Sua Majestade o Aventureiro

His Majesty O'Keefe is directed by Byron Haskin and adapted to the screen by Borden Chase & James Hill from the novel written by Lawrence Klingman & Gerald Green. It stars Burt Lancaster, Joan Rice, Andre Morell and Abraham Sofaer. Music is by Robert Farnon and Technicolor photography by Otto Heller.

Plot finds Lancaster as Captain David O'Keefe, who after a mutiny is tossed overboard in the South Pacific. Making his way to Yap Island, O'Keefe is pleased to see the money making potential by harvesting copra from the mass coconut growth on the island. However, the natives aren't exactly thrilled by his intentions and there's also some serious German businessmen interested in the island as well. Too many cooks spoil the broth and this once peaceful little island is soon to become a hotbed of greed and division.

It's all very muscular and pretty (actually filmed on location in Fiji), led by a super tanned, white toothy grinned Lancaster, film has a very decent theme at its core, but sadly this mostly get lost in the confusing mixture. Picture never quite settles into being one cohesive whole, at times a wannabe swashbuckling adventure propelled by a South Seas love story, at others an observation of capitalism corrupting the beautiful untapped paradise's of the world. The pace is stop/start, with Haskin (Treasure Island) struggling manfully to make the various strands of the screenplay work, and cast are effective enough in just about retaining viewing Interest.

Worth it for Lancaster fans, and for fans of great choreography and attractive scenery. But it remains a hit and miss affair, it takes an age to make its point but survives ignominy on account of the unusual flavours in the mix. 5/10

Aside from some good old studio stand-bys, like Benson Fong and Philip Ahn (A Korean usually cast as some other Asian), this film has few of the faces that hung around the screens of Hollywood. But, Lancaster teamed up with the lovely Joan Rice from the UK to give us a wonderful tale of adventure in the South Seas. This time, it takes us to the Solomons to the island of Yap, who worship the stone Fey, spirits who reside in stone wheels cut and transported nearly a thousand miles. O'Keefe winds up becoming their king but with profit in mind. He wants to exploit the copra market but the Yap Islanders won't work. So, he hits on the plan to bring their Fey back and this is the beginning. The Solomons were part of the old German trust Islands and there actually was a man named O'Keefe who slipped in by marrying a local girl. But, the Germans, unlike in the movie, eventually kicked him out until they were kicked out after the first world war and then the Island went to the Japanese who were kicked out after the second world war and then...well, you get the idea. I loved this film when I saw it as a kid. No, it's far from perfect but it is a charming story with lots of action and Burt was at his best. But, those beautiful green eyes of Joan Rice were a delight as well. It's too bad we saw so little of her afterwards. Also, there's a lovely song from this film, based in part on Rachmaninov's rhapsody, called Sweet Emerald Isle. Check it out.

A deeply subversive, yet utterly enjoyable (and kinda true)South Seas movie from the 50's. Burt Lancaster is a typical 19th century trader/pirate whose only ambition is to make money out of the "natives", and fast. He comes to a Pacific Island Utopia where no one has to work... because who needs money?...

Vastly underrrated, this film makes all kinds of points. The Natives (half of whom, admittedly,are white guys in blackface)are dangerous quasi-cannibals. But the white guys (including Burt!)are plain Euro- Trash. The head chief, and Burt's head wife (Joan Rice in a lovely performance - she takes the cliché of the innocent island girl and makes a performance out of it with her eyelashes) are the real heroes.

Did I mention the Chinese dentist who knows more about investments than Burt? Or the German philosophy student who can relate to the natives better than Europeans? Filmed on location in Fiji with a cast that seem to be having the time of their lives, HIS MAJESTY O'KEEFE is a very simple, yet completely fun relic of the non-PC days. (P.S. Check out the other scripts by Borden Chase. Some good ones there...)

This film is not Lancaster's best but is enjoyable if you enjoy watching him in his athletic prime. Beautifully shot, it captures the exciting times of adventure on the high seas and island exploration. The plot is fairly insubstantial and there's nothing new here but at just over 90 minutes, the story never drags. Definitely worth a look if you're a fan of Burt's.

In 1870, the ambitious Captain David Dion O'Keefe (Burt Lancaster) leaves Hong Kong to seek the valuable copra in the South Seas. He pushes his crew too much and faces a mutiny. When the crew assumes the ship, they leave Captain O'Keefe in a small boat in the middle of nowhere. O'Keefe is found on the shore of the Island of Yap and is saved by the German agent from the company that has the monopoly in Yap, Alfred Tetins (Andre Morell), and the native Fatumak (Abraham Sofaer). When O'Keefe is recovered, he finds stranded in an island with a large quantity of coconuts and he sees the possibility of raising a fortune exploring the natural resource. However the natives do not like to work and O'Keefe returns to Hong Kong.

Captain O'Keefe tries to raise a loan to buy a new vessel, but he does not find any sponsor but the Chinese dentist Sien Tang (Philip Ahn) that offers his old vessel, crew and supplies to O'Keefe to become his partner and share his profits. O'Keefe accepts and begins his dangerous journey through the South Seas.

"His Majesty O'Keefe" is a silly adventure of an ambitious captain that seeks fortune in Micronesia and becomes a king without a crown. The plot has action, romance and drama and entertains but is dated and does not work well, despite the excellent Burt Lancaster in the lead role. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Sua Majestade o Aventureiro" ("His Majesty the Adventurer")