Pagan Love Song (1950) User Reviews

Forget the plot (what plot???), sit back and enjoy the nonsense...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 7 November 2010]

It's safe to say that PAGAN LOVE SONG contains the thinnest wisp of a plot, even for an ESTHER WILLIAMS movie and barely a hint of conflict which only separates her briefly from HOWARD KEEL after a stormy argument over coconuts.

But MGM wisely uses Hawaii to substitute for Tahiti and filmed the whole fluffy romance in gorgeous Technicolor, provided songs for Keel to belt out in his robust baritone manner, and kept things moving nicely for a brief running time of 76 minutes. Result? One of the most attractive looking of all Esther's films, including a couple of dream sequences that have her appearing like a mermaid among the colorful coral reef backgrounds underwater. There's also a dreamy swimming scene set in the clouds, as Keel daydreams about the luscious swimmer.

It's a pity that none of the songs have much distinction and they are dropped into the proceedings with hardly any preparation--in other words, at the drop of a hat someone begins to sing with all the choreography intact. Keel's version of "The House of Singing Bamboo" is the best of the lot. It's only his second film, but he's already the pro when it comes to strutting his stuff for the camera.

He and Esther perform with a naturalness that seems to fit the faux Tahitian settings and seem completely well-matched as a screen couple under Robert Alton's smooth direction.

Summing up: An easy to take minor musical with enough eye candy to keep you pleasantly entertained even though there's almost no attempt at providing any real conflict in the easy-going storyline of a schoolteacher (Keel) who inherits a coconut plantation in Tahiti.

"When You Live In A House, In A House Of Singing Bamboo"

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 6 October 2009]

When Pagan Love Song came out in 1950 it reflected the changing times and the fact that the movies were competing with television. Ten years earlier a film like this would have been done on MGM's backlot. But now in order to get the audiences to a film about the south seas, you had to show the real thing.

The film is lovely to look at without the plot getting too much in the way of the lovely Hawaiian scenery which substituted for Tahiti. My guess is that Tahiti probably was still recovering from the effects of World War II otherwise MGM might have shot the film there. In any event having been to Hawaii, I am of the firm opinion, further documented by Pagan Love Song that it is impossible to make an unattractive film in Hawaii.

The plot is real simple, Howard Keel is an American whose heard about the romantic south seas and wants to get away from it all. Esther Williams is a native Tahitian who'd just like to get to see some of the rest of the world. Howard has bought a copra plantation and he settles into the Tahitian ways very fast. Of course seeing Esther in a bathing suit swimming in the lagoon helped a lot.

One thing that should also be remembered is that at the time Pagan Love Song came out, the most popular musical on Broadway was South Pacific. That Rodgers&Hammerstein classic by itself created a market for a film like Pagan Love Song. I only wish the music were up to the standards of that show.

Arthur Freed did double duty in this film, serving as both producer and lyricist. He wrote original songs with Harry Warren, nothing terribly memorable and also it's his song with Nacio Herb Brown that serves as the title of the film. It was one of the earliest hits from the beginning of sound films.

Esther Williams as usual has some lovely water ballets. Of her it can truly be said, her like in Hollywood has not appeared again and is unlikely to.

Pagan Love Song is a pleasant piece of fluff entertainment, easy to look at with a plot not too taxing.

No plot at all - but pretty to look at.

[David-240 · 6/10 · 27 August 1999]

Someone seemed to have forgotten that a film needs a plot when they devised this piece of fluffy entertainment. Still the people are pretty, the setting even more pretty, and the fantasy sequence the prettiest of the lot. The songs are forgettable - but just turn the brain off and enjoy.

Delightful Frothy Esther Williams Swimusical.

[guil12 · 16 May 2002]

This is a gorgeous film. Scenery of the island of Tahiti was exceptional. Esther Williams and Howard Keel make a beautiful pair on screen. They seemed to suit each other. They did appear together again in "Jupiter's Darling". This was at the peak of their careers. MGM gave them a no nonsense type story line and interlaced it with some nice songs and one spectacular water ballet. I am an Esther Williams fan. I love watching this beautiful woman on screen. And when she's wet, she's fantastic! In the underwater scenes, with beautiful coral plants and colorful foilage, she seems to be like a mermaid in her own world. Rita Moreno plays a feature role, in her early MGM days, complete in sarong and long flowing hair. And look for Ben Gage, Esther's real life husband at the time, making an exit down the gangplank, carrying a little girl from the ship that brings Keel to the island.

