L'oiseau de paradis

After studying in the US, the son of a Polynesian Chief (with white in his blood) returns home to the superstition-laden islands along with a vacationing Frenchman he met at the University; despite dire warnings from the soothsaying Kahuna, the white stranger--who represents a portent of turbulence to come--falls in love with his friend's blue-eyed sister and decides he wants to stay. Corny, daft, but enjoyable tropical star-crossed lovers tale--a loose remake of King Vidor's same-titled film from 1932 via Richard Walton Tully's play--has been adapted and directed by Delmer Daves, who gives the splendor of native life a frisky, romantic allure. What might have become a heavy mix of soap and masochism is brought off well by the filmmaker, who mounts the proceedings with grand, melodramatic style (even if the angry volcano at the end looks tacked on). Jeff Chandler and Debra Paget (playing brother and sister, fittingly, since they both share a dimpled chin) and Louis Jourdan approach the material with dreamy seriousness, avoiding camp and actually creating two-dimensional characters. Some may argue the production lacks a high-level of gloss or strong special effects, though I believe Daves was focused far more on the customs and beliefs of these people--and also on the love story--rather than on the technical aspects. As such, it's a more emotional picture than its predecessor, and certainly the music by Daniele Amfitheatrof and Ken Darby is a wonderful asset. **1/2 from ****

Filmed on the Big Island (Island of Hawaii) at Kalapana and Hilo. The color version film is still played regularly in downtown Hilo where it has always been a cult classic. This great movie is ever poignant where each night you can see the glow of the lava still flowing from Madam Pele's Kilauea Volcano. You never know when you will need another Debra Piaget to jump into the fiery lava and appease the goddess' wrath. Movies just don't get better than this! Aloha indeed!

Bird of Paradise is a movie that stays in your mind after you see it for its fascinating story,natural sceneries and acting.Debra Paget is so sweet and sweet and sweet in her performance of "Kalua".Just remember the final scene when her lover (Louis Jourdan) is leaving the island after the volcano eruption, and he is thinking and remembering her,and the spectator can see that beautiful sweet smile of Kalua.Jourdan's acting was very good also as the lover. I dont know if the negative of this film has been lost or what.But is a good question why the studios has not released this film already on video.The only one available is the one of the 30's. I think we should have available on VHS and DVD this wonderful 1951 version. An amazing love story.

The movie was actually filmed in a remote spot on a private estate (my family's) on the Island of Hawaii. For verification note that the Chiefess is Violet Nathanial. She was a life long member of Haili Church in Hilo which is near where the film was made. Her daughter, well into her 80's and remembering few things always remembered the only line her mother had in the film: AHHHH.

Other members of the cast - local extras - were also from Haili Church and generally from the Brown family (Violet Nathanial was a Brown before she married)

The filming location is on a large estate outside of Hilo that remains, more than 50 years later, with the same family and has since been used for one of Hawaii 50 episodes.

When I first saw "Bird of Paradise", I was an adolescent and I saw it on television as a not-so-recent movie. I already had a crush on Debra Paget from having seen her as Morning Star in "Broken Arrow." I was also a bit enamoured with her sister, Lisa Gaye as Collette DuBois on "the Bob Commings Show." But I figured that sooner or later I would get over my adolescent infatuation with the exotic characters these sister actresses were playing and eventually I'd settle down, marry a white bread woman, and get an office job like my father.

Now it is 40 years later and I have spent the vast majority of that time serving, studying, and teaching in Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan. I never got over my infatuation with exotic, non-white bread women. I now have two masters degrees. When getting my masters in Far East Asian Studies, each time I described one more aspect of the "Bird of Paradise" wedding to a colleague whose specialty was the study of Bali culture, he gasped, "That's just like it is in Bali!"

"Jeff Chandler explains to Louis Jordon, 'You must come at night and steal her.' 'But I thought her parents approved of the marriage.' 'They do. But if they freely let her go, it would mean they don't love her and it would be an insult to her.' 'OK, I come and steal her. And we run away together.' 'No. She will scream and fight you.' 'But she loves me and wants to marry me.' 'Yes. But if she goes with you freely, it would mean she doesn't love her parents and it would be an insult.' 'OK. I steal her. She screams and fights me. And I take her away.' 'Yes. But you have to carry her and run fast because I as her brother will grab my spear and alert all the other men in the village and we will try to find you, catch you, and kill you. If we didn't, it would mean we don't care about her and it would be an insult. But don't worry. You will escape and take her to your secret place.' 'What secret? You and the young men of the village helped me build it.' 'Well, on that night, we won't be able t find it. We will get close but we won't find it. And we will be very angry about that and make angry noises all night. That will be your wedding night music.'

Even more than she is in "Broken Arrow", Debra Paget is devoted to her white husband. Someone who when asked if she is ready to jump into the erupting volcano will say, "I have loved and been loved. I am ready." I never did find a woman as fully exotic and as completely devoted to me as the image radiated by Debra Paget in "Broken Arrow," "Bird of Paradise," "Demetrius and the Gladiators," and "The Ten Commandments." But I have been living with the same Asian woman for 31 years. And I am happy.