Being another example of a movie I had to rewatch because I first saw it long before writing my first review, Last of the Pagans is one that I have been meaning to talk about for quite a while. It's not an especially well made movie, but I still liked it because it has a definite pre-code feel to it despite being made after the era. Based on a short story named Typee, written by the author of Moby Dick (Herman Melville), Last of the Pagans is fairly nondescript for about half of its runtime, and indeed it's very difficult to find any information relating to the film anywhere on the internet. The film takes place in French Polynesia; a number of islands far away from any other civilization. An islander named Taro (Ray Mala) forms a bond with a woman named Lilleo (whom he stole from a neighboring island during a raid), and they go venturing into the surrounding landscape together. One day, a European mining expedition comes to their island and tries to enslave everybody. Taro and Lilleo (Lotus Long) are brought aboard a large ship which is the mining company's headquarters and are seduced by trinkets the crew has for them. They get Taro to sign a contract selling himself into slavery without reading it first. Then, while Taro is sleeping and unable to react, Lilleo is shipped back to the island on a barge so she can be forced to marry the chief of the islanders, even though she doesn't love him. Now separated from his girl, Taro is made to work in harsh conditions in the mines with other prisoners. They are eventually reunited when Taro saves an important company employee one day from an explosion. The worker brings Lilleo and Taro together again, but because the company doesn't want to lose laborers, they recapture Lilleo while Taro is out working one day. This time, the shipmates lock Lilleo in a small room and place wooden planks over the window so she can't run away this time. The ship starts getting battered by a bad storm shortly after, and the window breaks, flooding Lilleo's room with water. With time running out fast, Taro manages to break down the door and save her. They then sail off to another island, one that isn't saddled with any of the problems they just went through. Since this movie was pretty short, I don't think there's much to say about it. I like some of the music the islanders play, but aside from that and the nice visuals of such a faraway place, it has little to offer. The plot is a generic love story, and the film seems to end too abruptly. I would have liked to see what happens to Lilleo and Taro on the new island. Because this movie is so unknown today, I wanted to write about it so other archaic movie fans decide to look at it, even if they shouldn't expect much from it. It's sufficiently entertaining, but nothing special.
10 Reviews
Interesting Attempt
maxvaughn22 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I have a sort of on-the-fence feel about this film. I know this is a result of its time, including clichés of the Polynesian people that you have to take with a grain of salt. The 1930s were not exactly a time period of embracing diversity and fighting against racism. It also includes certain tropes of adventure movies that are sexist, such as the main male character Taro kidnapping his bride Lilleo from another island because "that's what his tribe does". Followed by her falling in love with him through what is basically Stockholm Syndrome. That being said, this is one of the few early Hollywood movies I have ever seen which tried to show the abomination of enslaving a group of people. It doesn't do it well, but it gets a C for effort. The film shows everything through the eyes of Taro and the other Polynesians. You see their lives and hear their language (which was probably a Hollywood, bastardized version of a Polynesian language- I'm not entirely sure). They are simply people living out their daily lives, although their daily lives are made out a little like a travel brochure. You see the way the islanders are tricked by by the mining company and then worked to exhaustion. Despite the cheesy romance and rather slapped together ending, this has the underlying message of the cruelty of stealing another person's life for greed. Overall, it is still tame in comparison to history. Also, I understand this is credited as being, in part, based on Herman Melville's Typee, but I really didn't see many similarities except for a few of the customs of the islanders. All in all, it is a beautifully photographed movie and deserves some recognition for it's attempt to be different in its storytelling.
It has its moments
gbill-7487718 July 2019
I love how this film shows white people as the villains they were in cultures like this - plying natives with alcohol and baubles, and then enslaving them. And this is not slavery like what Hollywood showed us four years later in Gone with the Wind, where the slaves are just happy as hell to be under massa's loving care and protection, this is slavery where the slaves inhale toxic dust, endure backbreaking labor, and keel over from heat stroke. Whatever you say about how Polynesian culture is simplified, it gets the gist of this right, and that's pretty fantastic for 1935. These scenes were damning enough that France had them excised, and Nazi Germany banned the film entirely.
I also loved seeing Lotus Long and Ray Mala again. Yes, they're not Polynesians, yes, she was born in New Jersey, blah blah blah and give me a break. I think it's wonderful to see the diversity, and Long in particular puts a lot of spunk into the role in addition to having such unappreciated screen presence. The film is full of beautiful people, beautiful scenery (I believe shot in Tahiti), and beautiful dancing. Are we seeing an accurate, nuanced appreciation of the culture? No, we are not, and the central characters are too simple even in the translation of whatever language they're speaking, which gives off the stench of condescension, but it's not onerous. I wasn't thrilled to see Long's character fall for Mala's after the wife raiding (bear with the film if you're as turned off as I was early on), but later we see how she's enslaved in another way, which was interesting, and her face really says it all. I liked how the characters are caught up in a love triangle and then later desperate to be reunited, which has a universality and humanism about it, though the ending turns out to be awfully convenient.