A wholesome entertaining film from the MGM Musicals. Charming and fun to watch. You'll find yourself smiling all the way through the film.

Escape To Paradise With Esther And Her Friends

[museumofdave · 7/10 · 11 January 2014]

What a fascinating historical document, a dazzling Technicolor window into the hearts and desires of the American public, or at least what MGM was marketing to them in 1950! As long as today's viewer isn't expecting to see a gripping love story or the conflict that might occur when two radically different cultures attempt to meld, as long as plot or logic or suspense don't matter much, this musical document is amazingly entertaining! And perhaps it's entertainment value evolves from secondary values such as color and location and decent singing. It's not Mutiny On The Bounty!

I expect no one ever has watched an Esther Williams film for the intellectual challenge or for cutting edge plot development: first and foremost, we want to see Esther swim, to gloriously navigate the MGM waters as no one else has managed--in over a dozen films, this Million Dollar Mermaid dallied with her suitors, wore bathing suits perfectly, and ultimately proved who was boss in the romantic department, just as she does in this escapist delight. When Howard Keel sails into Tahiti (at the time there were no viable airfields accessible on Tahiti so the studio settled for Hawaii, and it's ravishing!), he mistakes Esther for a native swimmer, treats her with condescension and Esther goes along with the joke until she can turn the tables on him.

In the meantime, Howard learns how to live more gregariously with the local natives, a happy lot who seldom challenge his ways, and who are always happy to run off to a luau or a beach party when there's coconut to be husked. There are a couple of lavish MGM showpieces here, one of them a staged cellophaned hula extravaganza featuring dazzling hula action and a performer who utilizes his body as a percussion instrument: it's a frenzied five minutes!! And wait until you see the mind- boggling Dali-esque underwater fantasy ballet, a trip through a bright coral wonderland peppered with golden flashes from the local fishies!

Had Stanley Donen, director of such gems as Singin' In The Rain and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, been allowed to direct, this might have been one of Esther's best--but she had suffered under his indifferent attitude toward her talents on Take Me Out To The Ball Game, and she refused to work with him, so the studio provided Robert Alton. Fortunately, we are spared Red Skelton or the other usual guest appearances which hamper the pace, and we are gifted with actual lush photography from the island of what appears to be Kauai for a 50's time warp, a zippy escape from any kind of reality.

wispy but sustained by La Esther.

[Hunt2546 · 7/10 · 8 July 2012]

Generally considered the worst of the films created by MGM's legendary "Freed Unit," and probably not helped by the ineptitude of its inexperienced and temperamentally unsuited director, Robert Alton, it still boasts the incredible radiance of Esther Williams, and baby, can that gal radiate. Beautiful wet or dry, she's perfect for fluff of this pitch and though disparaged by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly for her lack of talent (which they encountered in "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," she's still consummately professional. Would you want to see a film this dopey starring a Meryl Streep? I don't think so. Williams projects vitality, sexuality, life-force and intelligence as the Tahitian-American aristocrat mistaken for a local peasant by island newcomer Howard Keel. A better script might have toyed with this classic musical mix-up for its entire length, but this one disposes of it by Minute 25, leaving it nowhere else to go. What follows is beautiful scenery (Maui standing in for Tahiti), some unmemorable songs (mostly by the great Arthur Freed himself), a lot of racial condescension which will set your teeth to grinding, an underused 17-year-old Rita Moreno, plus somebody's idea of "native dancing" with color co-ordinated hula skirts. Keel is sunny. broad-shouldered and shallow, but Esther's buoyancy keeps the thing afloat and watchable. I have to say at one time Keel fantasizes about her, and imagines her in a water ballet. Hmmm, I know if I fantasized about her, it wouldn't be in no stinkin' water ballet!

"All I wanna do is lie in the sun."

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 26 June 2015]

So-so musical with Howard Keel as an American coming to Tahiti to run a plantation he inherited. There he meets and immediately falls for a biracial Tahitian, played by Esther Williams. About as flimsy as they come, how much this entertains you will depend on how big a fan you are of the two stars. Keel sings a few decent songs and Esther has some nice swimming scenes. Both are great in their areas of expertise but their chemistry is nonexistent, so the romance aspect of the story falls flat. This was a troubled production that included a broken arm for Keel and a near-drowning incident for Esther. It also went way over budget and Esther found out she was pregnant during filming. The parts of the movie that were shot on location were shot in Hawaii, not Tahiti. The attractive scenery is certainly a plus, as is the short runtime. It's ultimately nothing special but if you enjoy handsome Keel's voice or beautiful Esther's swimming, you'll want to see it at least once. But be forewarned all that fake laughter gets old after awhile.

