Bird of Paradise

Synopsis: A young man falls overboard and is saved by a beautiful Polynesian girl. They fall in love, but their idyll is smashed when the local volcano begins to erupt. The man discovers that the local custom is to sacrifice a young woman to the volcanic gods. They try to escape but realize that "east is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet."
Director(s): King Vidor
Production: 20th Century Fox Film Corporation
 
IMDB:
6.1
PASSED
Year:
1932
80 min
108 Views


- Five and a half fathoms!

- Five and a half fathoms!

Five and a half!

That smooth spot between

the two lines of breakers.

Yeah, I see it.

Four and a half,

getting shallow fast!

Four and a half, getting shallow!

Four and a half. Steady!

George says three fathoms through passage.

Hey, Tinker, ease that mainsheet!

- How many feet in a fathom?

- Six.

Eighteen feet through the passage.

Yeah, and the ship takes fifteen of those.

Oh, three feet to spare.

Well, I forgot to bring my water-wings!

Good morning, St. Peter!

Three and a half fathoms!

- Three and a half!

- Draught, Skipper, how old's that chart?

Stand by everybody, we're

going through the passage!

- Mind that jib, Chief!

- Breakers abaft!

Catch the swell on the

right so we'll ride it through!

Here they come! Look out, Johnny!

We made it, we're over!

- Great work, Sir!

- I bet we didn't have an inch to spare!

You bet not!.

- Take the wheel, will ya?

- Yes, Sir.

Five and a half and getting deeper!

Great stuff, Kid, we're in.

- Made it by inches!

- Yep!

Yeah! Well after this I'll

do all my yachting ashore!

Aw, you're always crabby,

that's a sport.

Well, you can have it, I don't want it.

Say! You ought to get shock

absorbers on this boat.

Sailors, come and get it!

Where have you been?

Now, now, now, now!

Women and children first!

Natives!

Look at these!

Yeah, pretty.

Hellooo.

Hellooo.

- What's that supposed to be?

- The call of the wild.

Hellooo.

- Johnny, you're outta luck, no blondes!

- Yeah, I know.

Oh! You don't suppose

they're cannibals, do you?

Well, if they are, we'll feed 'em you!

Maybe they're not allowed to eat ham.

Don't do that, I'm sensitive!

- What do you call this place?

- Probably one of the Virgin Islands.

Heaven forbid!

Here, take this for bait.

Girls, come and get some Chester, pleeeease.

Johnny, here's the charm of the South Seas:

You cruise about and out of nowhere

you tumble onto one of these little islands.

And you'll nearly always find the

natives a happy and carefree people.

Yeah, I know

Fond of light wines and dancing.

Hey! Look!

Hello, Baby, got anything on for tonight?

I give you my heart's blood.

They want to play.

They may never have seen the glass.

This water!

Catchee!

My hat!

What else you got?

Boy, I never did

like a hard clock anyway.

Here!

I've wanted you boys to get rid

of these things for a long time.

Hey, wait a minute!

You can't throw those things overboard!

Oh, they have lots of clothes.

Say, Johnny, see that

little girl over there?

- Here's a present for you.

- Give me that!

- Shark!

- Shark?

Shark!!

Get the rifle!

Submerged right there!

Hey! Don't shoot him,

you might hit a native!

- Here! Give me a hand with this line!

- Okay.

Hey! Don't do that!

You'll tear his leg off.

Steady now! Cut him loose, quick!

Do whatever you have

to do, but don't pull it!

What happened?

When the shark took the bait,

your ol' foot got caught up

in the rope and over you went.

How did I get out of it?

The line parted between you and

the shark, looks like it's been cut.

Probably one of the natives.

Which one?

Go on, Sweetheart, I'm listening.

Sardines again.

- Not bad, eh?

- Perfect!

- I'm drunk again.

- Oh! I was just tired, I know.

Say, he must be the Big Medicine

around here, eh, Skipper?

He sure is! That 's the guy

that feeds the volcano.

- Feeds the volcano?

- Sure!

That's the way they keep the volcano quiet.

He feeds it.

- Throws it the fish?

- No, Sir!

They must be young and beautiful

to please the volcano.

He wants us to eat.

- I can't make up my mind what I want?

- Got any straws?

What is this, a paper hanger's convention?

All kiding aside, Skippy,

what...what is this?

It's poi.

- Poi?

- It's a poi.

- Poi or girl, I wouldn't like it.

- You like poi.

You remember the poi

your mother used to bake!

Apple poi, lemon poi, rhubarb poi...

Oh! That kine of poi!

Well, here goes!

Aw! That's good!

That's beautiful, Mac!

Hello there!

Sure, I'm the guy.

Sure!

Boy, that's good!

I've eaten worse than

this in the Waldorf.

Hey, Skipper, what is this?

It's octopus.

Octopus?

If something crawls and stabs at you tonight,

Hector, it's me!.

Ooh! It's got me, I'm an octopus.

Skipper, what are they sore about?

How you can certainly pick 'em,

that's the King's daughter.

Yeah, that's all right with me.

Yeah, but it isn't all

right with them, she's taboo.

What do you mean?

Well, you see, they have rules

about such things in the Islands.

No one's supposed to touch her

except a native prince.

They're very strict about it.

You're going to get

your throat cut, Johnny.

Well, Johnny, it looks to me that the

only out is for you to run for the job

of Native Prince on the

democratic ticket this fall.

It's funny, Mac, what the

tropics'll do to a kid like Johnny.

I wish they did it to me.

You better keep you eye on him, Mac.

He's going native.

Ol' Devil Night's got 'im!

Ol' Tom-Tom done stole our Johnny away.

Don't you wish your were young enough

to feel the way that that kid feels.

That's right, Mac

Not me, might keep me awake.

Say, did you see the

expression on Johnny's

face when that witch

doctor was doin' all the...?

Say, what made that plant

shrivel up like that, anyhow?

I blew my breath on it.

You little devil!

I'll get even with you!

You gonna let me see your face?

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Wells Root

Wells Root (1900–1993) was a writer and teacher. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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