South Pacific 1958
I think I started watching South Pacific once when it was on TV, but couldn’t get into it. Eventually I bought some other Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals on blu-ray, but ended up just getting Oklahoma, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, though an anthology was available which included this movie as well as State Fair and Carousel. I was really impressed with Oklahoma, somewhat less so with The King and I, and haven’t watched The Sound of Music though I have seen it before. South Pacific is definitely on a lower tier. There are a few famous songs, which I was surprised all apear in the first 40 minutes or so. I don’t remember seeing Mitzi Gaynor in anything, but she is very cute here and does a good job with her many songs and dances, but her acting is a little weak. She seems more like eye candy than anything. It is fun seeing Ray Walston as a sailor, but even his acting isn’t that good, I think primarily because the material is just sort of unrealistic. The movie is mostly a romance, with some World War II naval stuff thrown in towards the end that doesn’t work well in a musical and just proves to be unrealistic and melodramatic. I can see how the story being told might be pretty good, based on short stories by James Michener, but it just doesn’t come across very well. Despite a surprising look at racial prejudice in two of the main characters, the characters don’t really develop or seem to be anything other than roles. I’m not sure why the movie doesn’t play better. Some heavy handed tinting and frosting around the edges have not aged well. But there are a few good songs and for the most part things are light and kind of interesting. This movie is kind of barely okay and easily skipped.
Written: 14 May 2021
Owned on: Digital