Song of the Islands
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Don Blanding
Harry Owens
Bob Cutter
Hawaiian Girls Glee Club
Ray Kinney
Joe Kamakau Singers
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Bandleader Harry Owens and His Royal Hawaiian Orchestra perform several numbers for tourists in Honolulu, Hawaii. As a steamer departs for the mainland, a woman asks Hawaiian resident Don Blanding to explain the custom of throwing leis into the water. Blanding explains that its roots lay in a story of Old Hawaii: Princess Pualani, whose name means "Flower of Heaven," is an island girl who loves Moku, a young native who is not of royal blood. Like all Hawaiians, Moku and Pualani love the water. They spend their time together like happy children and Moku makes a lei of shells for Pualani, a symbol of their eternal love. In those days, the Hawaiians practiced the old crafts, including weaving, netting and carving cocoanuts. One day, large canoes approach the island and Pualani's father, the chief of the village, greets a prince traveling from a neighboring island. The prince, who is looking for a wife, and has heard stories of Pualani's beauty, wants her for his bride. The chief accepts the prince's gifts and tells his daughter that she must marry him. She does not want to marry the prince and leave her home, but her father insists that it is her duty. Even though Pualani knows that she will one day be a queen, she still loves Moku. Though her heart is broken, Pualani returns the lei to Moku. During a sumptuous wedding feast, traditional foods are served, including fish and poi, which is made from Taro root and prepared by the men. The pig brought by the prince has been wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pit for three days. As Pualani dances the traditional Hula, Moku can no longer bear to watch the ceremony and leaves. Later, he makes a special lei for her and gives it to her as she departs in the prince's canoe. As the canoe goes farther away from the island, Pualani lovingly kisses the lei and places it into the water. For hours Moku sadly looks toward the sea until the lei drifts onto the shore. Now knowing that Pualani still loves him, Moku prayers to the gods that, like the lei, Pualani will someday return to him. At the end of the story, Blanding tells his companion that it explains the reason why tourists throw leis into the water as they sail away from Hawaii, promising that someday they will return.
Cast
Don Blanding
Harry Owens
Bob Cutter
Hawaiian Girls Glee Club
Ray Kinney
Joe Kamakau Singers
Minerva Patten
Sam Kapu
Pualani Mokimana
James Kamakaiwi
Joe Kamakau
Sam Kapu
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The opening title card to the film reads: "Song of the Islands, photographed and produced by Palmer Miller and Curtis F. Nagel." Although there is a copyright statement on the film, it was not registered for copyright. The film's opening credits list Sam Kapu and Minerva Patten as "Soloists," but Kapu is also listed separately as "Chief." Joe Kamakau is also listed twice, first with the Joe Kamakau singers, and later as "Prince." The opening credits also read: "Photographed and recorded on the islands of Maui, Kuai, Oahu and Hawaii of the beautiful Hawaiian Group." Below the cast list, the credits read "Native settings by Lalani Hawaiian Village," followed by the written prologue: "Honolulu-crossroads of the Pacific-where rainbows, flowers and music blend into a modern rhapsody of the tropics."
Some of the customs shown within the story of Pualani and Maku were anachronistic or inaccurate. According to historical sources, the custom of throwing the flowered lei into the water began in the 1920s. Additionally, cloth that is shown in the film is of Samoan, rather than native Hawaiian origin. According to modern sources, the film was produced for the Hawaii Tourist Bureau by local filmmaker George Tahara, and actress Pualani Mokimana was a member of the Mossman family, owners of the Lalani Hawaiian Village in Honolulu. No reviews have been located for the film, which is preserved in the Bishop Museum Archive in Honolulu, Hawaii.
