Bird of Paradise (1932)

A native girl falls for a visitor to her island, but she's chosen to be sacrificed to the volcano god.

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Richard Walton Tully (play), Wells Root (screenplay)

Stars:

Dolores del Rio, Joel McCrea, John Halliday

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dolores del Rio	...	Luana
Joel McCrea	...	Johnny Baker
John Halliday	...	Mac
Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher	...	Chester
Bert Roach	...	Hector
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Thornton (as Creighton Chaney)
Wade Boteler	...	Skipper Johnson
Arnold Gray	...	Walker
Reginald Simpson	...	O'Fallon
Napoleon Pukui	...	The King
Agostino Borgato	...	Medicine Man
Sofia Ortega	...	Mahumahu

Storyline

A young man falls overboard and is saved by a beautiful Polynesian girl. They fall in love, but their idyll is smashed when the local volcano begins to erupt. The man discovers that the local custom is to sacrifice a young woman to the volcanic gods. They try to escape but realize that "east is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet."

---

Plot Keywords:

volcano | native girl | island | bare chested male bondage | beefcake | 

---

Taglines:

Hissing Lava Stains the Night with Red! (Print Ad-Peekskill Evening Star,((Peekskill, NY)) 24 September 1932)

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hawaiian

Release Date:

12 August 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ave do Paraíso

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 82 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tribal dances were choreographed by Busby Berkeley.

---

Quotes

Luana: I happy, Johnny. I happy you steal me away and we live together. I happy you teach me kiss. I happy you hold me. I happy for everything! It was best thing that ever come to me.

---

Connections

Featured in Miracle Mile (1988)

User Reviews

sexy precode

One really couldn't ask for more than hunky Joel MCrea and gorgeous Delores del Rio as eye candy in "Bird of Paradise," a 1932 film - which makes it precode and quite sexy. McCrea plays a young man on a yachting trip who is saved from a shark by a South seas beauty named Luana; he decides to stay on awhile. When it becomes clear to him that she is to be sacrificed to the volcano Pele, the two escape to an island, where they lead an idyllic life together. Eventually his friends return for him, and he assumes Luana will go with him.

Not a huge amount of dialogue, but lots to look at in this King Vidor film, which has jungle choreography by Busby Berkley and music by Max Steiner, both pre-Warner Brothers. Del Rio doesn't wear much; in fact, she has a nude swimming scene. McCrea here is very athletic.

Amazing what they were able to do precode that in a couple of years would be taboo. Worth seeing. Del Rio was one of the most beautiful stars ever, and McCrea one of the most appealing.