The stories of an American army nurse falling for a mature, mysterious French plantation owner. Of a young lieutenant’s heart being taken by the daughter of the local philosopher. These stories become intertwined, against the backdrop of World War II and the call of Bali Ha’i. Cinema Scholars reflect on the making of Rodger and Hammerstein’s South Pacific.
Introduction
The creative partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein has never been equaled before or since. They brought their own unique style to the Broadway stage and then to the Silver Screen. In the process, they changed how audiences viewed and felt about musicals forever. One of their endearing classics is South Pacific. Its source material: Tales of the South Pacific, was written by James A. Michener. The story, about a naval officer’s experiences with his fellow serviceman and their relationships with the local inhabitants of an island, is based on his own experiences being stationed in Espiritu Santo in 1945.
The stories were picked up by a story editor at MGM Studios and recommended to the stage and screen versions’ future director, Joshua Logan. The original book, which was published in 1947, went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature that year. South Pacific would hit Broadway in 1949
and then grace the big screen nine years later.
From Page to Stage: A Musical is Born
After he had obtained the rights to the book, it was Logan who had chased and fought to get Rodgers and Hammerstein involved. He thought that they would be perfect to bring the Tales of the South Pacific to life through song. The duo, however, were not so keen on the idea. At the time, Rodgers and Hammerstein had a distinct reputation for struggling with theatrical exotic locations. Their previous work in the hit musical Oklahoma, premiering in 1943, showed how comfortable the duo was with Americana.
Logan offered an idea to Rodgers – why not, because of the locations, make the show into a movie instead? Rodgers, however, took this as an insult as it looked as though Logan was doubting their abilities. Another issue to tackle was Tales of the South Pacific, the book itself. It was composed of nineteen separate stories that Logan, Rodgers, and Hammerstein had to condense into a two-to-three-hour show.
They eventually settled on what would be the heart of the story and would carry over into the film: The Heroine’s Story, The Young Lovers Story, and A Boar’s Tooth. The character of Luthur provided comic relief. Once the story was settled, songs were written in a short space of time. Rehearsals and choreography began in February 1949 and the show opened later that year, sweeping the Tony Awards. Two years later, it would still be selling out. With a global tour arranged and profits in the millions, the sale of the film rights to 20th Century Fox was completed in 1956 for $1.25 million.
From Stage to Silver Screen
Rodgers and Hammerstein had a positive relationship with 20th Century Fox. As a result, the film corporation had the first option on any of their musicals. It was not just from a business standpoint. Rodgers and Hammerstein were also impressed from a production and technological perspective as Fox utilized widescreen and stereo processes for their movies. This included Todd-AO, a new wide-angle deep-screen motion picture process. Todd-AO brought new sights and new sounds to moviegoers, creating truly cinematic experiences. Fox had decided South Pacific would be one of their tentpole pictures of that year. They offered to put up a budget of $6 million ($66 million today), having decided to film on location in Spain, Kauai, Hawaii, and Malaysia.
Casting
As with any stage-to-screen adaptation, casting proved to be tricky business for the powers that be. The Broadway lead, Mary Martin was deemed too old, in her mid-40s, for the film version. Big names such as Doris Day, Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor were approached. Casting the male lead also provided trouble as the stage actor had died. The lead role of Emil would eventually, go to internationally known Italian actor Rossano Brazzi. He had impressed Rodgers and Hammerstein by singing ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ at a party they were attending in New York.
Although most lead actresses of the time asked for the role of Nellie, Mitzi Gaynor landed it by accident. She was trying out for another role but impressed the director with her audition so much that she was rushed to do a secret screen test in front of the Fox Orchestra! Juanita Hall carried over her role of the unforgettable, flirtatious, and ahead-of-her-time Bloody Mary from stage to screen. However, her singing voice was dubbed at the request of Rodgers for Muriel Smith, who had played the role in London. Ray Walston, the fast-talking Luther in the story, had originally landed the role in the road company of South Pacific. He went on to play the same role in the London production. All agreed there would be no one better to play the film version.
Production
The film version of South Pacific had a shooting schedule of eighty-four days. The time was split almost in half between the Kauai Islands and the Fox lot. Many scenic and aerial shots were filmed of the lush landscape. However, one of the biggest problems the crew encountered was in creating the dream-like fantasy of Bali Ha’i. This was solved via delicate ‘process shots’ of the island of Fiji. Finishing effects, matte paintings, and double exposures were used to create an otherworldly feel. ‘Real’ production took months to set up with tons of equipment being used on the small island in Hawaii. Additionally, regular storms ruined many of the sets and cost Fox thousands of dollars per day.
As a tentpole film of that year, Fox gave over four of their largest soundstages to the filming of South Pacific. The director ordered that the entire score be recorded before filming began so the cast had cues and playback to strengthen their emotional performances. It was not just the cast and crew who appreciated the music being played. The fans also enjoyed it as the soundtrack album would become one of the top-selling soundtrack albums of all time.
The ‘Color Filter Controversy’
Upon revisiting, one aspect of the film truly stands out. Something that consumes the viewer at certain points in the film. Indeed, this was also a big area of contention at the time. The deep color changes during musical numbers. The film’s director was concerned that the lush tropical settings would appear unnatural in Technicolor and felt deeply that he needed to inject some fantasy and romanticism into the musical numbers since people breaking into songs was not that realistic. Therefore, color filters were used.
During this period in film-making, the filters were put on top of the camera lens when the scenes were shot. Color filters had been used in Fox productions before but on a limited basis. Upon viewing some early shot scenes, Hammerstein hated the use of color filters and they became one of the most controversial aspects of the film. It even confused audiences at the time, with some asking “Is it supposed to look like that?” Even the director later apologized for the overuse of filters. In later life though, after watching the film on VHS, Logan stated he liked the way the filtered scenes looked on the small screen.
Today, these parts of the film make it unique – Bali Hai and Some Enchanted Evening as prime examples in the film simply would not be the same experience without those deep, intense colors that are also bathing the characters. Of course, with today’s technology, it would have been entirely possible to ‘unfilter’ these scenes digitally. However, audiences are fortunate the studio has left these scenes alone.
The Release
Based on their previous history with Rodgers and Hammerstein; Fox knew they had a global megahit on their hands. They were so confident about the positive impact of the film, Fox even went as far as making deals with travel agents for movie-tie-in trips to the South Pacific locations. When distributing the film, as still in practice today, there were different cuts of the film for different regional markets. In this case the European cut and the American cut. The European cut was more faithful to the stage version which opens with Nellie and Amille. While the American version opens with the airforce. South Pacific became the top-grossing US film of 1958.
On Reflection
Perhaps unfairly, South Pacific is rarely ranked as one of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s best cinematic productions. However, we must consider their body of work, which includes the heartbreaking Carousel (1956), rip-roaring Oklahoma! (1955) Academy Award-winning The King and I (1956) and their final and most famous collaboration The Sound of Music (1965). Based on this, South Pacific does, certainly, live up to the name of “classic.”
While the story may be dated and the cast not as memorable as other productions, many of the songs, and the score, have greatly endured. Some Enchanted Evening and Bali Ha’i are rightly included in the American Film Institute’s list of the Top 100 America’s Greatest Music in the Movies. South Pacific deserves a revisit by movie fans for its enchanting score, exotic visuals, and production values. They just don’t make them like this anymore, and it certainly has earned its place amongst the other titles by titans Rodgers and Hammerstein. Bali Ha’i still calls you.
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