''Last of the Pagans'' is a 1935

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

film based on the

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

novel '' Typee'' (1846). The film was shot on location in Tahiti.A Director of a Tropical Film Has A Visitor's Usual Odd Experiences: Dick Thorpe Discovers All Strange Phenomena of Distant Islands. By Richard Thorpe. (Director of "Last of the Pagans"). The Washington Post 8 Dec 1935: M1.

Plot summary

Taro is a native of the island of

Tofua Tofua is a volcanic island in Tonga. Located in the Haʻapai island group, it is a steep-sided composite cone with a summit caldera. It is part of the highly active Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone and its associated volcanic arc, which extends ...

who kidnaps a wife named Lilleo from the neighbouring island while bride hunting. At first, she greatly dislikes him but comes to love him. During a feast, an American schooner arrives at the island and offers liquor and trinkets, such as

pocket watches A pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popula ...

to the natives if they sign a form they can not read, which forces them to work in terrible conditions in the

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

mine on the island of Patua for the Olympic Mining Company. Due to the schooner's deception, a major conflict arose between the islanders and the Westerners, making Taro stand up against the intruders, but is forcibly taken to work in the mines, and Lilleo is taken back to Tofua to marry the chieftain. During a mine collapse, Taro risks his life to save his supervisor, which greatly impresses his captors. They agree to bring him Lilleo but change their mind when they learn she is the chieftain's bride. Disheartened, Lilleo sneaks aboard the schooner to Patua without their permission. They find out and lock her in a cabin, but she escapes to meet Taro. They bring her back to the schooner, and Taro follows suit but is imprisoned by the French authorities in a dilapidated prison. During a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

, the prison roof flies off, and Taro escapes to the schooner, which is abandoned by all except Lilleo. He saves her, and after the storm clears, they sail for an uninhabited island to start a new life together.

Cast

Ray Mala Ray Mala (born Ray Agnaqsiaq Wise, also known as Ach-nach-chiak ( Iñupiaq othography: ''Aġnatchiaq'' or ''Aġnasiaq''); December 27, 1906 – September 23, 1952) was a prominent Alaska Native actor. He was one of Hollywood's Native Americ ...

as Taro * Lotus Long as Lilleo * Rudolph Anders as Superintendent's Assistant * Chester Gan as Chinese Cook (uncredited) * Rangapo A. Taipoo as Taro's Mother (uncredited) * Teio A. Tematua as The Chief (uncredited) *

Charles Trowbridge Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films from 1915 to 1958 principally playing patrician authority figures. Biography Trowbridge was born in Verac ...

as Mine Superintendent

References

External links

''Last of the Pagans''
at

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''Last of the Pagans''
at

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''Last of the Pagans''
movie file at Archive.org Films based on works by Herman Melville Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1935 films Films based on American novels American black-and-white films American adventure drama films 1930s adventure drama films 1935 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films shot in Tahiti Films directed by Richard Thorpe 1930s American films {{1930s-US-film-stub