Pagan Love Song (1950)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I know the title will put you off, as will the fact that Esther Williams dons dark makeup and pretends to be Tahitian and Rita Moreno speaks in broken English, but if you can get past the "island people are primitive" attitude the movie takes, Pagan Love Song is actually pretty good. I've seen a few Esther Williams flicks, and this one is by far my favorite. Probably because hunky Howard Keel spends more of the movie without his shirt than fully clothed.Half-Tahitian Esther Williams -because Hollywood wouldn't approve of a truly interracial romance-falls for visiting American Howard Keel and helps him adjust to island life. Rita Moreno and her boyfriend help out around the house, and an old woman sends her kids to live with Howard so they can grow up around a proper gentleman, and he complains about not being able to take a bath in a tub-oh, the difficulties of living in Tahiti!Howard is given several songs to show off his beautiful singing voice, and while they're simple-during one song, Rita Moreno taps a rhythm on bamboo stalks while Howard sings "The House of Singing Bamboo"-since he's singing them, they aren't bad. If he can sell a song while pedaling a stationary bicycle in front of an obvious blue screen background, he can sell anything. Plus, in glorious Technicolor, his teeth and tan are enough eye candy in themselves; just wait 'til he dons a sarong!The movie was filmed in Hawaii, so the surroundings for most of the scenes are lush and gorgeous. And even though some of the songs are silly, if you're watching an Esther Williams movie, you're not really expecting the songs to be complex. She has a couple of very pretty swimming dance numbers, and Howard even joins her for some of the choreography! There's also an entertaining Hula chorus number that helps transport you to the tropical setting. If you're looking to introduce yourself to Esther Williams, or if you're looking for a light musical with a ridiculously handsome lead, rent Pagan Love Song.

Howard Keel inherits a plantation in Tahiti, Esther Williams is a local girl he falls in love with....and that's about it as far as story goes in this light-as-air, exotic musical. Eye-filling Hawaiian (actually) sights and two very attractive stars (Esther must have been in the best shape of any female movie star of her time) make "Pagan Love Song" a pleasant diversion, even though it is mostly uninspired, both musically and comedically. The one exception is an extended underwater sequence with Esther near the end. The DVD includes a number of songs deleted from the final cut, which accounts for the short running time (only 76 minutes). ** out of 4.

As Tahiti inhabitant Esther Williams is getting restless to go, former schoolteacher Howard Keel has arrived at the island to live at the plantation he has inherited. But when he gets there, he sees it's no plantation. Through an assumption and mix-up, he tries to hire Esther to be his housekeeper, but Rita Moreno and her man are the hired help instead. "Pagan Love Song" is the shortest film in Ms. Esther's repertoire and therefore has no lulls, being full of colorful dances, moody songs and the beautiful Tahitian waters. Of course, they form an animosity at one point. Will they make up? If this film doesn't make you feel like you're on a deserted island, in the middle of a heat wave and jumping in the ocean, even when you're in deep-freeze winter days when watching this, nothing will. A more romantic, exotic, and soothing film experience you will not find. A must-see film for Esther Williams fans!

"Pagan Love Song" is an enjoyable film. However, I heartily agree with other reviewers that point out that the film really has little in the way of plot. Instead, it's just an excuse to feature Esther Williams in a swimming suit and hear Howard Keel belt out a few tunes. Oddly, however, quite a few of the songs seem to have little to do with the thin plot--like they randomly tossed in a few tunes.The film is set in Tahiti, but I strongly suspect that the thing was filmed in Hawaii, as the extras all seemed to speak English and lacked French Polynesian accents. It begins with Hazard (Howard Keel) arriving on the island to take possession of a plantation. One of the first persons he meets is Mimi (Esther Williams) and he stupidly assumes she cannot speak English and is some simple native--not realizing she's well educated and from an excellent family. Now you KNOW that eventually the two will fall in love and marry but in between is a lot of nonsense--none of which seems particularly important. Additionally, there are the obligatory song and dance numbers. Overall, it's a pretty piece of fluff and no more. A pleasant diversion and no more.