Paradise, Hawaiian Style

• Elvis Presley: Rick Richards
• Suzanna Leigh: Judy Hudson
• James Shigeta: Danny Kohana
• Donna Butterworth: Jan Kohana
• Marianna Hill: Lani Kaimana
• Irene Tsu: Pua
• Linda Wong: Lehua Kawena
• Julie Parrish: Joanna
• January Shepard: Betty Kohana
• John Doucette: Mr. Belden
• Mary Treen: Mrs. Belden
• Grady Sutton: Mr. Cubberson
• Doris Packer: Mrs. Barrington
• Don Collier: Andy Lowell
• Philip Ahn: Moki Kaimana
• Gigi Verone: Peggy

South Sea Paradise is an American musical film directed by Michael D. Moore from the year 1966. It was the 21st film in which Elvis Presley played a role.

Action

Pilot Rick Richards is dismissed from his airline because it has again flirted while working with a young woman. He flies to Hawaii to make his friend Danny holiday and looking for a new job. Danny now has five children and enough to do to earn money for the family. He has not a job for Rick. The coming soon to the idea of ​​setting up in Hawaii a small private airlines. It is intended to show tourists the unknown parts of the islands.

In order to implement his project, he needs not only money but above all his powers of persuasion. He visited his numerous ex-girlfriends, who are scattered all around the island and mostly work in hotels, and asks her to promote his new project with their customers. Even Danny soon shows interest and invested a large sum in the joint company whose fleet consists of two helicopters. As secretary hired Danny the young Judy, who he claims as a married woman. So it should Rick be easier to focus on the work.

The first job is to carry several dogs a rich lady from one hotel to the next. Since the dogs are not to be locked up in cages, they cause utter chaos during the flight. Rick, it is difficult to keep the helicopter on track and so it clips almost the car of Mr. Belden, who works at the Regional Association of the air monitoring. Now the company recently founded threatens again to the withdrawal of the license to fly.

While Danny goes to Mr. Belden, to prevent the worst, Rick takes on another job. He should pick up on a pair of Hanalei. Together with Danny's daughter Jan, who actually wanted to make a trip with her father, he flies to Hanalei. There, Rick meets his ex-girlfriend Lani, which travels with him and Jan on Moonlight Beach, because the pick of the pair takes place only after several hours. Lani had really hoped to be with Rick alone. When, however, repeatedly points out that he must soon fly to Hanalei again because of the job, Lani hides the start key of the helicopter in the sand. From the joke turns serious when she can not find the key. In the end, all three have to spend the night on the beach, looking for the key and find him until the next morning. Almost simultaneously lands the Mad Danny in his helicopter on the beach and announces the supposedly irresponsible Rick partnership - he believes Rick wanted to spend just one night with his girlfriend, hides the key itself and thereby accepted that Danny and his wife her daughter in January are very worried. Danny takes Jan in helicopters with it.

When Rick comes back to the office later, Judy tells him that Danny was not back yet. He wanted to just fill up, but this was already several hours ago. Rick, who has got the license to fly revoked in writing by Mr. Belden, yet flies off with Judy, to search for Danny and Jan. He finally finds both. Danny had to make an emergency landing in his helicopter and broke his leg in a subsequent fall. He comes to the hospital.

A little later, a festival takes place. Rick is to reconcile Mr. Belden succeed. He will be on his side in the discussion of the regional association of air monitoring. When Danny Rick finally want to confess that Judy is not married, said Rick to have known this from the beginning. He recognized unmarried women at first glance. But before he can kiss Judy, he is drawn away of singers and dancers of the festival and now occurs even as a singer.

Production

Filming for South Sea paradise found from August 5 to August 18, 1965 held in Hawaii. Locations covered include the Maui Sheraton Hotel on Maui, the coast of Kona and the Hanalei Plantation Resort in Kauai. Until September 30, found pictures on the Torrance Airport in Torrance and the interiors held in the Paramount Studios. Elvis Presley held at his home in Bel Air Between filming in Hawaii and in the studio. Here the only visit of the Beatles Elvis Presley took place on 27 August 1965.

The female lead offered Hal Wallis initially the German actress Christiane Schmidtmer, which had already been involved in its production Boeing - Boeing and Lufthansa stewardess Lise Bruner. It refused, however, leaving the role of their film colleague Suzanna Leigh, who also played in Boeing - Boeing a stewardess.

The film premiered on 9 June 1966 in Memphis before a small audience in a sneak preview, had its official premiere a week later in New York City and finally came on July 6, 1966 in the U.S. and on 23 December 1966 in German cinemas. In the German version of Elvis Presley by Rainer Brandt was synchronized.

After Blue Hawaii and Girls! Girls! Girls! South Seas paradise was the third and last Elvis movie, which played in Hawaii.

In the film, Elvis Presley sings several songs:

• Paradise, Hawaiian Style (Bill Giant, Bernie Baum & Florence Kaye )
• Stop Where You Are (Bill Giant, Bernie Baum & Florence Kaye )
• This Is My Heaven (Bill Giant, Bernie Baum & Florence Kaye )
• House of Sand ( Bill Giant, Bernie tree, Florence Kaye )
• Drums of the Islands ( Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett )
• A Dog's Life ( Sid Wayne & Ben Weisman )

Together with Marianna Hill Elvis Presley sings the theme Scratch My Back (Then I'll Scratch Yours). Donna Butterworth, at the time nine years old, Bill Bailey, Will not You Please Come Home sings. With Elvis Presley together Butterworth sings Datin ' and Queen Wahine 's Papaya.

The Elvis title Sandcastles was cut from the premiere version. In television versions of the title is now included again.

Criticism

The filmdienst wrote in 1967:

"Elvis Presley, Fading American Idol mass of the fifties, interspersed with this hula - hula movies on the loyalty of his former admirers. This bill may go up in the U.S., this country one takes it to the now- arg fat Twen become a pop singer not quite as if, the most beautiful girls of all races just so throw him according to the script on the chest. This alleged suggestiveness of hüftwackelnden Elvis and his latest hit is consequently a schwachbeiniges scaffolding on which a mixture of colorful tourist Hawaii, dance and operetta action is to hold. [ ... ] Solely the friends of Presley hit get their money, where they must (except some good flight shots) certainly hard to accept losing streaks meager plot. "

" The bland story serves to showcase hit by Elvis Presley ," was in 1990 by filmdienst issued Encyclopedia of the International film.

Cinema described the film as a "musical romance with Elvis Presley, who here, however, had its best days behind it. [ ... ] Conclusion: Even for Elvis fans a hard number ".

Time Out London saw in South Sea paradise a desperate attempt to bring Elvis Presley's flagging film career back on track. "The film shows hopelessly bad an annoyed, paunchy Elvis, who trots by known venues, play the background against which tedious squabbles among young people. "