Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

macpet49-1 Yes, Mitzala was trained to do it all like Dodo Day--sing, act, dance. However, poor Mitzi was always the second banana even when she was the first banana. She did a very (and I praise her for this) honest interview in the 70s explaining that she felt she never discovered her real persona or self in films and was never a very good film actress. She's correct. It's nothing to be ashamed of as she entertains well enough to pass just not well enough to be memorable. For decades I mistook her for Vera Ellen and a host of other dancer type actresses from same era who were also unmemorable. Her voice is high school audition style--on pitch but weak and unsophisticated. It doesn't speak from the soul; it is merely adequate to get an audition. Her dancing is terrific but her roles never quite gave her the chance to show it off much. She was the girl you went on a blind date with while you fantasized of Doris Day. She knew her lines and showed up. However, in terms of making a film like this wonderful, she and the miscasting of many others here were the cause of it being just above average. The best performances are by the character actors/sailors like Ray Walston. Sad waste of money and talent. Mitz proved herself in Vegas and live stage which was her niche.

Dalbert Pringle *Trivia note* - (For anyone who's interested) - This is the 1958 Musical/Romance where the vivacious Mitzi Gaynor suggestively sings "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair". As Mitzi soon finds out after singing this little ditty - It's one thing to wash that man out of your hair, girl, but it's another thing to keep him out.Even though South Pacific was a tad too l-o-n-g at 160 minutes and a little dry and slow-paced at times - I still enjoyed this Technicolour, Rodgers & Hammerstein musical extravaganza all the same. There were some really fine musical numbers here and the cast were all very nice looking.South Pacific's story revolves around a young American nurse from Little Rock who meets a handsome and mysterious French plantation owner on an exotic island during World War 2. Seeking a breather from the battles going on around them, these two find refuge in each others' arms as their romance quickly blossoms in this lush tropical paradise.

Scott Amundsen I have always considered SOUTH PACIFIC to be Rodgers and Hammerstein's finest work: a musical drama in an era when musical dramas were rare, it was probably the most innovative and controversial of all their shows, with its anti-racism story line (epitomized in the great song "You've Got to Be Taught"), and its willingness to combine the cheeriness of the traditional musical comedy with the dark realities of the subject matter (World War II).Unfortunately, the film version, despite being directed by the legendary Joshua Logan and scripted not only by Logan and Rodgers and Hammerstein, but James A Michener, author of the source novel, is just not all that wonderful. Rodgers and Hammerstein knew how to write musicals, and all of their works, even the lesser ones, are at least interesting.I don't know what happened in the transition, but this movie is an over-produced, bloated, dreadfully photographed (the color palette is just awful) piece of work, clumsily assembled and poorly cast. Mitzi Gaynor is way too young-looking for the role of Nellie Forbush, and lacks the star power that Mary Martin brought to the role on the stage. Rossano Brazzi and John Kerr are okay, but WHY did Hollywood insist on casting actors in musicals who could not do their own singing? At least Gaynor does her own vocals; Brazzi and Kerr are both dubbed, and so, inexplicably, is Juanita Hall as Bloody Mary. Hall was more than capable of singing the role herself: she created the character on Broadway, but for some reason the filmmakers decided to use Muriel Smith's voice, throwing all credibility out the window because Muriel Smith's singing and Juanita Hall's talking did not bear the SLIGHTEST resemblance to each other.About the best thing I can say about this film is that the show is presented pretty much intact (the made-for-TV remake, while improving on some things, inexplicably excised the song "Happy Talk" on the grounds that it was too "politically incorrect. Oh please.). But of all the R&H shows, this one needed singing actors; it did not, for the most part, get them, and even one player who could sing was saddled with a bad overdub job. Thankfully, Ray Walston as Billis gets to do his own vocals, but that character is the one role in the show that does not require a great voice.Plus the thing goes on too long (some cuts run almost three hours); an egregious fault that one would not have expected from Logan, who should have had a better sense of pace than is shown here.I have seen regional theatre productions of this show that put the film to shame. Watching this film, I cannot help but ask why so much went so wrong.

miss_lady_ice-853-608700 *One spoiler in the last paragraph* South Pacific is one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best. The hit rate with the songs is remarkably high. 'Younger than Springtime' and 'Some Enchanted Evening' have entered many a singer's repertoire, and songs like 'I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair' and 'Honey Bun' add some up-tempo fun.Mitzi Gaynor is adorable as Nellie, the young American nurse who falls in love with charming older Frenchman Emile De Becque, played by Rossano Brazzi. Brazzi is old enough to make the age gap noticeable but he is no OAP. He's your typical cultured 'maturer' man, with good looks. Their romance is believable.John Kerr has been unfairly maligned in reviews. Lt. Cable is a secondary character who exists to contrast this secondary romance with the main one. It's your typical pretty man role and Kerr is sufficiently attractive. He also gets one of the best songs to act (although he doesn't sing it as his singing voice is dubbed): 'You've Got To Be Carefully Taught', a song which argues that it is parents (and on a wider scale,a society) who pass on their racism to their children.It's a long film but with the static camera, it's essentially a night in at the theatre. You can make an evening of it- there's even an intermission. The colour filters are clumsily done. They do add a feeling of strangeness and exoticism but they are overused. You do get used to them eventually though.Back in the fifties and before, musicals were quite innocent entertainment. There is a sweet innocence in South Pacific with the relationship between Nellie and Emile but this is still wartime. Both romances would probably never have started if Nellie and Cable weren't on the island and it wasn't wartime. The theme of racism is handled subtly but daringly. Nellie and Cable are not bigots but simply the product of an intolerant society. Luckily the film doesn't sell out and pair Nellie off with Cable, which would be the more conventional romance.