#I just wanted to talk about my love for James Shigeta. can I say that? I watched flower drum song (good bad film) and went insane.

[hotvintagepoll]

I'm not sure of this has ever been asked before, but what got you into hosting these beautiful vintage sexy people polls?

And thank you for your service 🫡

this is a great question! I got into it for a couple reasons—one, I wanted to see more Tumblr polls focused on hot people, because I’m horny; and two, I wanted to spotlight some of the lesser known/should have been more famous hotties, particularly the ones who were fucked over by studio system racism. there were a lot of talented hotties working who got buried in bad films but were still hot! And we salute them 🫡

so tl;dr I was wishing someone would do an old hot people poll and then I realized that person could be me

[deke-rivers-1957]

Paradise Hawaiian Style Review

This is the final Elvis film that takes place in Hawaii. In fact, this could be considered one of the first Elvis film "remakes" as it's been claimed Colonel Parker wanted to recreate the success of Blue Hawaii. Similar to Blue Hawaii, real locations in Hawaii were featured during the film such as Coco Palms Resort and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

We immediately jump into the action by having Rick Richards on a flight. He was fired after flirting with a flight attendant. Since he has a bad reputation, he was only able to get a job in Hawaii. We immediately get the titular song, Paradise, Hawaiian Style over the opening credits. It's a quintessential song in any Elvis travelogue movie.

I absolutely love the shots of Hawaii. You get the idea that this actually has relevancy to the plot. Danny, played by James Shigeta, is actually Hawaiian. The use of a mixed race couple is accurate for Hawaii. There was no law against it, so it wouldn't have been controversial for Danny to marry a white woman.

While Rick is playing with Danny's kids, we get the next song, "Queenie Wahine's Papaya". This isn't Elvis' best work, but at least there's an established relationship with Danny's daughter, Jan. She actually gets to sing along with Elvis and does a pretty good job of keeping up with the fast paced song.

We get to see more shots of Hawaii that reflect the use of air travel. Even though Elvis himself doesn't fly the plane, we do see interior shots of the plane and Rick landing it. Unfortunately there are times where you can tell Elvis isn't on location. He just doesn't blend in with the background compared to on location shots.

One thing that shocked me is how this movie seemed to openly talk about how Hawaii is seen by Americans as such a tourist attraction. The natives who lived there would've had to appeal to these big businesses to make money. Even though this cultural talking point isn't the focus of the film, you can still see its influences by having Rick and Danny go into business themselves.

When they get to the club, I swear Marianna Hill playing Lani is dubbed by another woman. Her audio just doesn't sound like it was recorded at the same time as Elvis'. Also when she duets during "Scratch My Back (Then I'll Scratch Yours)" she doesn't sound good. The song in general just isn't good and grinds the film to a halt. I know Lani works at a club, but she just sings one song and then leaves with Rick. You can cut that whole song and nothing would be lost.

So by now we've established that Rick loves women in a distracting way. I admit that I appreciate how they made that such an integral part of his character that it actively influences the plot. If he didn't have such a bad reputation of flirting with flight attendants on the clock, he would've never been in Hawaii. It's unfortunate that he doesn't have any real character arc that addresses that.

It's clear that he wants to only hire a secretary because she's hot and not because she's qualified. Danny hiring Judy is a clear sign that he actually believes in her skills and wants Rick to stay focused. Danny cares about his business and wants to have people who can actually do the job.

More shots of Hawaii and this is the best part of the film. We get vocals from the Polynesian people as Rick travels. You really get the idea that Hawaii is important. You couldn't get these shots anywhere in the continental US. Of course there are goofs such as dialogue being clearly dubbed in. Like so bad that Rick is waving while saying "Hi" with Elvis clearly not moving his lips.

That being said, you immediately stop caring with the best song in the entire movie, "Drums of the Islands". My god. The visuals of Rick on a canoe just riding along the river as he sings is just beautiful. The land/seascapes are prominent and the Polynesian culture is heavily featured. Elvis isn't shoved in front of the performers. He's integrated into their act and letting these people perform an art that's been passed down for generations.

"A Dog's Life" is a song that exists. I have no idea how Elvis could possibly lip-synch all this having those dogs jump on him. Easily one. of the most stressful scenes in an Elvis movie. He lets go of the controls so many times, the dogs jump right in his lap as he's singing. A completely chaotic moment. If this wasn't a movie, these characters would most likely be dead. In universe, it's actually a testament to Rick's piloting skills that no one did die. Not just the passengers but literally everyone on the ground.

Naturally the one time Rick flies recklessly, he runs into the car of a government official in charge of aviation. Regardless of what actually happened, this guy's well within his rights to complain about what happened to him and his wife. These dogs weren't properly contained and that helicopter likely wasn't suitable for Rick to transport all of them anyway.

We get a Red cameo at the restaurant and a pointless fight scene. The tourist flirting with "Friday" was bad, but Rick sticking up for her makes no sense. Based on his actions in the movie, he's not that morally upstanding to be above unwarranted flirting.

