GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Whitech It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

somejava Over time I've noticed how much I enjoy the pace of silent movies. Not being pushed and hurried is a very welcoming experience. Also the fact, that, in between the written dialog...you only rely on the physical expressions of the actors and your own imagination. And in my opinion that allows the viewer to enjoy the movie in his or her own unique way. This holds true for all silent movies. This movie would certainly seem to have been ahead of it's time. The statement made was loud and clear. The acting was good. The underwater scenes and the context they were presented in probably had the most impact on me.

MartinHafer This is the tale of a doctor who is disgusted at the greed of the White sailors who plunder and exploit the Polynesian natives. Risking their lives to retrieve huge pearls, the locals are given mere trinkets. And, when a few die, the Whites take no heed. But, when the doctor has had enough and verbally attacks these "businessmen", his is tied to the wheel of a ship full of plague victims and cast adrift. Fortunately, he finds an unspoiled island full of sweet villagers. Will the wicked White men come and destroy this paradise, too, or will the doctor find the peace he so craves? The film has amazingly good cinematography and it's nice to see that the crew went to Tahiti to film. Additionally, the film is innovative because it's MGM's first sound film, though like most of these early films, it is NOT all-sound, but uses some synchronized music and sound effects. At the time, audiences were spellbound--today it just seems like a nice silent film with some added sound and nothing more. The story is very good and compelling, though at times a bit too earnest and preachy about those "White Devils" and their greed.I am a huge fan of F.W. Murnau, the great German director. While he did some wonderful and very advanced films (such as NOSFERATU, FAUST and THE LAST LAUGH), somehow the final film in his career (TABU, 1931) has also been accorded 'classic status'--even though it was a silent film made in 1931. In addition, you can't help but think that Murnau was copying WHITE SHADOWS IN THE SOUTH SEAS--as the films seem very similar to me. However, WHITE SHADOWS was an innovative film with synchronized sound and music. By 1931, sound was the standard in many nations and Murnau's making a silent seemed a bit out of date. If I had to watch just one of these films, I'd pick WHITE SHADOWS.

dougdoepke Thanks are due to TMC for reviving this antique for contemporary audiences. The film deserves rediscovery. With its exotic setting and simple morality tale, the fable achieves considerable power. Especially memorable is the very last scene with the artfully posed Tiki god emblematic of what has been lost. Also, note the briefness of that final revealing sequence showing how the native culture has been corrupted. Once the traders prevail, it's almost painful to see these innocents replaced with dangling cigarettes, laboring children, and commercialized dancing. Though kept brief, the stark contrast took nerve on the part of filmmakers who risked backlash from audiences unused to seeing Western impact in a negative light. For rarely do we see the effects of colonial expansion portrayed in such touching terms. Sure, some of the movie's romance scenes are overlong, while others are plain hokey. But the underlying theme of paradise lost remains as affecting now as it was then.Not to excuse the ruthless traders—but when the simple native economy is replaced by the Western commodity economy, an historical dilemma is posed. On one hand, we regret the loss of the simple, idyllic innocence so powerfully portrayed in the trusting people and natural abundance of the tropical isle. However, that idyllic existence is also a static existence, with no motive for science, knowledge, or development, at least as the Western world understands them. Whatever their greedy motives, the traders do represent the possibilities of dynamic Western culture. Put simply and starkly, the contrasting choice is between a culture of comfortable inertia or one of developmental challenge. The appeal of each is something to think about. Anyway, I'm not sure which I would choose, but after a long week's work, I think I'm with the doctor.

FERNANDO SILVA It still doesn't cease to amaze me how some Silent Movies, dramas or comedies, catch my attention so much, getting me so immersed in the plot, thus making me forget I'm watching a silent, an antique, a piece of history, enjoying the movie as I'd do with any "talking" movie.In this case, the images are so real (it was filmed on location) and so hauntingly beautiful, that make many later Hollywood films from the 1940's or 1950's, which depict "South Seas Life" look unreal, fake, notwithstanding their possible entertainment value.There's so much truth in this morality photo-play about a white man, identified as a "derelict" of the South Seas, previously a doctor, who finds "Paradise on Earth" (peace, love & happiness), on a certain island of the Polynesia. Monte Blue is great as this "white man".Most of the featured players of the film, one realizes, are real natives from the islands, and this adds so much truth to the storyline. Beautiful actress Raquel Torres, does not seem (IMHO) out of place at all as Monte Blue's native love interest. And Robert Anderson is a very nasty villain.There are some awesome underwater sequences, featuring octopuses, sharks, pearl-diving and others featuring palm-climbing, dancing, etc. Notice the different tinting (reddish, blue, sepia ...) of the sequences of the film; only at the beginning and on the end, plain black and white is used.Great Sound score for this late "silent film", the first used for a MGM film and the first time Leo-the-Lion roared! The original South-Sea Islands Film. Excellent.