Okay, so there's no Maltese falcon or even a Samoan one, but this campy romantic disaster film is a fun old fashioned style drama that would have been a smash hit in 1937. Oh wait. It was, with Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall. Altered quite a bit, it still had 1937 sensibilities and even in 1979, seems silly and cliched and filled with outlandish stereotypes, even though it said in the 1920's. A very micast Mia Farrow is hardly any man's fantasy, let alone native Chief from Pago Pago, the very sexy Dayton Ka'ne. With his tan, toned arms and chest, curly hair and shy demeanor, he is a simply divine object of lust to look at, the type that makes jaws drop. Farrow is the daughter of divorced naval officer Jason Robards who has more dad just a fatherly interest in his daughter, possessive in a sick way and laughably clingy. It Is by great reluctance that he allows her to stay on the island where Ka'ne has taken over as Chief and is being prepared to marry native girl chosen for him. That's the type of role that Myrna Loy would play in the early 1930's and Rita Moreno in the 1950's, but in 1979 terms, it's a stereotypically degrading role.
While very dated and extremely silly (and most likely offensive to Polynesian people), it is certainly a visual tree with its exotic setting and decent special effects and a very good background musical score. Technically, it is superb. But as of film, there is so much to laugh at it within the context of the film itself, and the performances are frequently laughable. Trevor Howard and Max von Sydow try to bring some class to it, but their roles are peripheral. Robards, coming off two Oscars and a nomination, as well as a slew of films I've seen where he is amazing, doesn't really give any effort, most likely embarrassed by the dialog he has to spout and the story in general. Farrow is no longer Allison Mackenzie or Rosemary preparing to have the devil's baby, and her attempts at appearing younger than she is come off as ridiculous. This certainly didn't appeal to the teenage audiences at the time like "The Blue Lagoon" would a year later, and adult audiences probably saw right through the ridiculousness of it. Definitely a fascinating failure.
While very dated and extremely silly (and most likely offensive to Polynesian people), it is certainly a visual tree with its exotic setting and decent special effects and a very good background musical score. Technically, it is superb. But as of film, there is so much to laugh at it within the context of the film itself, and the performances are frequently laughable. Trevor Howard and Max von Sydow try to bring some class to it, but their roles are peripheral. Robards, coming off two Oscars and a nomination, as well as a slew of films I've seen where he is amazing, doesn't really give any effort, most likely embarrassed by the dialog he has to spout and the story in general. Farrow is no longer Allison Mackenzie or Rosemary preparing to have the devil's baby, and her attempts at appearing younger than she is come off as ridiculous. This certainly didn't appeal to the teenage audiences at the time like "The Blue Lagoon" would a year later, and adult audiences probably saw right through the ridiculousness of it. Definitely a fascinating failure.