As of this point, he has no actual chemistry with any women. He has more of a relationship with Jan (who is a child) than anyone else. Unfortunately, their 2nd duet, "Datin" is awful. It feels weird to watch a grown man explain dating to a child that isn't his. And in general, Jan's singing isn't that great compared to their first duet.

Not long after they land we get to yet another song, "House of Sand". If we cut "Datin" and went to this that would be fine. Unfortunately, this happens barely two minutes apart from each other. It feels so shoved in now because of how badly spaced they are. Also a problem with these types of songs is that they have no build up. There's no reason for these songs to be made other than fill up a quota. Elvis just bursts into songs at the most random intervals. If you cut them from the film literally nothing would change. With "House of Sand" you go right back to Rick flying in the air with one of his "love interests".

So we get a swimming scene where Elvis is conveniently covered up by a towel. It's so weird how he's covered up when both of the girls aren't. It's almost like the producers wanted to hide something. Yeah, it's obvious at this point that Hollywood wanted to hide Elvis' weight. The way they try to hide it is just so bizarre as you can still see his stomach anyway.

I hate Lani's character. She actively decides to mess up Rick and Jan's lives by throwing away the key in the sand. Lani literally got them stranded on an island with a child. If they never found the key, and Danny never knew where they ended up, they could've died. Rick's womanizing ways on top of her individual actions could've literally killed them. She is lucky that Danny didn't charge her and Rick with the endangerment of a child.

Sure she didn't know she would lose the key that way, but that was such a dumb and dangerous decision just because she wanted some sugar. As for Friday sticking up for Rick, I have no idea why she would do that. She knows first hand what his flirting ways are like. Just because he stood up to one tourist doesn't negate the fact that he's irresponsible. Danny if anything is the reasonable one and has the patience of a saint that he didn't press charges. They were out overnight and could've easily been out for longer if he didn't rescue them.

Friday chastising Rick is well deserved and if anything serves a bigger reason as to why their relationship makes no sense. Rick wanting to rescue Danny and risk losing his license for good, isn't enough of a reason to think that he's changed. As much as it shows that he can think of others it still doesn't change his womanizing ways. Compared to the dog scene from earlier, this rescue doesn't feel so tense.

All helicopters should have a first aid kit in the event that there's a crash, so it makes no sense for Danny to not have one. Even if Jan's only a child, he can still tell her how to make a splint. If this was such a tense moment as the movie wants it to be, the danger would be greater than this. There's more instances of dubbed in dialogue with 0 lip movement such as the end of this hospital scene.

Jan's solo song "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" is easily her best song. It's quite refreshing to have someone who isn't Elvis get a song all to themselves. And again Rick's flirting ways is getting the better of him. Even if he wants to be with Friday (which he never indicates more than any of the women he was with) he still needs to show that his flirting ways are over.

"Stop Where You Are" while shot differently than most Elvis songs, is also visually a nightmare. If you're watching this movie on a buggy site like DailyMotion and watch this movie for the first time, you wouldn't know if it's pausing on purpose or if it's the lag. I also have no idea why Rick's singing anyway since if he wanted to hide from the women, he did a terrible job. He was right on stage front and center. Naturally Rick's flirting ways catch up to him. He only gets away with it by paying them off. What a wonderful message/s. If you get in trouble with women you just promise to pay them off. Why does Friday like this guy?

We get an unedited shot of the different acts at the Polynesian Cultural Center and I love it. If a film was given permission to use that building, actually use it and the people who belong to that culture.

I also love how the government official is portrayed as a reasonable man. He knows that Rick saving Danny was necessary and is willing to make an exception. Now him being with Friday at the end makes no sense. It was so rushed that I don't think they even kiss at the end. The actual romance felt like so much of an afterthought almost like they knew we wouldn't care because the ending songs would be our last impression of the film.

"This is My Heaven" is a song that perfectly depicts Elvis' love for Hawaii. It's so beautiful and when combined with a reprise of "Drums of the Islands" makes it one of the best ending scenes in any Elvis film. The showcasing of the actual Polynesian performers will never get enough praise from me.

Like we actually get a break from Elvis singing to listen to them sing in their language. It's so beautiful to see them depict their culture without seeing Elvis shoehorned in the frame. The wide shot of the entire entourage performing is just so beautiful. It showcases that Elvis at this point isn't important, the people of Hawaii and the island nations are.

This film is so visually stunning that it makes the production errors even more noticeable. That being said, the amount of effort put into showcasing Hawaii and the Polynesian culture is incredible. Hawaii is an island state that doesn't have a White majority. For the movie to showcase this demographic breakdown in such a casual way for the time period is impressive.

There are flaws with this film that can't be ignored. However, when you have scenes that fully embrace the Hawaiian culture, that's a sign that this film actually tried. Because of those efforts, I'm giving this film a 7/10. If you like Elvis films, I would recommend watching this independent of Blue Hawaii so you don't compare the two. Even if you're not an Elvis fan, this movie still serves as a good insight of how Hawaii was viewed by Hollywood at the time.

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Thank you so for much to @georgefairbrother for requesting this review. I know you also requested that I review Clambake as well and I will do that next. If anyone else would like to request an Elvis film or a film in general, please send them in.