Talk:White Shadows in the South Seas

A silent film?
This film is not silent at all. In fact, it was applauded for being one of the finest of the early "talkies". Someone need to update the page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.173.169.47 (talk • contribs) 07:25, November 2, 2010
 * Actually it was not a "talkie", but rather a silent film with a pre-recorded soundtrack of music and some sound effects. BUt as with other silent films, it used intertitle cards to display dialog to viewers. True talkies were on their way, but had not quite yet arrived.  Schmidt,  MICHAEL Q. 04:13, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Both of you are wrong it wasn’t a silent film nor a talkie it was a part-talkie which means the move was half silent half sound Controlrabbit (talk) 16:29, 19 September 2021 (UTC)

Selznick leaves
At the close of the article it's stated that David Selznick left MGM over a dispute with Hunt Stromberg about this film. I didn't know David had anything to do with this film. Was David at MGM at this time? He would however be answerable to LB Mayer himself and would soon become Mayer's son-in-law.Koplimek (talk) 16:49, 8 June 2012 (UTC)

Did No One Look at O'Brien's Book?
Frederick O'Brien's "White Shadows in the South Seas" (Century, 1919, 450 pp) is not a novel, was not set on Samoa, and does not mention pearl diving. It is a serious travel book, for which O'Brien actually did his own background reading, drawing on Charles Darwin (evidently "Voyage of the Beagle," though the actual work is not cited), and background on Paul Gauguin, the French artist whose grave is on Hiva-oa, the island in the Marquesas where O'Brien actually spent his time. O'Brien conveys a deep sense of empathy for the plight of the vanishing Marquesans, whose culture has been trashed by whalers, missionaries and obtuse French officials. He was respectful of Marquesan customs, and has a much more refined attitude toward their near nudity than that of a film-maker who only sees an opportunity for a skin picture. It would be difficult, by my understanding of the word "idyllic," to film this book that way either, because the stories O'Brien repeats from the natives, and the overall impression of the book, are just so downright tragic. Hollywood marches on, but I maintain that it is simply a travesty to say that this film--which may have had some "redeeming social value"--was "based on" this book. I would suggest that perhaps the book was used as an excuse for the movie.

Terry J. Carter (talk) 15:35, 1 April 2015 (UTC)


 * No book ever thrown at Hollywood has ever ended up the way it's author intended or wanted. Keeping things in context, Irving Thalberg read portions if not all of O'Brien's book while convalescing in hospital. This film was intended as a documentary for Robert Flaherty. Thalberg and many in Hollywood were impressed by Flaherty's Nanook of the North and Moana which he spent several years making in the South Pacific. In the silent era 'Island themed' films 'were' a source of travelogue and getaway. Most low and middle income people in the 1920s could only dream of a trip to a tropical locale. The makers of 'White Shadows...' knew this as well as other directors of other island themed movies. MGM essentially wanted an entertainment and could not cope with Flaherty's snail's pace ethno-documentary style of filmmaking. So they sent along W. S. Van Dyke as a backup to help move the production along. Having seen this film many times and after having become acquainted more with O'Brien's several works, I would venture to say that the film is a conglomeration of several O'Brien books ie: White Shadows in the South Seas, Atolls of the Sun, Mystic Isles of the South Seas. Perhaps MGM started out wanting to make a 'skin film', others had done it in the silent era and future films would be marketed on the sex appeal nature of island women. In Flaherty's Moana the lead young Samoan actress is bare-breasted throughout the film and there's plenty of dark or dusky skin on display from other Pacific Islander people. Flaherty's approach was National Geographic in style in that to film native people's in their culture doing everyday island routines. White Shadows in the South Seas almost has no barebreasted women visible (except maybe long shots) though several stills made when Flaherty was early in the production have nude cast members at the lagoon sequence. Tabu(1931) by F. W. Murnau has nudity and Bird of Paradise(1932) King Vidor has no nudity but does have about as much skin on display as White Shadows. Since so much is lost from the silent era we can only speculate what previous 'island themed' may have revealed.Koplimek (talk) 13:20, 3 September 2015 (UTC)

clean up this sentence

 * He [Sebastian] tricks Dr. Lloyd onto a ship with a diseased crew (thinking they are ill), and his men rough up Dr. Lloyd and send the ship off into a storm.

Does this mean that Sebastian gets Lloyd onto the ship by telling him that the crew are ill (while in fact they are hale enough to rough him up), or something else? —Tamfang (talk) 07:14, 17 April 2016 (UTC)