Pagan Love Song

guil fisher wrote on IMDB:

This is a gorgeous film. Scenery of the island of Tahiti was exceptional. Esther Williams and Howard Keel make a beautiful pair on screen. They seemed to suit each other. They did appear together again in "Jupiter's Darling". This was at the peak of their careers. MGM gave them a no nonsense type story line and interlaced it with some nice songs and one spectacular water ballet. I am an Esther Williams fan. I love watching this beautiful woman on screen. And when she's wet, she's fantastic! In the underwater scenes, with beautiful coral plants and colorful foilage, she seems to be like a mermaid in her own world. Rita Moreno plays a feature role, in her early MGM days, complete in sarong and long flowing hair. And look for Ben Gage, Esther's real life husband at the time, making an exit down the gangplank, carrying a little girl from the ship that brings Keel to the island.   [ show more ]

A wholesome entertaining film from the MGM Musicals. Charming and fun to watch. You'll find yourself smiling all the way through the film. [ show less ]

David Atfield (bits@alphalink.com.au) wrote on IMDB:

Someone seemed to have forgotten that a film needs a plot when they devised this piece of fluffy entertainment. Still the people are pretty, the setting even more pretty, and the fantasy sequence the prettiest of the lot. The songs are forgettable - but just turn the brain off and enjoy.

artzau wrote on IMDB:

The other comment here is that this movie has no plot. Well, there is, but it's a thin one. But, consider the social context of this film, the beginning of the 50s, a time when musicals were king and the world was still optimistic. Things looked good: the horrible WW2 was over and the boys were home; the economy was so-so but people were hopeful: many ex-GIs had returned to school (a social feature which would bear fruits in the coming years); Rosie the Riveter had put up her tools and was now in maternity clothes waiting to socialize her daughters and make them aware that they could earn money just like the men and not have to stand for being deprived of the opportunity to do so; the Korean war was still a year away. Things looked good. So, why not have a bit of Hollywood costume mind pablum about a guy inheriting a small plantation in Tahiti, having a romance with swimarina Esther Williams in dark-skinned make-up and all of that. No plot? Sure, there is. It's just not very tension-fraught. Is that bad? To tell the truth, I don't think folks went to see this film for extensive intellectual challenges. It is full of memorable songs, lovely-to-look-at moments and some nice shots of Tahiti. Rosie and her back-from-the-war GI Joe likely held hands during the colorful dream sequences, unknowing that their daughters and granddaughters would be horrified at the chauvinist late 40s dialogue. I missed this film as a kid and saw it on video a few years ago. I loved Howard Keel and Esther Williams as a kid and would likely have loved it more then. But still, there were moments, e.g., during the confusing (and somewhat confused) dream sequence, when I could smile, losing myself in the same way that thousands who go to Las Vegas and see shows at the club do-- and it only cost me a few dollars! Check it out. I agree. The plot is scarce but, doggone it, it's sure fun to see.