Oriental Vanities
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Harry Vine
Harry Vine
Hermie Rose
Grace Hathaway
Jeanne Starr
Robin Savoy
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
During their first trip to exotic Honolulu, Hawaii, comedians Harry Vine and Hermie Rose head to famous Waikiki Beach in search of pretty girls. The pair think they are in luck when they overhear a group of lovely girls planning on suntanning at a nude beach, but are prevented from following the girls by an inquisitive lifeguard. The wily lifeguard convinces Harry and Hermie that they can make a fortune by rescuing wealthy and attractive women from drowning, and sells them his lifeguard "concession" for two hundred dollars. Harry is sitting in their new, "official" chair when he hears a yell from a distressed woman and, after questioning the swimmer about her financial status, jumps into the ocean and saves her. The grateful beauty hugs Harry and promises him a large reward if he comes to her house that night, but the men fail to obtain her address before she leaves. Their distress disappears when another woman cries out for help, and Hermie rushes to rescue her. Hermie, barely able to swim, manages to drag the woman to the chair, where she gives him a quarter for his troubles. Later, the men ogle a group of attractive hula dancers, who then offer to teach them how to dance. Outfitted in bikini tops and wearing grass skirts over their boxers, the men happily show off their dancing skills. Later, Harry and Hermie must return home, although their new girl friends put leis on them and beg them to stay. One girl assures the pair that her father can get them jobs as lifeguards, but Harry and Hermie quickly reject her offer and promise to see them when they return the following year. The film then shows a bare stage in a theater, in which a succession of women, including Grace Hathaway, who is introduced as a "dynamic personality," performing hulas and striptease dances.
Director
Harry Vine
Cast
Harry Vine
Hermie Rose
Grace Hathaway
Jeanne Starr
Robin Savoy
Leri Vale
Susan Marshall
Diane Walker
Margery Ehrhardt
Kuulei Moniz
Serathine Solis
Angeline Miller
Dorothea Novak
Joseph W. Kim
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The viewed print ran for only 32 minutes and contained no credits other than a title card; the credits listed above were taken from a dialogue continuity contained in Copyright records. According to information in the Copyright records, the picture was originally titled Burlesque in Hawaii. The dialogue continuity contains a title card reading "Pacific Pictures present Burlesque in Hawaii," but "Pacific Pictures" was crossed out. It is possible that Pacific Pictures was the original name of the film's production company.
NYSA records indicate that the producers attempted to distribute the picture in New York in 1951, but New York censors rejected it. The film was copyrighted by Broadway Roadshow Productions in 1952 as Oriental Vanities and was accepted for release, with eliminations, in New York in 1955. According to an onscreen credit in the dialogue continuity, the picture was "filmed entirely in Hawaii." William C. Ferreira's onscreen credit reads: "Produced and Photographed by William C. Ferreira." No other information about the film's production or release has been found.
