Thursday, December 13, 2018

Movie review - "South of Pago Pago" (1940) ***

Silly, fun South Sea movie which gave an early role for Jon Hall after his Hurricane stardom. There's also a choice lead role for Frances Farmer, who had previously been in another South Seas tale - Ebb Tide. This is a little reminiscent of that and also The  Hurricane and Come and Get It with Farmer. As in that latter film Farmer is a saloon gal who falls in with some shady types - Victor McLaglen and Douglas Dumbrille. They go to an island to steal pearls and Farmer romances the local chief's son, Hall.

In a way this is quite progressive movie - Frances is clearly sexually experienced, she marries Hall and they have sex. Of course she's got to be punished for her misdeeds and gets shot but is heroic. The natives are initially fooled by the visitors but then they turn on them - kill them off, sometimes brutally, and leave a warning sign against any foreigners.

The film loses pace in the middle when it's a lot of Farmer and Hall hanging around but picks up at the end. It probably needed a subplot in to help out - McLaglen and Dumbrille feel wasted. Maybe a love triangle?

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