A young Polynesian couple is separated by a mining company which enslaves islanders.A young Polynesian couple is separated by a mining company which enslaves islanders.A young Polynesian couple is separated by a mining company which enslaves islanders.
Lotus Long
- Lilleo
- (as Lotus)
Rudolph Anders
- Superintendant's Assistant
- (uncredited)
Chester Gan
- Chinese Cook
- (uncredited)
Rangapo A. Taipoo
- Taro's Mother
- (uncredited)
Teio A. Tematua
- The Chief
- (uncredited)
Charles Trowbridge
- Mine Superintendant
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- John Farrow
- Herman Melville(uncredited)
- Raymond L. Schrock(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia50,000 feet of underwater footage was shot for this film, with a final total of 60 reels shot during the 22 weeks of production. It was eventually released as an 8-reel feature.
- Quotes
Opening Title Card: Below the Equator, amongst those distant isles where the shadow of the white man's civilization is but a rumour, force and war still play their parts in the wooing of a maiden. Men of one island, like their fathers before them, still raid their neighbors when in search of wives.
- Crazy creditsMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer acknowledges, with gratitude, the sympathetic cooperation of government authorities toward the expedition that filmed this story in French Polynesia - - It also thanks the native inhabitants who play themselves.
- Alternate versionsThe French censors replaced the acknowledgment statement (see Crazy Credits) with "... advising that the film is based on past customs which will never return because of more humane laws now in existence." Also deleted were scenes of the natives unknowingly being contracted for five years of hard labor in the phosphate mines.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Svengoolie: Man Made Monster (2015)
Featured review
Picturesque though clichéd tale of the islands
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.
helpful•13
- a_chinn
- Jul 4, 2017
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $600,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 10 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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