Blissfully stupid

[marcslope · 6/10 · 15 April 2015]

The most minor of Arthur Freed's minor MGM musicals, and one suspects he took it on because it showcased his (rather pedestrian) lyrics. It's a Tahitian treat, by present-day standards astonishingly racist, with the happy, stupid natives bowing and doing the bidding of Howard Keel, an Ohio teacher who has inherited a dilapidated tropical estate, and Esther Williams, who keeps saying she's through-and-through Tahitian and has dusky makeup to back it up, but comes equipped with a Nebraska accent and seems incapable of playing anything but American. About the most dramatic thing that happens is it rains, and Keel and Williams squabble and make up, while a very young Rita Moreno schemes to get them back together. The two stars look terrific, Keel runs around shirtless most of the time, the Harry Warren melodies are very easy to take, and Esther's one underwater ballet displays Technicolor hues that will probably never be seen again. The storytelling's lazy and condescending, Robert Alton is not a natural-born director, and inconsequential doesn't begin to describe it. For all that, it's fun and tuneful and unpretentious, and you may even enjoy the over-simplistic world view of 1950.

Watch South Pacific instead...

[kz917-1 · 2/10 · 7 March 2017]

Wow. Funny in all the wrong ways. Somewhat of a poor man's South Pacific. Everything that South Pacific got right, this movie got terribly wrong. I am slowly working my way through all of Esther Williams movies and I love Howard Keel (Annie Get Your Gun & Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), but this movie was not their best foray into cinema. For one several times through out the movie both of them look like they fell into a vat of bronzer, then at other moments in the film they appear to be as white as the moon. The songs are enjoyable, but forgettable.

Pleasant enough and worth seeing for Keel and Williams, just don't expect much from the story or script

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 8 January 2017]

Seeing it with an American friend, who is also a fan of "classic-era" musicals and had an old VHS in not too bad condition, 'Pagan Love Song' is pleasant enough. It does not see the best of Howard Keel or Esther Williams, but they are the film's biggest attractions and don't disappoint.

Getting 'Pagan Love Song's' flaws out of the way, the thinness of the story makes paper thicker in comparison and it gets contrived and nonsensical in places, coming to life in the song/dance scenes and floundering often elsewhere. The script does lack wit and does come over as a bit leaden and heavy-handed in delivery.

Direction-wise, 'Pagan Love Song' did cry out for a more experienced director (i.e. Stanley Donen), because Robert Alton's direction does come over as indifferent and his inexperience does get in the way out of the storytelling.

The songs are certainly pleasant enough, beautifully sung and charmingly choreographed, but don't expect any classics, ones that stand the test of time in timeless fashion or anything unforgettable. "The House of Singing Bamboo" is the standout.

As said, the main attractions are Keel and Williams and neither disappoint. Keel is handsome, robust and charming, and his voice (one of the warmest and most beautiful male singing voices on film) is in golden condition. Williams also radiates charm and how she handles the water ballet stuff is mind-blowing. The rest of the cast don't stand out as much but are hardly a liability, look out for a pre-'The King and I' and 'West Side Story' Rita Moreno.

Chemistry-wise, Keel and Williams are easy-going and assured. While not exactly irresistible as such, the romantic elements were sweet and fared better than most of the rest of the film's storytelling.

Visually, 'Pagan Love Song' is just exquisite. The scenery is the very meaning of exotic and the whole film is gorgeously photographed, especially in regard to the water ballet sequences, which are some of the most visually beautiful scenes in any film featuring Williams and her water ballet, and the fantasy sequence.

Overall, don't expect much from the story and script but fans of Keel and Williams will be delighted, even if the film is seen just for them. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Plot-less, pleasant musical

[gridoon2024 · 5/10 · 29 December 2016]

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.

Upbeat, uncomplicated escapist Keel-Williams musical romance

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 29 September 2012]

Pleasant and generally interesting escapist fare. Howard Keel's bachelor character(Hap) decides to ditch his Ohio teaching job when presented with the fantasy opportunity of making a living in Tahiti, exporting coconut products. He envisions a laid back life in a tropical paradise, with native maidens swooning over him, which is what we get in this film. Esther is the 'pagan' maiden he most connects with. She is supposed to be half American. Although she looks like an over-tanned Caucasian, she seems to have absorbed more of the Tahitian half of her cultural heritage. But, now she is bored with her uncomplicated life and is looking for an opportunity to move to the USA. Hap just may be her ticket to this dream, after he too gets bored with the slow pace of Tahitian life.

