1932

Directed by: King Vidor

Starring: Dolores del Río, Joel McCrea, John Halliday, Richard “Skeets” Gallagher, Bert Roach and Creighton Chaney — later known as Lon Chaney Jr.

Based on the 1912 play by Richard Walton Tully

STORY

Paradise has never been more beautiful.

Or more dangerous.

When an American yacht arrives among the islands of the South Pacific, young adventurer Johnny Baker suddenly finds himself fighting for his life after a shark drags him overboard.

His unexpected rescuer is Luana, the breathtaking daughter of an island chief.

One rescue is all it takes.

Johnny is fascinated by Luana.

Luana is fascinated by Johnny.

And almost immediately they begin crossing boundaries neither of their worlds intends them to cross.

Their attraction becomes love, but Luana has already been promised to another man. Johnny refuses to surrender her so easily, and the lovers escape together in search of a place where the customs of her people and expectations of his cannot reach them.

For a moment, they find it.

An island.

A home.

Each other.

Paradise.

But paradise cannot protect them from Luana's destiny.

When a volcano begins erupting, Luana believes an ancient obligation must be fulfilled — and that the survival of her people requires the ultimate sacrifice.

Johnny is prepared to fight an entire world to keep the woman he loves.

But can he fight something Luana herself believes is her destiny?

King Vidor's BIRD OF PARADISE is a sweeping Pre-Code romantic adventure filled with tropical landscapes, sensuality, spectacle and doomed love — starring the extraordinarily beautiful Dolores del Río and a young Joel McCrea.

AIN BACKSTAGE SECRETS & AINTOIDS
IT REALLY IS “KING VIDOR'S” BIRD OF PARADISE

This wasn't merely marketing.

The original screen credits actually identify the picture as:

“King Vidor's Production.”

Remarkably, Vidor does not receive a separate onscreen directing credit.

His authorship was placed right there in the title presentation.

RKO BORROWED KING VIDOR FROM MGM

King Vidor was under contract to MGM when RKO brought him over for BIRD OF PARADISE.

And Vidor wasn't exactly an unknown director for hire.

By 1932 he had already made THE BIG PARADE, THE CROWD, HALLELUJAH! and THE CHAMP.

RKO was borrowing one of Hollywood's major filmmakers.

DAVID O. SELZNICK WAS BEHIND IT

Another enormous Hollywood name was involved:

David O. Selznick.

Years before GONE WITH THE WIND and REBECCA, Selznick was helping shape RKO's productions.

BIRD OF PARADISE became one of the films made during this fascinating early chapter of his producing career.

IT STARTED AS A HIT PLAY

The movie was based on Richard Walton Tully's 1912 play BIRD OF PARADISE.

And RKO paid handsomely for it.

Contemporary reporting cited by the American Film Institute states that RKO purchased the play for an astonishing:

$375,000.

In the early 1930s!

VIDOR WENT TO HAWAII WITHOUT A FINISHED SCRIPT!

Now THIS is filmmaking.

King Vidor and screenwriter Wells Root traveled to Hawaii to scout and begin gathering material...

without a completed screenplay.

The production had to get moving quickly because of contractual timing involving Dolores del Río.

Unfortunately, Hawaii didn't cooperate.

Bad weather complicated the planned location filming, and the company eventually returned to California to complete much of the production.

BUT BIRD OF PARADISE REALLY DID FILM IN HAWAII

This wasn't merely Hollywood pretending to be Hawaii.

Location material really was photographed there.

The Hawaiʻi Film Office lists BIRD OF PARADISE among the feature films made partially or entirely in Hawaii in 1932.

Additional filming was done on Santa Catalina Island and at studio facilities in California.

DOLORES DEL RÍO

And then there is Dolores del Río.

Vidor's camera absolutely adores her.

The Mexican-born star was already one of Hollywood's great screen beauties, and BIRD OF PARADISE makes her physical presence central to the film's dreamlike romantic atmosphere.

Her Hollywood career would continue through pictures including FLYING DOWN TO RIO and MADAME DUBARRY, before she returned to Mexico and entered another extraordinary chapter of her career.

PRE-CODE — AND BOY, DOES IT SHOW

BIRD OF PARADISE arrived in 1932, two years before strict enforcement of Hollywood's Production Code transformed what filmmakers could put on American screens.

And King Vidor takes advantage of that freedom.

The movie contains an extraordinarily sensual underwater sequence in which Luana appears to swim nude with Johnny.

Dolores del Río was actually wearing flesh-colored covering, but audiences certainly weren't supposed to spend much time thinking about THAT.

The scene became one of the film's most famous — and controversial — moments.

AND THAT DANCE COSTUME...

