Pacific Destiny
1956 British film
- 5 June 1956 (1956-06-05) (London, England)
Running time
Pacific Destiny is a 1956 British drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Denholm Elliott, Susan Stephen and Michael Hordern.[2] The screenplay concerns a young British couple who win the respect of the inhabitants of a South Pacific island during the colonial era.[3]
It was based on A Pattern of Islands, a memoir by Sir Arthur Grimble recounting his time in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands as a cadet officer and Resident Commissioner in the 1920s.[4][5]
Film credits show Samoa as the filming location.[6]
Plot
The true story of inexperienced District Officer Cadet Arthur Grimble (Denholm Elliott) who arrives with his bride Olivia (Susan Stephen) on a remote Pacific island to work in the Colonial Service. He finds it hard to meet the approval of his superior, the Resident Commissioner (Michael Hordern), who had been expecting a more experienced man. The harder Grimble tries to please him, the more things seem to go awry, and he soon finds himself banished to a smaller neighbouring island. Olivia though is not as easily discouraged as her husband by the situation, and lends her support in a way that eventually meets with the approval of the island people.
Cast
- Denholm Elliott ... Arthur Grimble
- Susan Stephen ... Olivia Grimble
- Michael Hordern ... Resident Commissioner
- Felix Felton ... Uncle
- Peter Bathurst ... Uncle
- Clifford Buckton ... Uncle
- Gordon Jackson ... District Officer
- Inia Te Wiata ... Tauvela
- Henrietta Godinet ... Lama
- Su'a Ezra Tavete Williams ... Tiki-Tiku
- Hans Kruse ... Kitiona
- Ollie Crichton ... Taloa
- Rosie Leavasa ... Sea Wind
- Moira Walker ... Voice-of-the-Tide
- Sani ... King's-Bundle-Of-Mats
- Fiti ... Grandmother
- John Bryce ... Tulo
- Tuiletufuga Taualai ... Matangi
- Afamasaga Kalapu ... Teraloa
- Ovalau Bureta ... Fa'afetai
- Cecilia Fabricious ... Movement-Of-Clouds
- Polo ... Fa'alavelave
- Tusa ... Prisoner
- Noa ... Warder
Dances arranged by The Hon. Peseta Sio and Mailo
Critical reception
Leonard Maltin called it a "Boring (but true) story";[7] TV Guide again, though praising the performances of Elliott and Hordern, called it "a routine and boring story with a pretty picture backdrop":[6] and British Pictures noted "A pleasant bit of colonial travelogue, most notable for being Britain's first fiction film in Cinemascope."[8]
References
- ^ "PACIFIC DESTINY - British Board of Film Classification". www.bbfc.co.uk.
- ^ "Pacific Destiny (1956)". Archived from the original on 16 January 2009.
- ^ "Pacific Destiny (1956) - Wolf Rilla - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ^ Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110951943 – via Google Books.
- ^ "A Pattern of Islands, By Arthur Grimble". 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Pacific Destiny". TVGuide.com.
- ^ "Pacific Destiny (1956) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
- ^ Absalom, David. "ARCHIVE P - Ph: British films of the 30s, 40s and 50s". www.britishpictures.com.
External links
- Pacific Destiny at IMDb
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Films directed by Wolf Rilla
- Noose for a Lady (1953)
- Glad Tidings (1953)
- Marilyn (1953)
- The Large Rope (1953)
- The Black Rider (1954)
- The End of the Road (1954)
- Stock Car (1955)
- The Blue Peter (1955)
- Pacific Destiny (1956)
- The Scamp (1957)
- Bachelor of Hearts (1958)
- Witness in the Dark (1959)
- Village of the Damned (1960)
- Piccadilly Third Stop (1960)
- Watch It, Sailor! (1961)
- Cairo (1963)
- The World Ten Times Over (1963)
- Secrets of a Door-to-Door Salesman (1973)
- Bedtime with Rosie (1975)
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