Although Esther is given top billing , this clearly is mainly Howard's film. I love listening to his rich baritone singing voice, and he does not disappoint here, in his second MGM musical. The frequent inclusion of natives(both real and stand ins) in the scenes between the romantic twosomes is a definite plus, along with the gorgeous Hawaiian scenery, as a stand in for Tahiti. In contrast to the pronouncements of some others that the songs are pedestrian, I found them quite adequate for the situations, no doubt aided by Keel's renditions. True, the total score doesn't compare with Keel's previous musical "Anne Get your Gun", nor his subsequent musical "Showboat", but it certainly tops the truly 'pedestrian' songs given him in his second paring with Esther, in "Texas Carnival". Most are love songs or expressions of the joy of their lives, but "Etiquette" is a fun novelty song that gets Howard interacting with his adopted native children. The plot is quite hokey, but who cares. This is a trip to paradise, as most of us imagine it, at least for a while. Yes, "South Pacific" was then the rage on stage, but the film version was far in the future. Thus, this film presumably helped fill the gap between, and was a modest box office success. Plus, this story is much less complicated,if that is what you like. Too bad Howard didn't get to star in that later film, as well.

Of course, there is some hip-swinging dancing, by both sexes, mostly during a festival, and mostly somewhere between the languid Hawaiian style and the frenetic traditional Tahitian style, as seen in "The Bounty", for example. Perhaps more impressive is Freddie Letuli's knife-juggling and twirling act. Although billed as the fire knife dancer, no flames were included here. A native Samoan, Freddie organized shows of Polynesian dancing, along with his act. Although not specified, the main dance scenes may have included his dancers. A few years before, he got the idea of adding flames to the ends of a twirling baton(not knife), and created a sensation.

A young Rita Moreno provides a much more authentic-appearing Tahitian(although actually of Puerto Rican heritage)than Esther. If I were Hap, I would have set my sights on her. Rita usually played subsidiary ethnic women, and still performs today, 65 years later! Her roles in "The King and I" and "West Side Story" are perhaps the best remembered. Unfortunately, her one song in this film was cut.

MGM signed Howard as their answer to Warner Brother's Gordon MacRae. In fact, Howard had already done, on stage, Gordon's later two most famous film roles, in "Carousel" and "Oklahoma", before scoring a big success in his first MGM musical "Anne Get your Gun", released earlier in '50. The present film was obviously a lower budget offering, without clear cut hit songs intended. Of course, he would go on to star in a string of popular musicals, with various top bona fide singing actresses as his leading lady. These include: "Showboat", "Calamity Jane"(my favorite), Kiss Me Kate" and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"(his favorite). He would again costar with Esther the following year in the musical comedy "Texas Carnival", but they had to share the spotlight with Red Skelton, Anne Miller , and Keenan Wynn. Their final film as the costars was, the quite different, "Jupiter's Delight".

This film is essentially a color remake of the very early talky(1929) "The Pagan", with a rather similar screen play, and which was actually largely filmed in Tahiti. The title and theme song of the present film are derived from the theme song for that film, composed by the productive team of Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, who also came out with the famous "Singing in the Rain" that year. However, "The Pagan", was not otherwise a musical, whereas the present film is a light musical. The other tunes were newly composed by veteran tunesmith Harry Warren, with Arthur Freed again doing the lyrics. Warren composed most of the songs for a number of MGM musicals in the late '40s and early '50s, after having done the same at Fox studios during their string of musical hits during the early '40s.

Incidentally, the word 'pagan' here obvious connotes an exotic primitive culture and mindset, rather than a strict religious meaning. In fact, it is derived from the Latin 'paganus', meaning rustic or primitive people. Christianity first took hold mostly in the larger cities of the late Roman Empire. Thus, the generally more recalcitrant empire paganus population was,for a time, symbolic of the old non-Christian beliefs and practices.

Currently available as part of the expensive Esther Williams Collection 2 DVD set

Beautiful

[jkaplan67890 · 7/10 · 5 June 2018]

I've always been a fan of musicals in tropical settings, and Pagan Love Song is no exception.

