White Shadows (1928)

Movie
German title	White shadows
Original title	White Shadows in the South Seas
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1928
length	88 minutes
Rod
Director	WS Van Dyke
script	Ray Doyle , ; Jack Cunningham
production	Hunt Stromberg , ; Irving Thalberg
music	William ax
camera	Clyde De Vinna ; George Gordon Nogle , ; Bob Roberts
cut	Ben Lewis
occupation
	Monte Blue : Lloyd; Raquel Torres : Fayaway; Robert Anderson : Sebastian; Renee Bush : Lucy;

White Shadows (Original title: White Shadows in the South Seas ) is an American drama film directed by WS Van Dyke from 1928. Van Dyke replaced the original director Robert J. Flaherty , who disagreed with MGM's production guidelines. The screenplay is based on the 1919 novel by Frederick O'Brien of the same name. The film premiered on July 31, 1928 in New York, the general theatrical release in the USA did not take place until November 10, 1928. In Germany, the film was shown on German television. The first broadcast took place on November 2nd, 1988, 60 years after the premiere, in the third program of the WDR .

action

Lloyd is an alcoholic doctor who advocates Native American rights in the Marquesas . The unscrupulous businessman Sebastian lets natives dive for pearls. This leads to accidents that Lloyd wants to deal with. Sebastian wants to prevent the treatment, but is knocked out by Lloyd. When Lloyd recognizes signs of bubonic plague on a ship, he wants to burn the ship down. He is knocked down and taken to the ship, which is now rudderless on the open sea.

A typhoon washed Lloyd overboard. He wakes up on the beach of an unknown island. He is found by natives who have never seen a white man. They worship him as a god, Lloyd falls in love with the chief's daughter Fayaway. He lights a fire in hope of rescue. Fayaway is sad that he wants to leave the island, whereupon Lloyd decides to stay with the natives.

A ship arrives the next day. Lloyd warns the natives about the whites, but his warnings are ignored. It is a trading ship owned by Sebastian who wants to open a trading post for pearls here. Lloyd tries to force Sebastian off the island, but is shot by one of the sailors. The final scene shows Sebastian at his trading post while the natives work for him. Fayaway mourns Lloyd.

background

The film was initially conceived as a silent film. The production company MGM set it to music later, so that it became the first sound film from this studio. This film was also the first to hear the roar of the MGM lion. Since Douglas Shearer could not find a suitable facility for dubbing in Hollywood, he had to travel to New Jersey with all of the wacky film scenes to incorporate sound effects and music there.

The film was set on the South Sea island of Tahiti .

Robert J. Flaherty wanted to make the film because he was a friend of the writer Frederick O'Brien and had spent over a year and a half in the South Seas. His disagreements with the studio were due to Flaherty's meticulous working method, with which he had already made his documentaries. Director Van Dyke, on the other hand, was known for his cost-saving and fast way of working.

Reviews

For the lexicon of international films , White Shadows was a "silent film that describes the South Sea Islands with a romanticizing transfiguration and conjures up the Hollywood idyll of a vacation dream". The film is "[t] rotz committed image creation at most still of historical interest because Robert J. Flaherty handed over the direction before shooting because he did not agree with the ideas of the producer".

Georg Herzberg wrote in Film-Kurier No. 303 on December 21, 1929 : “With the support of the cameramen Clyde de Vinna, George Nagle and Bob Roberts, one of the most beautiful and instructive cultural films is being made in the peaceful parts. Add to that a captivating, disturbing gameplay, with two likeable stars like Monte Blue and Raquel Torres. ” Dave Kehr from Chicago Reader, however, criticized the“ silly story ”and the“ even more silly director ”.