W. S. Van Dyke - White Shadows in the South Seas (1928)

Even today, the Marquesas Islands beckon travelers yearning for an exotic and authentic Polynesian experience. Imagine the wonder of 1928 audiences when White Shadows in the South Seas took them thousands of miles from home to that remote Eden of rolling waves and palm-fringed beaches. The first of W.S. Van Dyke’s famed filmed-on-location adventures (the others: The Pagan and Trader Horn) tells a dramatic tale of foreign interlopers – a booze-sodden doctor and a rapacious pearl trader – who bring destruction to a vibrant Pacific culture. The film features synchronized music and sound effects plus spectacular, Academy Award®-winning cinematography that captures a paradise in peril.







In this little-known Van Dyke picture, the brilliant cinematography and acting cancel out the shallow plot and seemingly endless 'docu-footage' of the island. What it all adds up to is a very interesting, beautifully shot representation of an exotic place, with a bit of heavy-handed message to make it a story rather than a documentary. There is one exception to this, though, and it is a stunning one: the scene in which the 'white god' teaches the girl to whistle. It is surprisingly intimate, and acted wonderfully well. I recommend this one to fans of early cinematography. (IMDB comment)









Lloyd (Monte Blue) es uno de esos médicos borrachines que en los años '20 y '30 parecieron ejercer su oficio en todo tipo de lugares alejados de la civilización. En este caso, una isla de las Marquesas habitada por nativos tan contagiados por lo "civilizado" que se revientan los pulmones buceando en busca de perlas que meticulosamente van a parar a las arcas del inescrupuloso mercader Sebastian (Robert Anderson). Lloyd se manifiesta avergonzado de su raza por el daño causado a estos nativos pero es desestimado por todos.







.