BIRD OF PARADISE is one of those films that remained unseen for years thanks to its pre-code nudity and the fact that a lame 1951 remake made sure that it sat on the shelf. A few years ago VCI Home Entertainment in conjunction with the Roan Group issued a restored version on VHS. This is now on DVD. BIRD was David O. Selznick’s biggest production to date. He had just headed up RKO Radio Pictures and was looking for something to follow up on the success of MGM’s TRADER HORN and TARZAN THE APE MAN. What he decided on was a reworking of F. W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty’s adventure/documentary TABU about an ill-fated South Sea Island romance. This gave him the perfect opportunity to showcase the Mexican actress Delores Del Rio who had already been in films for a few years. This was her breakthrough vehicle which led to her role in FLYING DOWN TO RIO the following year. Joel McCrea, fresh from THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, was the male lead.
The film was shot on location in Hawaii at a cost of over a million dollars but managed to turn a profit thanks to Del Rio’s nude swimming scene which is still pretty erotic even after 70 years. The rest of the film is quite good as the story of boy meets girl, boy loses girl is made fresh by the Hawaiian locales. Del Rio is simply marvelous as the native girl caught between tradition and her love for Joel McCrea. McCrea is a creditable hero but his best roles were still to come. Look for Lon Chaney Jr in a bit part as a sailor billed under his original name Creighton Chaney. King Vidor, one of the great American directors who started in the silent era, keeps the film moving along primarily through visuals with dialogue kept to a minimum. He is aided immeasurably by Max Steiner’s music score which is a trial run for KING KONG. Sexy, violent, and very exotic, BIRD OF PARADISE is a classic example of the pre-code films which were made between 1930 and 1934 before the Production Code was rigidly enforced. Censorship of mainstream American movies would last until 1968. Although now out of print and rather expensive, this edition is the version to get.
The Capsule Critic 