Diamond Head (1963)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Guy Green

Writers:

Peter Gilman (novel)
Marguerite Roberts (writer)

Release Date:

30 January 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The Giant Story of Modern Hawaii!

Plot:

Rich Hawaiian pineapple grower and US Senatorial candidate Richard Howland tries to control everything and everyone around him...

Plot Keywords:

Pineapple | Dysfunctional Family | Stabbing | Doctor | Horseback Riding

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Richard 'King' Howland
Yvette Mimieux	...	Sloane Howland
George Chakiris	...	Dr. Dean Kahanna
France Nuyen	...	Mai Chen
James Darren	...	Paul Kahana
Aline MacMahon	...	Kappa Lani Kahanna
Elizabeth Allen	...	Laura Beckett
Vaughn Taylor	...	Judge James Blanding
Marc Marno	...	Bobbie Chen
Philip Ahn	...	Mr. Immacona
Harold Fong	...	Coyama, Howland Cook
Edward Mallory	...	Robert Parsons

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Hanalei, Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

According to Charlton Heston in his book "In the Arena", this film was originally intended as a vehicle for Clark Gable in the late-1950s, which is why Heston's character retains the nickname "King".

Quotes:

Dr. Dean Kahanna: What do you know about Paul?
Sloane Howland: What do I know? I grew up with him! The King asks me what do I know about marriage, you ask me what do I know about Paul. What do I have to know?
[he stares]
Sloane Howland: All right Dean. Paul is no genius and he'll never set the world on fire like you might some day, but he sets me on fire!

"It's all you've got left, isn't it? Brute force."

Richard 'King' Howland and his sister Sloane (Heston and Mimieux) live on an island, the only wonderful place that gets bigger every time they saw it from the sky…

Sloane has just returned from California graduated but she despises waiting… She has something on her mind to tell her brother about Paul (James Darren). So she asks her brother how did he feel about Paul Kahana?

The whole film is about racial intolerance and it sends a strong message, which kept the story interesting… Trade with them, be friends with them, even sleep with them, but don't marry them…

This is Hawaii… It can happen here, and it does all the time… For Laura Beckett (Elizabeth Allen), King's sister-in-law, it happens, but not to people of their class… For King, if Sloane marries Paul, her children will inherit Manoalani one day, and all that goes with it… Paul is pure Hawaiian… Their families have been in these islands over a hundred years… They have never mixed their blood…

Charlton Heston plays a rich narrow-minded pineapple grower, obstinately and intolerantly devoted to his own beliefs, even though he himself having an affair with Mai Chen (France Nuyen), the woman who doesn't ask questions…

Mai knows that most women can make the world go away for a while, but none can make it stay away…Richard Knows that he's in danger of becoming an uncle… His sister and himself are the last of their line…Her son will own Manoalani one day and he has to be the right kid of son… Obviously he could have a child… He might even have a son… But he has no intention of marrying again… But Mai Chen thinks differently… He should have his own son… But King had a son… His name was Richard Howland III… He was 3 years old that day… A tidal wave, 40-foot crest smashed into Hilo and killed him and his mother and 120 others … So he doesn't want another son…

Yvette Mimieux achieved stardom in "Where the Boys Are" (1960) and here, she is incredibly fresh, innocent and beautiful…

Filmed in Color and Wide Screen, the photography is too beautiful presenting a tropical paradise of turquoise waters, white sandy beaches, waving palm trees, lush tropical vegetation and gentle sunshine…