The Belle of Samoa (1929) - A weirdly stagey tropical trip

If you have about twenty minutes and want to see what 1929 thought 'exotic' looked like, this is for you. It is definitely worth watching if you like old vaudeville acts or just want to see a very young Lois Moran looking slightly confused. You will probably hate it if you can't stand stage sets that look like they were painted ten minutes before filming started.

It is a short film, but it feels like a whole night at the theater squeezed into a tiny box. Bobby Clark is here with his painted-on glasses. I always forget how weird those look until they are right in your face in a close-up. He and Paul McCullough are doing their usual bit where they run around and talk fast.

They are trying to get into a temple where all the beautiful maidens live. The guard at the door is not very good at his job. They trick him pretty easily, even though there is a death threat literally hanging over the place.

Once they get inside, the movie stops being a comedy for a minute. The set opens up and you see real Polynesian dancers. This part is actually the best thing in the whole movie. Filoi and Her Samoan Dancers are doing a hula and then some men's precision sword-tossing.

The swords look heavy. You can hear them hitting the floor and it sounds loud and real, unlike the rest of the dialogue which has that hollow, early-sound-recording echo. I found myself ignoring the main characters just to watch the background dancers. They actually look like they know what they are doing.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Belle of Samoa (1929) through its definitive frames.

Then the Chief shows up and he is mad. He wants to chop their heads off on a block that looks suspiciously like a painted cardboard box. Lois Moran plays the daughter and she steps in to save them. Her logic is that she wants them as Christmas presents. 🎅

It is Samoa. Why are we talking about Christmas presents? Nobody explains this. The movie just moves on to a song called "My Samoa."

Lois Moran sings it while a bunch of chorus girls dance behind her. It feels exactly like the kind of thing you would see in The Cocoanuts, just with less budget. The way they all line up at the end and look at the camera is so awkwardly charming.

It is not a 'cinematic' movie at all. It is a stage play that someone happened to point a camera at. You can almost smell the dust on the curtains. If you've seen things like A Night Out, you know the vibe. Just people in costumes trying to hit their marks before the film runs out.

Bobby Clark's energy is just... a lot. He flirts with Moran and it feels like he is vibrating. His cigar never seems to go out. I wonder how many takes they did where he accidentally poked someone with it.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Belle of Samoa (1929) through its definitive frames.

The sword routine is really the highlight though. One guy almost drops a sword but catches it right at the last second. It is a human moment that they kept in because editing back then was probably a nightmare.

I like how thin the plot is. There is no attempt to make sense of why these two guys are in Samoa. They are just there because the script said so. It reminds me of the randomness in Flapper Fever.

Is it a good movie? Not really. Is it a fascinating piece of history? Yeah. It’s like finding an old postcard in an attic. You don't know the people, but you can tell they were having a weirdly specific kind of fun.

The ending shot is the most honest part. They all just stand there and grin. It is the end of the show. Go home. 🌴

One thing that stuck with me is how Lois Moran's makeup is so heavy she looks like a doll. She doesn't really blink much during the song. It’s a bit creepy if you stare too long.

Anyway, it's better than The Night Workers if you want something upbeat. Just don't expect it to make any sense at all.