It's not a great film or even a very good one, but it has its moments and you can definitely do worse. As a bit of a side note, contrary to what you might read, the film has zero to do with Melville's (very good) novel Typee. As Kevin J. Hayes put it in 'Herman Melville in Context', this was "a marketing strategy which reduces the author's name to the function of signifying 'literature' as part of the total entertainment package offered by these films." It's unfortunate this marketing campaign is then quoted on the Wiki page for the film, and then regurgitated in various reviews.
I also loved seeing Lotus Long and Ray Mala again. Yes, they're not Polynesians, yes, she was born in New Jersey, blah blah blah and give me a break. I think it's wonderful to see the diversity, and Long in particular puts a lot of spunk into the role in addition to having such unappreciated screen presence. The film is full of beautiful people, beautiful scenery (I believe shot in Tahiti), and beautiful dancing. Are we seeing an accurate, nuanced appreciation of the culture? No, we are not, and the central characters are too simple even in the translation of whatever language they're speaking, which gives off the stench of condescension, but it's not onerous. I wasn't thrilled to see Long's character fall for Mala's after the wife raiding (bear with the film if you're as turned off as I was early on), but later we see how she's enslaved in another way, which was interesting, and her face really says it all. I liked how the characters are caught up in a love triangle and then later desperate to be reunited, which has a universality and humanism about it, though the ending turns out to be awfully convenient.
It's not a great film or even a very good one, but it has its moments and you can definitely do worse. As a bit of a side note, contrary to what you might read, the film has zero to do with Melville's (very good) novel Typee. As Kevin J. Hayes put it in 'Herman Melville in Context', this was "a marketing strategy which reduces the author's name to the function of signifying 'literature' as part of the total entertainment package offered by these films." It's unfortunate this marketing campaign is then quoted on the Wiki page for the film, and then regurgitated in various reviews.
Picturesque though clichéd tale of the islands
a_chinn4 July 2017
Dated (meaning racist) tale of love among the island people of the South Seas. Two young lovers are separated by slavers when the man is taken away and forced to work in a mining camp. Shot on location in Tahiti, the visual elements of the film are the most appealing aspect of the movie. The characters are paper thin and situations are awfully contrived, though an underwater fight with a shark and some other disaster sequences are pretty exciting for a film shot in 1935. Loosely based upon Melville's "Typee," this film is hardly a classic, but it's entertaining enough.
Richard Thorpe Moves to Metro via Polynesia
boblipton28 June 2017
This is one of those Romances of the South Seas that MGM liked to offer its patrons every year or so. This one is based on Herman Melville's TYPEE, which I was spared in college and never got around to reading on my own.
I'll take a moment to speculate that the reason Melville was so adaptable to the movies was that at the heart of his boring, obsessively-detailed novels, there was always a good adventure yarn. Screenwriter John Farrow has whittled this one down to a Rousseau-style Romance of the Noble Savage. The Polynesian lovers are played by Mala, who was an Inuit, and Lotus Long, who hailed from exotic Atlantic City. Richard Thorpe, beginning his long career for Metro, got good performances out of the leads, who speak in what I guess is a Polynesian language, extensively subtitled. They undergo courtship, traders who kidnap Mala to work in a collapsing guano mine, and a big storm. Will true love be denied? While the screenplay is hobbled by the Production Code, the photography is superlative, shot by location specialist Clyde de Vinna. If you can turn your ears off, you'll see a fine little silent film here, with some spectacular views.
I'll take a moment to speculate that the reason Melville was so adaptable to the movies was that at the heart of his boring, obsessively-detailed novels, there was always a good adventure yarn. Screenwriter John Farrow has whittled this one down to a Rousseau-style Romance of the Noble Savage. The Polynesian lovers are played by Mala, who was an Inuit, and Lotus Long, who hailed from exotic Atlantic City. Richard Thorpe, beginning his long career for Metro, got good performances out of the leads, who speak in what I guess is a Polynesian language, extensively subtitled. They undergo courtship, traders who kidnap Mala to work in a collapsing guano mine, and a big storm. Will true love be denied? While the screenplay is hobbled by the Production Code, the photography is superlative, shot by location specialist Clyde de Vinna. If you can turn your ears off, you'll see a fine little silent film here, with some spectacular views.
kidnapping and more kidnapping
SnoopyStyle15 July 2022
It's a Polynesian paradise. Men are raiding for wives but they are chased away. Taro continues to pursue maiden Lilleo and gets left behind. It's a bumpy romance. Their world is turned upside down with the arrival of the white men.
So the kidnapping is the film's version of a meet-cute. They do proceed according to rom-com rules. It turns into yet something else with more kidnapping. It's trying to be an epic romance. I'm willing to accept it but the original kidnapping does hold it back a little. Overall, this is very good and the tropical locations are beautiful.