The Music is beautiful and tropical, and Howard Keel and Esther Williams make a beautiful couple. I loved the scene at the end where Howard Keel imagines Esther Williams swimming.

Although there is a very thin plot, Pagan Love Song is great entertainment for any occasion

Plot?

[artzau · 15 March 2001]

The other comment here is that this movie has no plot. Well, there is, but it's a thin one. But, consider the social context of this film, the beginning of the 50s, a time when musicals were king and the world was still optimistic. Things looked good: the horrible WW2 was over and the boys were home; the economy was so-so but people were hopeful: many ex-GIs had returned to school (a social feature which would bear fruits in the coming years); Rosie the Riveter had put up her tools and was now in maternity clothes waiting to socialize her daughters and make them aware that they could earn money just like the men and not have to stand for being deprived of the opportunity to do so; the Korean war was still a year away. Things looked good. So, why not have a bit of Hollywood costume mind pablum about a guy inheriting a small plantation in Tahiti, having a romance with swimarina Esther Williams in dark-skinned make-up and all of that. No plot? Sure, there is. It's just not very tension-fraught. Is that bad? To tell the truth, I don't think folks went to see this film for extensive intellectual challenges. It is full of memorable songs, lovely-to-look-at moments and some nice shots of Tahiti. Rosie and her back-from-the-war GI Joe likely held hands during the colorful dream sequences, unknowing that their daughters and granddaughters would be horrified at the chauvinist late 40s dialogue. I missed this film as a kid and saw it on video a few years ago. I loved Howard Keel and Esther Williams as a kid and would likely have loved it more then. But still, there were moments, e.g., during the confusing (and somewhat confused) dream sequence, when I could smile, losing myself in the same way that thousands who go to Las Vegas and see shows at the club do-- and it only cost me a few dollars! Check it out. I agree. The plot is scarce but, doggone it, it's sure fun to see.

In consequential fluff...

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 10 July 2013]

"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.

island vacation postcard movie

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 16 July 2022]

Ohio teacher Hazard Endicott (Howard Keel) arrives in Tahiti to take over his late uncle's planation. The clueless American throws a quarter into the waters for local beauty Mimi Bennett (Esther Williams) to retrieve. She actually comes from a rich family. His plantation is not much more than a rundown bamboo cabin and a lot of overgrown land. He's happy to be happy and relaxing with the local kids.

Throwing the coin is such an annoying clueless American tourist move but Howard Keel plays the character with so much light happiness that one can't ever get mad at him. That's this movie. There is a relentless island tropics happiness that it's hard to get mad at it. There's no drama in the story. There is hardly any story. There is no real conflict. There is a lot of old fashion crooning and Williams swimming. It was filmed in Hawaii in front of impressive scenery. It's an island vacation postcard. It has a pretty picture and the story would probably fit on a postcard.

Cheesy but beautiful

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 2 July 2022]

The settings were more than adequate for an Esther Williams progarmmer, it is very colourful, but with a dumb story, and the cheesy Howard Keel can't do much to make audiences miss the fabulous swimmer actress. Beautiful ballets in the water, beautiful songs, and the rest is forgettable at the most. Pure MGM Esther Williams vehicle. For nostalgia gem diggers. Worth watching though.

Esther's second tropical film

[richspenc · 8/10 · 2 April 2017]

Esther's other tropical film, besides this one, was "On an island with you". They both also had Esther with a fake tan. I enjoyed both of them even though each had a couple of small problems.

I really enjoyed the tropical island scenery here, which with it being almost 70 years ago, really gave me a "tropical getaway paradise" feeling, even more so than when looking at those same places today. Those islands I reckon really did provide a magical paradise getaway back in 1950. That was before they got hit with modern influences, high levels of tourism, and the internet which people everywhere including those islands now have. You can never feel as sucluded away anywhere anymore when with the internet right in front of you, you can bring so much up right in front of your eyes now at quick and simple pushes of a button. That just makes it all seem less private now. Not to mention how someone standing 15- 20 feet away can take a picture where you accidentally get in, and then it could be posted all over the internet. Back then if you got caught in a picture, most likely only a few people would see the picture like their close family and friends, instead of it being put on the internet for the world. Also back then, people had better manners and wouldn't deliberately take your picture without your consent, unlike today where people would and do. Yes, all those reasons definitely don't make tropical getaways quite the same anymore.