During Luana's sensual dance sequence, Dolores del Río's costume was extraordinarily revealing even by Pre-Code standards.

Flower leis and a grass skirt provided strategically placed coverage.

Try getting THAT past the Production Code office a few years later.

Not. A. Chance.

BUSBY BERKELEY!

Here's a GREAT AINTOID.

Who worked on the film's dance sequences?

BUSBY BERKELEY.

Yes!

Before Berkeley became synonymous with those enormous kaleidoscopic Warner Bros. musical numbers in movies like 42ND STREET, GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 and FOOTLIGHT PARADE, he choreographed the dances for BIRD OF PARADISE.

So tucked inside this tropical King Vidor romance is the work of a man about to completely transform the visual language of the Hollywood musical.

MAX STEINER!

And we're not finished!

The music is by:

MAX STEINER.

Before KING KONG.

Before THE INFORMER.

Before NOW, VOYAGER.

Before CASABLANCA.

Before THE SEARCHERS.

Steiner created a lush musical world for BIRD OF PARADISE, combining original scoring with Hawaiian musical influences and instruments including ukuleles, steel guitar, marimbas and vibraphone.

This was still the period when Hollywood was discovering just how powerful a continuous dramatic film score could be.

Steiner was about to become one of the architects of that revolution.

AND THEN CAME KING KONG

Here's one of those wonderful pieces of Hollywood recycling.

A substantial island village set was constructed for BIRD OF PARADISE.

The following year...

parts of that environment were used for KING KONG.

So audiences watching this romantic tropical paradise are getting a glimpse into the same RKO filmmaking world that would soon produce one of the most famous fantasy adventures ever made.

WAIT — IS THAT LON CHANEY JR.?!

YES.

But look at the credits and you'll find:

CREIGHTON CHANEY.

That's Lon Chaney Jr.

And BIRD OF PARADISE marked his film debut.

He appears in a small role as one of the sailors.

Years later he would become immortal to horror audiences as Larry Talbot — THE WOLF MAN.

Which means hidden inside this 1932 King Vidor romance is the very beginning of one of classic horror's most recognizable screen careers.

JOEL McCREA — SURFER?!

There's a terrific story behind Joel McCrea getting the role.

According to McCrea's recollection, David O. Selznick had seen the athletic young actor surfing at Santa Monica.

Selznick supposedly told McCrea that he'd put him in a movie if McCrea taught him how to surf.

McCrea tried.

Selznick apparently wasn't much of a surfer.

But Selznick told McCrea:

He kept his promises.

And McCrea got the leading role in BIRD OF PARADISE.

WHAT A YEAR FOR JOEL McCREA

1932 was quite a year for McCrea.

Not only did he star opposite Dolores del Río in BIRD OF PARADISE, he also appeared in another extraordinary RKO production:

THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME.

And THAT picture famously shared sets and production resources with KING KONG.

McCrea was right in the middle of an astonishing period at RKO.

THREE CINEMATOGRAPHERS

The remarkable visual world of BIRD OF PARADISE involved the work of cinematographers Lucien Andriot, Edward Cronjager and Clyde De Vinna.

The photography is a huge part of the movie's appeal — water, bodies, fire, foliage, shadows and volcanic imagery combine to make the picture feel almost like a romantic fever dream.

LOVE, DESIRE AND A VOLCANO

BIRD OF PARADISE belongs to a fascinating strain of early Hollywood filmmaking where romance and spectacle were practically inseparable.

Everything is BIG.

The ocean.

The jungle.

The fire.

The desire.

The sacrifice.

And finally...

THE VOLCANO.

Vidor wasn't interested in making this love story feel polite.

He made it elemental.

A FILM OF ITS TIME

Modern viewers should also recognize that BIRD OF PARADISE reflects early-1930s Hollywood attitudes toward Polynesian people, culture, gender and interracial relationships that can feel deeply dated today.

The film's island society is a Hollywood construction rather than an authentic representation of a specific Pacific culture.

But that historical context is also part of understanding the film.

BIRD OF PARADISE gives us an extraordinary window into what mainstream American cinema was depicting — and what filmmakers were permitted to explore — immediately before Hollywood's Production Code dramatically changed the screen.

BEFORE THE CODE CLOSED THE DOOR

And THAT may be the greatest reason to rediscover BIRD OF PARADISE.

Two years later, Hollywood changed.

Strict Production Code enforcement beginning in 1934 made depictions of sexuality, nudity and interracial romance vastly more restricted.

BIRD OF PARADISE survives from that brief, fascinating period when Hollywood sound films were still testing boundaries.

King Vidor filled his picture with bodies, water, music, fire, desire and tragedy.

It is unmistakably...

PRE-CODE HOLLYWOOD.