So the kidnapping is the film's version of a meet-cute. They do proceed according to rom-com rules. It turns into yet something else with more kidnapping. It's trying to be an epic romance. I'm willing to accept it but the original kidnapping does hold it back a little. Overall, this is very good and the tropical locations are beautiful.
Turn the sound down and enjoy
JohnSeal11 June 2004
Last of the Pagans features some quite stunning black and white photography by Clyde De Vinna and a paper thin story designed to please those who like travelogues with a touch of romance. Shot on location in Tahiti, the film is a lightweight take on the Robert Flaherty oeuvre, with numerous tips of the hat to the great documentarist's features, especially his 1926 South Seas epic Moana. Mala--an Alaskan native discovered by director W.S. Van Dyke during production of the similar Eskimo (1933)--plays Taro, the male chauvinist pig who steals beautiful Lotus Long from her native village and claims her as his own. Last of the Pagans is a relentless parade of cultural imperialism and cliches about primitive peoples and noble savages, but it looks absolutely gorgeous. You're best advised to turn the sound down, ignore the subtitles, and soak up De Vinna's superb camera work.
Fantastic film
mauvemoonlight30 June 2017
I recently had the opportunity of viewing this film. It is in black and white and was made quite some time back, but is well worth seeing.
Concerning French Polynesia, much of the dialogue is non-English, and the translations are a bit scarce; but not needed much--the actions of the characters and what happens to them tells the story quite adequately.
The native men from one island go to another island to steal wives for themselves. The main male character, Taro, kidnaps a woman he especially fancies. She is very unhappy about this--and I fully expected him to drag her back to his island and immediately start raping her, but that is not how it happens. Instead, once he gets there, he courts her-and she begins to become quite taken with his charms.
However, there are white men looking for labor for their mines, and the chief in Taro's village is also taken with the woman Taro wants. You can be sure these things come to plenty of troubles for both Taro and his intended.
This film was quite different from any I have ever seen before. It was excellently done and well told and I would certainly recommend it.
Concerning French Polynesia, much of the dialogue is non-English, and the translations are a bit scarce; but not needed much--the actions of the characters and what happens to them tells the story quite adequately.
The native men from one island go to another island to steal wives for themselves. The main male character, Taro, kidnaps a woman he especially fancies. She is very unhappy about this--and I fully expected him to drag her back to his island and immediately start raping her, but that is not how it happens. Instead, once he gets there, he courts her-and she begins to become quite taken with his charms.
However, there are white men looking for labor for their mines, and the chief in Taro's village is also taken with the woman Taro wants. You can be sure these things come to plenty of troubles for both Taro and his intended.
This film was quite different from any I have ever seen before. It was excellently done and well told and I would certainly recommend it.
Richard Thorpe?
kcfl-114 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I have seen 22 films directed by Richard Thorpe. None impressed me, and I felt his later efforts ("The Honeymoon Machine," "Fun in Acapulco") particularly meritless. So nothing prepared me for "Pagans." Star Mala appeared in a similar film, "Eskimo," with a superior director in WS Van Dyke, but this was even better.
It turned out to be a perfect film, in the top 1% of all I've seen.
Maybe credit should go to his cinematographer, Clyde De Vinna. Every shot is not only beautifully lit but artfully composed.
It's structure is highly unusual. The boy-meets-girl occurs when his raiding party kidnaps her. Boy-loses-girl happens when he is shanghaied. Boy-gets-girl, which takes place after she's already married to another, is more traditional but no less thrilling.
After seeing this, I'm going to boycott phosphate! All the whites in the film, who operate a phosphate mine, are villainous exploiters of the natives.
It turned out to be a perfect film, in the top 1% of all I've seen.
Maybe credit should go to his cinematographer, Clyde De Vinna. Every shot is not only beautifully lit but artfully composed.
It's structure is highly unusual. The boy-meets-girl occurs when his raiding party kidnaps her. Boy-loses-girl happens when he is shanghaied. Boy-gets-girl, which takes place after she's already married to another, is more traditional but no less thrilling.
After seeing this, I'm going to boycott phosphate! All the whites in the film, who operate a phosphate mine, are villainous exploiters of the natives.
Corny but I loved it!
preppy-316 April 2020
Wonderful island romance! Shot on location in Tahiti this deals with a village where handsome hunky Taro (Mala) falls in love with beautiful Lilleo (Lotus Long). He eventually wins her over but an evil ugly and powerful member of the village wants her for himself.
Shot in beautiful black and white this is a corny but charming little movie. It throws in every cliché you can think of (including a climatic hurricane) but it works! The scenery is beautiful and the two leads are certainly attractive with great bodies. Silly but sweet. Recommended.
Shot in beautiful black and white this is a corny but charming little movie. It throws in every cliché you can think of (including a climatic hurricane) but it works! The scenery is beautiful and the two leads are certainly attractive with great bodies. Silly but sweet. Recommended.
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