I like the first scene with Howard Keel arriving on the ship (which is how everyone traveled abroad (USA to Pacific islands, USA to Europe, etc.) the first half of the 20th century before airline travel). Esther, who fools Keel into him thinking she's a native Tahitian who doesn't speak much English, has fun teasing him the first part of the film while then going back to her American family's house and talking about what a fool Keel is to her semi snobbish mother. That is more brought out during a semi elite garden party her mother throws that Keel comes to wearing a tropical slip (thinking it was a native Tahitian party like the earlier copra party where everyone was dressed as such) and making himself known, not quite the way he wanted. The earlier copra party was a scene where the natives half drank and partied/ half worked to make copra, I liked when seeing those natives climb those palm trees simultaneously side by side on about 5 side by side trees to pick the coconuts. I like when Esther says how she wishes to leave Tahiti and says "I'll be perfectly happy to never see another man in a hammock drinking coconut milk", then cutting to show Keel doing just that. At that point Esther still had Keel fooled into thinking she's native, and when he calls her a "broken down beachcomber" who she questions Keel what that means when she finally reveals to Keel about knowing English, but still hasn't revealed to him yet about actually being American (that part is revealed to him at the elite party earlier mentioned when Keel shows up not quite appropriately dressed). I enjoyed the songs during the first half of the film, first at Keel's hut (which he was initially disappointed about since he was expecting more of a modern (well 1950s modern) house with such amenities) when he sings "House of the singing bamboo" while using a clothespin to make melodic sounds out of the bamboo structured walls. I also enjoyed "Just singing in the sun" as Keel rides his bike through the old fashioned tropical scenery, nice old time scene. I also enjoyed the running joke of the bathtub breaking in half every time they try to deliver it, and also the scene with the elderly Tahitian woman bringing Keel a pig (that keeps trying to sqirm away, and eventually does) and her enjoying the simple pleasures of hearing Keel play on his typewriter. That's the word I keep meaning to use about people on the island (and in general everywhere) back in those days, more simple pleasures.

The film was best throughout the whole first half, and during Esther's water scenes near the end. The part where Keel had to take in three Tahitian kids, I doubt that even back then, you were obligated to suddenly adopt three kids with no prior notice whatsoever in Tahiti. It was never explained who those kids belonged to before showing up in front of Keel. The song Keel sang to the kids about table manners seemed like something more of a thing for kids to watch. I didn't care too much for the scene where Keel gets upset cause he thought they left the copra out in the rain, it even stirred up tension between him and Esther. That scene just didn't fit with the rest of the film

I really enjoyed the Esther water scenes near the end. First the magical fantasy sequence of seeing Esther swimming through the sky. I'd like to think I can almost see her swimming through the sky like that now, since she has now passed on and is up in heaven. I also loved the moment of Esther and some other girls dancing on an island, and then her swimming through all the coral reefs and underwater aquatic life, it was beautiful.

Not Even Good for the Pagans- *1/2

[edwagreen · 4 September 2011]

To say that the film is thin on plot is to put it mildly.

We hear songs such as Etiquette, Singing in the Sun, that's right, not the rain, and House of Bamboo.

The Tahitian landscape is absolutely marvelous. Other than the scenery, the picture offers absolutely nothing.

Rita Moreno is absolutely unrecognizable and Minna Gombell is given little to do.

All of a sudden, ex-Ohio schoolteacher, Howard Keel, shows up in Tahiti to inherit a plantation from his uncle. Some plantation. It looks more like an urban shack, of the worst order. He inherits 3 children from out of nowhere. The excuse for getting these children is flimsy at best.

Esther Williams, his eventual love-partner, does her usual beautiful swimming, but it's all for naught. We're not exactly experiencing Bali Hai from "South Pacific."

Love conquers all, but still has a hard time with this absolutely nothing of a film.

Pretty cute and gorgeous to watch

[HotToastyRag · 8/10 · 20 February 2018]

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.

Esther Williams in Tahiti! Enjoy Yourself!

[JLRMovieReviews · 8/10 · 7 June 2016]

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!

Rainy Day Escape!

[JenExxifer · 10/10 · 3 June 2022]

I give this movie 10 stars for being perfect on a rainy June day in the Pacific Northwest!

I watched this movie in two segments during my elliptical workouts and the movie worked great for what I wanted; something light, nothing deep (except the water!), some music, and the tropical scenery made it even better!

Sure, it's not deep on plot but the lighthearted love story moves, and it's under 90 minutes.

I recommend it for anyone who wants to escape to a tropical paradise without leaving home, especially when it's almost summertime and there are no signs of summer outside!