Pearl of the South Pacific ** (1955, Virginia Mayo, Dennis Morgan, David Farrar) – Classic Movie Review 13,705

‘Love? I’ve had it! now what I’m after is pearls!’… pearls as black as their hearts… black as her past! Virginia Mayo stars in the 1955 adventure film Pearl of the South Pacific.

‘What’s one more sin when there’s a fortune to share?’

Director Allan Dwan’s 1955 American Technicolor and SuperScope adventure film Pearl of the South Pacific is based on a story by Anna Hunger, and stars Virginia Mayo, Dennis Morgan and David Farrar.

Virginia Mayo is the prize pearl in this kitsch and stodgy escapist suspense adventure about mysterious killings and skulduggery on a Pacific island. She is lovely, wide-eyed and wooden as a damsel in distress menaced by an island-hopping band of pearl thieves.

David Farrar and Dennis Morgan struggle with the murky script by Talbot Jennings, Richard Landau and Jesse L Lasky Jr, which would require more exciting performances.

However, the film looks as lovely as its star. The eye-pleasing Hawaii scenery puts a travelogue surface gloss on the proceedings, John Alton’s cinematography is superb, and director Allan Dwan always crafts his work quite brilliantly.

The film was released on July 4, 1955 (US) and July 24, 1955 (UK), by RKO Radio Pictures.

Cast: Virginia Mayo as Rita Delaine, Dennis Morgan as Dan Merrill, David Farrar as Bully Hague, Murvyn Vye as Halemano, Basil Ruysdael as Tuan Michael, Lance Fuller as Momu, Lisa Montell, Carol Thurston.

Pearl of the South Pacific is directed by Allan Dwan, runs 86 minutes, is made by Filmcrest Productions [Benedict Bogeaus Production], is released by RKO Radio Pictures, is written by Talbot Jennings, Richard Landau and Jesse L Lasky Jr, is shot in Technicolor and SuperScope by John Alton, is produced by Benedict Bogeaus, is scored by Louis Forbes, and is designed by Van Nest Polglase.

Virginia Mayo (November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was lifelong Republican who endorsed Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972, and her long-time friend Ronald Reagan in 1980.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,705

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