"BIRD OF PARADISE"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21349, 25 November 1932, Page 14

"BIRD OF PARADISE"

ATTRACTION AT ST. JAMES'

"Bird of Paradise," the. screen version of Richard Walton Tully's glamorous stage play, will begin a. season at St.. James' Theatre to day. It is not able for the return of Dclorcs del Itio to the talking screen. She. is allotted the most congenial role of her caieer as a. South Seas native princess with a tragic and impossible love for a white man, ably portrayed by Joel McCrca. King Virlor, who was responsible for the direction, adds yet another to his long list, of suc-

cesses. R.K.O. l'adio Pictures spent a month in Hawaii filming the native scenes. The authentic atmosphere lias been cleverly captured and vital realism has been achieved iu the massed tribal ceremonies. An 'appropriate musical score adds charm to the natural beauty of the settings. "Bird of Paradise" should enjoy an extended season.

Concerning the film, an overseas critic writes: "it's the age-old plot—East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. Luana, beautiful daughter of a South Seas chief, is tabu; must not associate with a white man. But when she meets Johnny Baker, who is visiting the islands with ;v yachting party, she rescues him from an attack by a shark and promptly falls in love with him. "lie carries the girl off to a secluded island, incurring the wrath of her father and of tho great volcano, Mount Pclc. Spectacular and thrilling ceremonies are included in the ensuing reels, and even though it is possible for Luana to return to civilisation with her lover, she decides to meet her fate—a sacrifice to the anger of Mount Pole."

Another critic says: "Weighing the current vogue for exoticism, King Vidor dramatises the simple tale of a. white man's love for a native woman, and in\ests it with the colourful plumage of the South Seas. There arc native sports, native ritual, native superstition and native scenery and the production shows how the white man's love impetuously and characteristically overcomes all the obstacles that lie in the path of the romance.".