Down Among the Sheltering Palms (film)

Last updated
Down Among the Sheltering Palms
Down Among the Sheltering Palms 1950s poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Edmund Goulding
Written by Claude Binyon
Albert E. Lewin
Burt Styler
Produced by Fred Kohlmar
Starring Mitzi Gaynor
William Lundigan
Jane Greer
Gloria DeHaven
Cinematography Leon Shamroy
Edited by Louis R. Loeffler
Music by Leigh Harline, Harold Arlen
Production
company
20th Century Fox
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • March 1, 1953 (1953-03-01)(United States)
  • March 27, 1953 (1953-03-27)(Los Angeles)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.4 million [1]
Box office$1 million (US rentals) [2]

Down Among the Sheltering Palms is a 1953 American musical comedy film starring Mitzi Gaynor, William Lundigan, Gloria DeHaven, David Wayne and Jane Greer. [3] The popular song of the same name, which dates to 1914, is one of those performed in the film.

Contents

Plot

World War II is coming to an end, but rather than being sent home, Capt. Bill Willoby and Lt. Frank Schmidt, along with their unit, are assigned to Midi Island, formerly held by the Japanese. They receive a friendly welcome there from King Jilouili and many native girls.

Willoby declares fraternization with the natives off-limits, which becomes awkward when the King presents him with beautiful Rozouila as a token of his appreciation. Rozouila is to be the captain's wife.

Rev. and Mrs. Edgett have arrived with niece Diana Forrester, who is hired by Schmidt to be his secretary. Willoby goes to the reverend for advice and is told to keep Rozouila in a separate quarters at all time.

Major Curwin visits the isle next, accompanied by Angela Toland, an attractive correspondent. Angela immediately makes a play for Willoby, observed by two jealous women, Rozouila and Diana, who are both relieved when Willoby rejects her advances. An angry Angela writes a false story claiming the captain is romantically involved with a native girl, which causes Willoby's men to turn against him.

A colonel investigates the news story and Willoby could face a court-martial. But a way is figured out for the captain to give Rozouila back to her island boyfriend with no loss of honor. Angela's story is revealed to be a lie. Midi is reclassified as a "friendly island" by the military, permitting fraternization by the soldiers. Willoby now loves Diana, though, while a chastised Angela has her eye on Lt. Schmidt.

Cast

Songs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallace Beery</span> American actor (1885-1949)

Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in Grand Hotel (1932), as Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934), as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa! (1934), and his title role in The Champ (1931), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Beery appeared in some 250 films during a 36-year career. His contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stipulated in 1932 that he would be paid $1 more than any other contract player at the studio. This made Beery the highest-paid film actor in the world during the early 1930s. He was the brother of actor Noah Beery and uncle of actor Noah Beery Jr.

The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.

The year 1953 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.

<i>Mame</i> (musical) Musical

Mame is a musical with the book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Originally titled My Best Girl, it is based on the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and the 1956 Broadway play by Lawrence and Lee. A period piece set in New York City and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, it focuses on eccentric bohemian Mame Dennis, whose famous motto is "Life is a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death." Her fabulous life with her wealthy friends is interrupted when the young son of her late brother arrives to live with her. They cope with the Depression in a series of adventures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt</span> American socialite (1904–1965)

Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt was an American socialite. Vanderbilt was the mother of fashion designer and artist Gloria Vanderbilt and maternal grandmother of television journalist Anderson Cooper. She was a central figure in Vanderbilt vs. Whitney, one of the most sensational American custody trials in the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weddell Island</span> Island in the Falkland Islands

Weddell Island is one of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, lying off the southwest extremity of West Falkland. It is situated 1,545 km (960 mi) west-northwest of South Georgia Island, 1,165 km (724 mi) north of Livingston Island, 606 km (377 mi) northeast of Cape Horn, 358 km (222 mi) northeast of Isla de los Estados, and 510 km (320 mi) east of the Atlantic entrance to Magellan Strait.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars is the American Film Institute's list ranking the top 25 male and 25 female greatest screen legends of American film history and is the second list of the AFI 100 Years... series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William A. Wellman</span> American director, actor

William Augustus Wellman was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. He also directed several well-regarded satirical comedies. His 1927 film, Wings, was the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ty Hardin</span> American actor (1930–2017)

Ty Hardin was an American actor best known as the star of the 1958 to 1962 ABC/Warner Bros. Western television series Bronco.

<i>Summer Stock</i> 1950 film by Charles Walters

Summer Stock is a 1950 American Technicolor musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Charles Walters, stars Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, and features Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers. Musical numbers were staged by Nick Castle and Kelly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Foran</span> American actor (1910–1979)

John Nicholas "Dick" Foran was an American actor and singer, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures.

Constantin Romanovich Bakaleinikov was a Russian-born composer who worked in Hollywood, California.

<i>Roystonea oleracea</i> Species of palm

Roystonea oleracea, sometimes known as the Caribbean royal palm, palmiste, imperial palm or cabbage palm, is a species of palm which is native to the Lesser Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is also reportedly naturalized in Guyana and on the islands of Mauritius and Réunion in the Indian Ocean.

The Kenley Players was an Equity summer stock theatre company which presented hundreds of productions featuring Broadway, film, and television stars in Midwestern cities between 1940 and 1995. Variety called it the "largest network of theaters on the straw hat circuit." Founded by and operated for its entire lifespan by John Kenley, it is credited with laying the groundwork for Broadway touring companies.

The 2022 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders, and to celebrate the passing of 2021 and the beginning of 2022. They were announced on 31 December 2021.

John Rozet Drexel III was an American sportsman and clubman.

References

  1. Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN   978-0-8108-4244-1. p248
  2. 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1953', Variety, January 13, 1954
  3. Down Among the Sheltering Palms at TCMDB