINE CINEMA  Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer star in this remake.  Make up effects by the great Stan Winston but the movie doesn’t excite in this time of computer animated dinosaurs.
ISLAND OF REGENERATION (1915) VITAGRAPH   Youth shipwrecks and is raised alone on a South Seas island. Later a woman who escapes from a boat of a bad suitor lands on same island of now older wild child. She tries to teach him and falls in love with him. New version by VITAGRAPH (1920)  Story by Cyrus Townsend Brady.
ISLAND OF THE LOST (1967) PARAMOUNT/IVAN TORS   From the creator of FLIPPER and SEA HUNT TV shows.  The quality of this show is much the same.  Scientist with two assistants and his family set sail from Honolulu to discover an uncharted island in the South Seas that the scientist theorized existed.  On the isle is an island prince abandoned there to prove is manhood and kingly potential.  All discover man-eating ostriches, German shepherds with large fangs, and dino/alligators and each other.  Also discovered are rival Polynesian warriors, who fight the white explorers but parish by the ostriches and a typhoon, three went down with the scientist ship. Also volcano, shark, hula, steel guitar music, outrigger canoes and waterfalls scenes.  Filmed in Florida with a Hawaiian lady played by Chinese which she says was adopted by Hawaiians. Compare MYSTERY ISLAND.
ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1933) PARAMOUNT  Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi in an adaptation of a H.G. Wells story involving a mad scientist on a South Seas island who tries to create humans from animals by speeding up their evolution.  His many failures result in half human creatures.  Early horror classic.  Remade as Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) with Burt Lancaster and another remake (1996) release with Marlon Brando.  The mad doctor’s best success is his panther woman who he passes off as a Polynesian woman.  He also tries to mate her with one of his guest for the ultimate test of his success.  Early scenes in Apia, Samoa, with bad results of back lot set.  The Island is 15 degrees, south and 170 west.
ISLAND OF LOST WOMEN (1959) JAGUAR PICTS./WARNER BROS. Another genius or mad Doctor (this time a nuclear scientist) on a Pacific Island with three beautiful and innocent daughters.  Two handsome American men on their way to Australia hit a typhoon get lost and crash land on this forbidden isle.
ISLAND OF REGENERATION (1915) VITAGRAPH   Stars Edith Storey and Antonio Moreno.  A story about a male youth, who is raised alone on island and a woman, who later tries tries to teach him.  The young man has light brown skin.  The young and proper woman landed on the island because she escaped a sexual attack by the rich owner of a big yacht.  The yacht later burns and the owner continues to pursue the woman.  An earthquake does in the evil guy.  Early natural disaster in paradise.  Set in the South Seas.  New version by VITAGRAPH (1920).
ISLAND OF SURPRISE, THE (1916) VITAGRAPH  Another South Seas deserted island theme movie with opposite sex shipwrecked characters but this time a threesome of 2 women and one man and the man has amnesia.  Another twist is that he just secretly married one of the women and the other always wanted to marry the man who doesn’t remember anything, even his new wife.  So the other woman takes advantage and also claims that she’s his wife and the other is lying.  Before this gets solved, natives from another island attack the threesome but suddenly a US naval ship bombard the natives and save the three survivors.  During the melee the new husband’s head was hit and almost all memory was restored but not well enough because when the husband went home to his wealthy father we find out the father want his son to marry the other woman.
ISLAND OF WOMEN (1953) CINEMAGRAFICA FILMEX (Mexico)  Famous Mexican comic character Tin-Tan on a tropical island of women.  Need more info?  AKA ”ISLA DE LAS MUJERES.
ISLAND WIVES (1922) VITAGRAPH  Wives of plantation managers of a South Seas island are bored, complex relationships persue. One husband is feared drowned by a typhoon while on a ship.  Also mean lustful trading post manager and a playboy are after the maybe widow.
ISLE OF DESTINY (1940) RKO  Rich adventurer is flying around the world decides to stop on a pacific Island to visit her Marine brother.  There a local smuggler tricks her to use her plane, they crash on a neighboring island.  The rescuer on a speed boat races to save her and the smuggler but the smuggler has a native jealous wife (Katherine De Mille) who kills him because she finds out he was going to leave her.  June Lang & Gilbert Roland star.
