South Sea Woman (1953)

Very best movie i ever watch

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

In a recent biography of Burt Lancaster the only two things that were mentioned about South Sea Woman was that it enabled him to fulfill a commitment to Warner Brothers on a three picture deal and that he was instrumental in getting Chuck Connors the part of his fellow Marine in hijinks. Other than that this one is strictly minor league Lancaster.The title role of South Sea Woman is played by Virginia Mayo who the two have a rivalry over. The story is narrated from several perspectives at a court martial that Lancaster is undergoing. These two manage to miss the withdrawal of Marines from Shanghai which occurred a few weeks before Pearl Harbor. Lancaster wants to get back to the outfit especially when they get news of the Japanese attack, but Connors has Mayo on his mind, he wants to get married.Not since the Errol Flynn film Desperate Journey also by Warner Brothers was there ever a more lighthearted approach to war. These two guys also manage to liberate a Vichy governed French colony and turn it over to the Free French and from said island recruit a crew to get to Guadalcanal where they do distinguish themselves in their own private action. All this related to a rather incredulous court martial board. What was interesting was that Burt Lancaster did two films at once. While this was shooting Lancaster went over to the set of Three Sailors And A Girl and did a small walk-on role in his Marine uniform costume in that musical. With that he fulfilled a three picture commitment the other being The Flame And The Arrow in which he also co-starred with Virginia Mayo. The comedy was kind of forced and while it had a few laughs in it South Sea Woman is clearly a film that Lancaster wanted to get off his plate and move on. That year of 1953 he also did From Here To Eternity a much better film about the start of the Pacific War.

This is a definite turn off your brain film. If you can, you'll have a nice time--if you can't, then your eyes will roll--especially at the end.The film begins with a court martial. For some reason, Burt Lancaster's character is being tried for desertion and several other charges. At first he refuses to testify--and so those who admired and knew him came to his defense. What follows is a story about how Lancaster and his fellow Marine friend (Chuck Conners) got separated from their unit and had a rousing adventure--culminating with a battle between Lancaster and 10 of his friends and an entire Japanese invasion--of Guadalcanal even!! The story is fun and the interplay between Lancaster and Virginia Mayo was nice. Unfortunately, the film ends with one cliché after another and one of the most ridiculous battle scenes ever. In fact, I might consider it THE most ridiculous battle scene! My wife sat there--fuming at the stupidity of the last 10 minutes of the movie (and she was right) and my mother-in-law liked it--saying it was enjoyable nonetheless and had a nice happy ending. I think my opinion is a little of both (plus, I don't want to side with either one!).

This is the type of film that James Cagney and Ann Sheridan would have done 10 years before, and got away with. (Actually, they did a similar one, called "Torrid Zone"). Burt Lancaster, having dealt with Pearl Harbor invasions the same year in "From Here to Eternity", finds himself as another marine, this time in danger of being court-marshaled for a variety of crimes, including being AWOL during wartime. As each crime is addressed, we are witnesses to flashbacks of what actually took place. In scenes that cry out for color, Lancaster's adventures of his love/hate relationship with photo gal Virginia Mayo are presented. The court martial set up is very serious, then all of a sudden as the flashbacks occur, the flow of the film switches to a cartoon like pace. Lancaster, in court, refuses to defend himself, even not even plead "not guilty", and this sets up questions as to why. There is also the absent character of Mayo's fiancée, whom we later see in the flashbacks as played by Chuck Conners. If anything, Lancaster's silence is probably because he knows that the so-called facts are so ridiculous that nobody would believe them. But as each of the "facts" are revealed, Lancaster has no choice but to testify, and when he does, we still never figure out really why he would choose not to cop a plea in the first place. He looks so uncomfortable here. It appears that the writers took all of their loony tune scripts and put them into live action format. It all starts with the sinking of a saloon, then goes into the theft of a yacht and ends on a battle with the Japanese that probably had Marine officers squirming with disbelief that an American film company could present such tripe with a straight face. Mayo, as the titled "South Sea Woman", is Ginger (not Mary Ann), and isn't even shipwrecked. The film really isn't even about her, or the other South Sea Woman who has four nieces that Lancaster makes out with simultaneously. The only reason I gave this a rating as high as 4 was I had so much fun laughing at what was wrong with it. Between this and "His Majesty O'Keefe" (also adrift in the Pacific), Lancaster must have really been desperate for dry land.

Sergeant James O'Hearn is standing on trial for a number of serious misdemeanours, refusing to testify or even state his defence, the outlook is very bleak. Much against his wishes, good time girl Ginger Martin takes to the stand and the whole case against O'Hearn is going to be seen in a very different light. A tale of loves, friendships, rivalry's, bad luck, but most of all, heroism in the line of duty.The genre police have tagged this picture as an action/comedy/romance set just prior to the Pacific hostilities in WWII. That it's a multi genre piece is a given, that it's also an odd bit of cinema is also very much understandable. That's the only real complaint with South Sea Woman, it's so jaunty and full of fun that when we get to the wonderful, bold and tough last quarter, you are not exactly sure how to feel. It's like entering a fancy dress party and winning first prize but then suddenly being told the prize is for worst costume of the night!Anyway, the cast seem to be having a right laugh with it, Burt Lancaster (0'Hearn) and Chuck Connors (Davey White) are constantly at loggerheads about their participation in the conflict, and the direction they should be taking (humouressly so), because right in between them is Virginia Mayo (Ginger), sparklingly pretty she's all set to marry White, but O'Hearn is doing his hardest to ensure that that doesn't happen. This is the mainstay of the film, we (they) lurch from one fight to another, from one daft encounter to the next, bad luck and sheer bravado constantly zipping around with our protagonists, and then the shift to full blown drama. It ties up all the loose ends, and it in no way is a cop out ending, in fact far from it, but it does take some getting used to and even some time after the credits have rolled I personally was a bit bemused.It's a recommended film, if only for the sparky cast it is worth it, but just go into it expecting a whisk in the blender and you will be OK. 6/10