Waikiki Wedding (1937)

A beauty contest winner of the "Miss Pineapple Princess" pageant takes part in a publicity scheme in Hawaii, and is pursued by an advertising executive for the agency doing the promotion.

Director:

Frank Tuttle

Writers:

Frank Butler (screenplay), Frank Butler (story),

Stars:

Bing Crosby, Bob Burns, Martha Raye

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bing Crosby	...	Tony Marvin
Bob Burns	...	Shad Buggle
Martha Raye	...	Myrtle Finch
Shirley Ross	...	Georgia Smith
George Barbier	...	J.P. Todhunter
Leif Erickson	...	Dr. Victor Quimby
Grady Sutton	...	Everett Todhunter
Granville Bates	...	Uncle Herman
Anthony Quinn	...	Kimo
Mitchell Lewis	...	Koalani
George Regas	...	Muamua
Nick Lukats	...	Assistant Purser
Prince Leilani	...	Priest
Maurice Liu	...	Kaiaka
Raquel Echeverría	...	Mahina

Storyline

Tony Marvin is a laid back but incredibly successful promoter and fair-haired boy for J. P. Todhunter's pineapple company located in beautiful Hawaii. He gets the company to sponsor a contest in which the winner gets a Hawaiian vacation and is obligated to write articles on the islands which, when published, will constitute a publicity coup for the company. Unfortunately, Georgia Smith, the winner, feels lonely and isolated in the Islands and wants to return to the States. With help from buddy Shad Buggle Tony tries to romantically divert Georgia without letting her know his true motivation.

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Plot Keywords:

hawaii | advertising | necklace | jail | reference to robinson crusoe | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agapi sti Havai

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

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Goofs

When Martha Raye sings "Okolehua", her hairstyle changes from being down at the sides of her face, to up away from her face in the middle of the number.

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Quotes

Tony Marvin: Gotta keep her on course.
Georgia Smith: Well, your star moved.
Tony Marvin: Oh, lady, if you could count on women the way they can count on that star, there'd be much more smooth sailing and far less wrecks.
Georgia Smith: Well! Personal experience or something out of a book?
Tony Marvin: What's the difference? It's true.
Georgia Smith: I see... out of a book.

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Soundtracks

"Blue Hawaii"
Music by Ralph Rainger
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Sung by Bing Crosby
Reprised by Bing Crosby, Shirley Ross, and chorus

User Reviews

Tricks of the Trade

WAIKIKI WEDDING (Paramount, 1937), directed by Frank Tuttle, is an enjoyable but sadly neglected musical set in Hawaii starring Paramount's box office attraction, Bing Crosby, crooning to the up-and-grooming Shirley Ross, a fine vocalist in her own right whose popularity faded as quickly as it started, with her peak years at Paramount being from 1936 to 1938. By 1939, she left the studio after appearing in some secondary roles, including another Crosby musical, Paris HONEYMOON (1938), in which the object to his affection there was a newcomer named Franciska Gaal, but to re-discover Shirley Ross, WAIKIKI WEDDING is a good introduction. And now for a brief synopsis and inside look of the movie.

Set in Hawaii, the story begins with Tony Marvin (Bing Crosby) and his pal, Shad Buggle (Bob Burns), accompanied by his pet pig, attending a native wedding feast, in which Tony participated with a Hawaiian song. Tony, a smooth talking publicity man for J.B. Todhunter (George Barbier), president of a pineapple company, is hired to escort Georgia Smith (Shirley Ross), from Birch Falls, a "Miss Pineapple Queen" contest winner, on her Hawaiian tour, accompanied by her companion, Myrtle Finch (Martha Raye), who in turn becomes escorted by Shad. Because Georgia is not satisfied with her trip, threatening to return home to the states and refusing to participate in any publicity campaigns, Tony goes through extremes in keeping her in Hawaii, ranging from having her accused of smuggling a black pearl, abducted by a native group headed by Kimo (Anthony Quinn); vocalizing to her, and having her attend ceremonial dances. After discovering this whole affair to be nothing but tricks to keep her in Hawaii, the angry Georgia decides to book passage on the next boat to return home and marry her dull fiancé, Victor P. Quimby (Leif Erickson), causing Tony, who now loves her, to continue using provide more tricks instead of sincerity to keep her.

Along with the lightweight plot and Hawaiian surroundings, the bright score by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin include: "Blue Hawaii" and "In a Little Hula Heaven" (sung by chorus during opening credits); "Nani Ona Pua" (sung by Bing Crosby); "Blue Hawaii" (sung by Crosby); "Blue Hawaii" (sung by Crosby and Shirley Ross); "Sweet Leilani" by Harry Owens, (sung by Crosby); "In a Little Hula Heaven" (sung by Crosby and Ross); "Okolehao" (sung by Martha Raye. Take notice how Raye's hair style changes midway through this number); "Sweet Is the Word for You" (sung by Crosby) and "Sweet Is the Word for You" (reprise, sung by Ross). While "Blue Hawaii" and "In a Little Hula Heaven" are the best sounding tunes for this production, it's the slower tempo lullaby of "Sweet Leilani" that became the Academy Award winning song of 1937.

The supporting cast features Grady Sutton as Everett Todhunter; Granville Bates as Uncle Herman; George Regas, Emma Dunn, and Mitchell Lewis, among others.

While "Waikiki Wedding," which runs at about 89 minutes, hasn't aired on any television station for quite some time now, it was distributed on video cassette in 1995 as part of the Bing Crosby collection, along with other titles as RHYTHM ON THE RANGE (1936) with Frances Farmer, and its WAIKIKI WEDDING co-stars, Bob Burns and Martha Raye, and a decade later onto DVD double featured with DOUBLE OR NOTHING (1937) also featuring Martha Raye. Oh, boy!!!! All films mentioned make recommended viewing for Crosby fans. (***)