Johnny Lingo

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Johnny Lingo, one of the sharpest traders in the South Pacific Islands, decides to bargain for a wife, and offers a record price of eight cows for Mahana, a plain girl who shuns contact. Thi... Read allJohnny Lingo, one of the sharpest traders in the South Pacific Islands, decides to bargain for a wife, and offers a record price of eight cows for Mahana, a plain girl who shuns contact. This causes quite a sensation on the island. A year later Johnny and his wife return for the ... Read allJohnny Lingo, one of the sharpest traders in the South Pacific Islands, decides to bargain for a wife, and offers a record price of eight cows for Mahana, a plain girl who shuns contact. This causes quite a sensation on the island. A year later Johnny and his wife return for the first time since the marriage, and all find that something miraculous has occurred to Maha... Read all

Director
- Judge Whitaker
Writers
- Patricia McGerr
- Claire Whitaker
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

293

YOUR RATING

Director
- Judge Whitaker
Writers
- Patricia McGerr
- Claire Whitaker
Stars

11User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos10

+ 5

User reviews11

7.2293

Featured reviews

5randymoon

"Eight cows are not enough for Mahana!"

I haven't seen this movie since 1975, so I need to track it down. I look forward to seeing it with much older and wiser eyes. Just thinking about it brings back warm nostalgic feelings which I suppose, based upon some of the responses here, are going to be replaced by disappointment.

10dafalias

So bad that it is brilliant

Of course the story of Johnny Lingo is one of the classics for Mormon children; the message it conveys is true and probably much more important today than it was at the time it was made. What makes it really watchable though, are the performances. Not their quality, but on the contrary, the lack thereof. The acting is so stiff and inept that You will laugh tears. I don't think, that Johnny Lingo was intented as funny as it comes out, but it is always worth watching. Beside trying to convey the message, that beauty is relative, inner beauty is that counts and that every one needs someone to believe in him to reach his full potential, there is no reference to the Mormon church or Mormon beliefs at all.

TSHunter

Worth a Watch

This movie was made and distributed by the Mormon Church. But, unlike most films that fall into the above category, this movie is not about religion, missionary work, joining any church, etc. and so forth. This short film could have quite possibly been made by anyone. That is what makes it so good. It is a story about a trader coming to one of the small islands of the world to get himself a wife. The island is so small, there is only room enough for one village. There are none of the modern conveniences of the rest of the world, and everything is either built by the villagers or acquired by traders who visit the island by boat and trade for their handmade goods. In this village, it is custom to bargain and pay the father of the bride in dairy cows. This may sound like a serious film, but it really is rather quite funny and has some real classic lines to it that I'm sure will endear you to the film. The story is simple yet original and the flow and pacing for the film is perfect. If you can pick it up, it would be worth the effort.

4yuukanna

Outdated Mormon Classic

Outdated Mormon film that no longer stands up to modern scrutiny of moral standards. While it promotes the idea that there is beauty in the feeling of self worth, the film also takes the subjects of racism too lightly for modern comfort. Watching this would be like listening to grandpa tell a story and ignoring the fact that he doesn't even realize that the ideas in his story are a bit bigoted.

7boblipton

Eight Cows For A Woman

Makee Blaisdell is Johnny Lingo, the shrewdest trader on the island. It has made him a wealthy man, and he has chosen a bride. Now all he has to do is negotiate the price for her with her father. But he has chosen a girl whom everyone considers plain; her father blames himself, because he only paid two cows for her mother, and her daughter, he expects, will bring less. In fact, he's considering how much he must pay Blaisdell to take her off his hands. So when he asks Blaisdell for his opening bid, he is shocked when he offers eight cows, three more than any bride has ever bought.

It's a sweet little short movie, even if all the performers playing natives speak among themselves like dopes. It was shot in the Hawaiian islands and despite some problems with a volcano eruption and bad weather, looks pretty good.

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Studio C

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Trivia
On the first big day of shooting, the crew arose to find a peculiar orange cast to the sky. This caused concern because some of the major action of the film was about to be shot, and the effect of the orangish sky on the color balance of the picture was unknown. The crew was informed that a volcanic eruption had just started on The Big Island. Smoke and ash from the eruption of Kilauea in October 1969 drifted over to the island of Oahu (which is not typical of such eruptions). Big, black clouds of soot filled the sky for a couple of days, with ash even landing at the filming location. Production ceased, with the film company waiting for the skies to clear. When filming resumed, tighter shots were used to exclude as much of the sky as possible. Production was then delayed by rain which came as a fine mist. The valley where the principal action (in the village) was to be shot turned out to be located just below a mountain where the heaviest rainfall on the island occurred. The production was on a tight schedule so filming continued in the rain, which was accompanied with a washed-out sky. Once again shots were framed to avoid showing the sky. Fortunately the drizzle-like rain did not show up on film, and shots with it matched those filmed when it was not raining. The color balance turned out to be acceptable as well, in spite of the unusually-colored skies. However, the use of the lovely vistas in the background had been partially limited by the problems associated with atmospheric conditions.