South Pacific (1958)

On a South Pacific island during World War II, love blooms between a young nurse and a secretive Frenchman who's being courted for a dangerous military mission.

Director:

Joshua Logan

Writers:

Paul Osborn (screenplay), Richard Rodgers (adapted from the play "South Pacific")

Stars:

Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr

Won 1 Oscar. Another 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rossano Brazzi	...	Emile De Becque
Mitzi Gaynor	...	Ensign Nellie Forbush, USN
John Kerr	...	Lt. Joseph Cable, USMC
Ray Walston	...	Luther Billis
Juanita Hall	...	Bloody Mary
France Nuyen	...	Liat
Russ Brown	...	Capt. Brackett, USN
Jack Mullaney	...	The Professor
Ken Clark	...	Stewpot
Floyd Simmons	...	Commander Harbison, USN
Candace Lee	...	Ngana - Emile's Child
Warren Hsieh	...	Jerome - Emile's Child
Tom Laughlin	...	Lt. Buzz Adams
Giorgio Tozzi	...	Emile De Becque (singing voice)
Archie Savage	...	Chief - Boar's Tooth Ceremonial Dancer / Ceremonial Dance Chief

Storyline

Can a girl from Little Rock find happiness with a mature French planter she got to know one enchanted evening away from the military hospital where she is a nurse? Or should she just wash that man out of her hair? Bloody Mary is the philosopher of the island and it's hard to believe she could be the mother of Liat who has captured the heart of Lt. Joseph Cable USMC. While waiting for action in the war in the South Pacific, sailors and nurses put on a musical comedy show. The war gets closer and the saga of Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque becomes serious drama.

---

Plot Keywords:

u.s. navy | singing | based on stage musical | tony award source | polynesia | 

---

Taglines:

Exactly As Seen for 54 Weeks on Boradway...Nothing Cut But the Prices!

---

Genres:

Musical | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

14 April 1958 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Al sur del Pacífico

Filming Locations:

Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$36,800,000, 31 December 1958

Company Credits

Production Co:

Magna Theatre Corporation,South Pacific Enterprises,Rodgers & Hammerstein Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

157 min 171 min (roadshow)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm mag-optical prints) Mono (35 mm optical prints) 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original Broadway production of "South Pacific" opened at the Majestic Theater on April 7, 1949, ran for 1925 performances starring Mary Martin as Nellie Forbush and Ezio Pinza as Emile de Becque, and won the 1950 Tony Award for the Best Musical, Libretto and Score. Both stars won the Tony Award for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical. Juanita Hall reprises her role as Bloody Mary in the movie.

---

Goofs

In numerous outdoor scenes in the movie, the sky in the background changes from clear to partly cloudy to overcast to rain clouds between shots, indicating that the scenes were filmed over several days with different weather each day.

---

Quotes

Nellie: Do you get letters from your mother telling you that everything you do is wrong?
Lt. Cable: No. My mother thinks everything I do is right. Of course, I don't tell her everything I do.

---

Crazy Credits

There are probably more dubbed singing voices in this film than in any other screen version of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, but the only one which actually receives screen credit is that of Giorgio Tozzi, who dubs the singing voice of Emile de Becque (Rosanno Brazzi). This is because Tozzi was a renowned bass-baritone with the Metropolitan Opera.

---

Alternate Versions

The UK cut of the film begins with the first scene of Nellie and Emile at the plantation, and then the first Seabees scene, as was done originally on Broadway. US distributor 20th Century Fox decided to rearrange the two sequences, thus opening the film with "Bloody Mary".

---

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell (1996)

---

Soundtracks

Reprise: Some Enchanted Evening
(1949) (uncredited)
Sung by Mitzi Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi (dubbed by Giorgio Tozzi)

User Reviews

As Corny As Kansas In August, But High As A Flag On The Fourth of July

Commence groaning as necessary for that summary, but at least prepare to be dazzled by R&H's most amazing, underrated musical of all time.

The love story is between a spirited young Navy nurse and an older French planter who's afraid of losing anything. While that makes for some very groan-friendly moments, everything is forgiven when you peer through the weird, multi-colored lenses and pay attention to what's actually going on: a fantastic story (besides the romance) is unfolding. It's the story of a world where everything is changing, and the road down that way could not have been better.

There's lots to love here, so don't be distracted by what you can use to maul this movie. The performances are great, the songs are probably the only songs I've never minded having looped in my head that weren't written by Richard O'Brien, and the beauty of the South Pacific is something that would be amazing to behold anywhere from a majestic silver screen to a tiny little kitchen-table TV set.

As far as musicals go, this is one of my all-time favorites and should be the same for more people.