Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966)

Director:

Michael D. Moore

Writers:

Allan Weiss (story)
Anthony Lawrence (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 June 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy

Tagline:

His newest! His Biggest!

Plot:

Rick Richards is a helicopter pilot who wants to set up a charter flying service in Hawaii -- along the way he makes some friends...

Plot Keywords:

Hawaii | Helicopter | Remake | Elvis Presley | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Elvis Presley	...	Rick Richards
Suzanna Leigh	...	Judy Hudson (Friday)
James Shigeta	...	Danny Kohana
Donna Butterworth	...	Jan Kohana
Marianna Hill	...	Lani Kaimana
Irene Tsu	...	Pua
Linda Wong	...	Lehua Kawena
Julie Parrish	...	Joanna
Jan Shepard	...	Betty Kohana
John Doucette	...	Donald Belden
Grady Sutton	...	Mr. Cubberson
Doris Packer	...	Mrs. Barrington
Mary Treen	...	Mrs. Belden
Don Collier	...	Andy Lowell
Philip Ahn	...	Moki Kaimana

Also Known As:

Hawaii, USA (USA) (working title)
Hawaiian Paradise (USA) (working title)
Polynesian Paradise (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:G | Singapore:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Hanalei Plantation Resort, Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Assistant and second unit director Michael D. Moore had worked with Elvis Presley six times before directing this film.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Elvis in the Movies (1990)

Soundtrack:

Sand Castles

Blue Hawaii, Part II

If Hal Wallis had produced this little epic 10 years earlier, it might have starred his other contract players, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (with Lewis in the role of the little girl played by Donna Butterworth). If it had been made 10 years later, after "The Godfather Part II" made it fashionable to number sequels, "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" might have been titled "Blue Hawaii, Part II." It's not an official sequel, but that's a mere technicality. The only real difference between the two films is that this one is infinitely worse. Whereas "Blue Hawaii" was little more than a travelogue, it was professional looking with some decent songs and a star who still seemed to be in touch with some form of reality. "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" is a grubby, grimy, cheap looking thing with a pudgy, seemingly zonked out Elvis warbling tunes so dreadful ("Queenie Wahine's Papaya," "Datin'"), they weren't worthy of the vinyl record on which they were pressed let alone a gold one.

Watching Presley in this wretched vehicle, one can only look on in amazement and wonder if this is, indeed, the same sneering guy who set the world on fire a decade earlier. This is a Twilight Zone Elvis in a movie for those curious to know how the state of mind known as "stunned disbelief" really feels.