On S List of Movie Reviews
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South Sea Woman (1953)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
11/25
11/25:
Without Burt Lancaster, South Sea Woman doesn't work.
The writing is very good, and the story reminds me of those Road pictures from the 40's. Instead of
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, it's Burt Lancaster, Chuck Connors, and Virginia Mayo. Comedy
is out, action is in.
What helps a lot is the editing. Partially setting the tale in the courtroom is smart in terms of
investigating a potential Congressional Medal of Honor case. Two films that have gone through this similar
path are Courage Under Fire and
The Last Full Measure with the latter happening for real.
Back to Burt Lancaster, he looks the part and did serve time in the Army for several years.
South Sea Woman was filmed first before
From Here to Eternity. The transition must have helped Burt
Lancaster a great deal. All he had to do was put on the finishing touches in a dramatic way. On the other
hand, Chuck Connors is obviously green to the acting business while Virignia Mayo is a much better actress
than Marilyn Monroe.
All in all, South Sea Woman plays well.