ISLE OF DESTINY, THE (1920) RIALTO  Paul Gilmore, Hazel Hudson & Frank Williams.  Gilmore and Hudson are off from a Philippine plantation to get married in New York.  Gilmore’s cousin Williams is along for the ride to see the wedding.  The three shipwreck on a Pacific island where they not only face unfriendly natives but also each other because cousin Williams falls for Gilmore’s fiancée Oh the drama.
ISLE OF DOUBT (1922) PLAYGOERS  Wyndham Standing and Dorothy Mackaill star in this plot of a doubtful single man.  Standing has two women pursuing him and one (Mackaill) he learns plans to marry and soon divorce him and take much of his money.  Standing begins to like the other woman but again he has his doubts.  He then takes both on a South Seas island to fend for them shelves.  Mackaill hates it but she toughs it out and works hard to survive while the other woman proves worthless.  The hardship humbles Mackaill and she learns that there is more to life than money and there is more to Standing than his money.  The two fall in genuine love.
ISLE OF ESCAPE (1930) WARNER BROS.  Monte Blue, Myrna Loy, Betty Compson, Duke Kahanamoku as an exotic South Seas head-hunting native who kidnaps Compson because of the desires of an evil white ruler of the island played by Noah Beery.  Monte fights temptations of islander Loy.  Some native dancing and semi nudity of female natives.
ISLE OF FORGOTTEN SINS (1943) PRC  John Carradine, Gale Sondergaard and Sidney Toler. Carradine is a deep sea diver looking for gold treasure in a South Seas shipwreck. Sondergaard is a den mother of a gambling whorehouse.  Women in sarongs, midnight swims and a furious monsoon.  Later renamed: MONSOON.
ISLE OF FORGOTTEN WOMEN (1927) COLUMBIA PICTURES  Stars Conway Tearle in silent about white man in love with sensual native (a brown-painted white actress), played by Dorothy Sebastian.  Not only does Sebastian get killed saving Tearle from a drunken American man but our hero’s faithful financee who always believed in his innocence lands on island to claim him because he was found innocent back home.  Appears to filmed on a Hollywood soundstage.
ISLE OF FURY (1936) WARNER BROS.  Humphrey Bogart invalid in Somerset MaughamAmerican love triangle set on a South Seas island.  Sinking ship, pearl-fishing, man against giant octopus and fugitive against detective but in this case, the detective has an affair with fugitive’s wife. Things suddenly even out and the Dick goes away.  . Some natives including Al Kikume.
ISLE OF LOST MEN (1928) TREM CARR/RAYART PICTURES   “A thrilling Melodrama of the South Seas”.  A silent about a bad captain dumping a young man overboard.  The young man ends up on a remote isle and is found by a native white girl (she was raised by a native). What did you expect he falls in love with a brown girl?  She later gets “sold” to the bad captain.  The drama builds. A Maude George plays Kealani. Not to be confused with ISLAND OF LOST MEN (1939) PARAMOUNT with Anthony Quinn and Broderick Crawford of which is set in Malaysia.
ISLE OF MISSING MEN (1942) MONOGRAM  Stars John Howard, Helen Gilbert and Gilbert Roland. Stars John Howard, Helen Gilbert and Gilbert Roland.  Howard is a convict on an island and his devoted girl (Gilbert) tries to still be close to him by taking advantage of her good looks and a womanizing warden.
IT HAPPENED IN HONOLULU (1916) BLUEBIRD/ UNIVERSAL (Silent) Probably really happened on a Hollywood sound stage  Comedy of a Honolulu wedding of an American to an English Lord, the man who really loves her, travels to Honolulu to stop it.  All the while being accused of embezzling funds from his dad’s business.  Any natives?
IT’S GREAT TO BE ALIVE (1933) 20TH CENT. FOX   Man is marooned on a Pacific island for five years while the rest the men in the world die of a decease.  Female sailors find him and he is eventually taken to an all-world court, where he is ordered to service all woman.  
IT'S A DATE (1940) UNIVERSAL  Deanna Durbin, Kay Francis and Walter Pidgeon in musical/romance.  An actress and daughter vacation in Honolulu.  A double conflict arises between the two over who should get the lead for the next big play and over who should marry the handsome haole pineapple king that the daughter had met aboard the S.S. Honolulu on the way over.  Appearances and music by Harry Owens and the Royal Hawaiians with a Hula number performed on a shiny ballroom, studio floor and with two songs of note: It Happened in Kaloha and Rhythm of the Islands.  No Hawaii shooting.