Main Cast: Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, George Chakiris, France Nuyen, James Darren
Release Year: 1962
Country: US
Run Time: 107 minutes
Plot
Charlton Heston, portraying swaggering bigot land-baron Richard "King" Howland on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, does a spit take when his sister Sloan (Yvette Mimieux) announces that she plans to marry Paul Kahana, a 100% native Hawaiian (played by 100% native Philadelphian James Darren). But Howland, in the meantime, is having a torrid affair with Mei Chen (France Nuyen). During Sloan and Paul's engagement party, Mei Chen's brother comes at Howland with a knife, but Paul intercedes and is killed. Sloan, bitter at Howland for Paul's death, runs off to Honolulu, where she is taken in by Paul's brother Dean (George Chakiris) and his family. Meanwhile, Mei Chen gives birth to Howland's child but dies during childbirth. Howland, ever the rabid racist, refuses to accept the child and Sloan takes it upon herself to care for it. After an angry fight with Sloan and Dean, Howland is confronted with a personal dilemma -- whether to continue on with his closed-minded ways or to welcome his newborn son into his family. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Aline MacMahon - Kapiolani Kahana; Elizabeth Allen - Laura Beckett; Vaughan Taylor - Judge James Blanding; Marc Marno - Bobbie Chen; Philip Ahn - Emekona; Harold Fong - Coyama; Edward Mallory - Robert Parsons; Lou Gonsalves - Mario; Frank Morriss - Felipe; Clarence Kim - Sammy; Yankee Chang - Newspaperman; Kam Fong Chun - Loe Kim Lee; Erica Boyer; Tom Byron; Billy Dee; Krista Lane; Elle Rio; John Leslie
Credit
Pat Barto - Costume Designer, Guy Green - Director, William Lyon - Editor, John Williams - Composer (Music Score), Malcolm Brown - Production Designer, Sam Leavitt - Cinematographer, Jerry Bresler - Producer, William Kiernan - Set Designer, Marguerite Roberts - Screenwriter, Peter Gilman - Book Author
Diamond Head, peak, 761 ft (232 m) high, along the rim of an extinct volcano, SE Oahu island, Hawaii. A prominent point in the Honolulu skyline, Diamond Head was designated a national natural landmark to protect its slopes from the commercial development along world-famous Waikiki Beach. U.S. Fort Ruger is at the northern end of the crater's floor. The crater was the site of an ancient Hawaiian burial ground.
Richard "King" Howland is a swaggering bigot land-baron living on the Big Island of Hawaii. He objects when his sister, Sloan Howland, announces she plans to marry Paul Kahana, a native Hawaiian, even though Howland is having a torrid affair with an Asian woman, Mai Chen. During Sloan and Paul's engagement party, Mai Chen's brother attacks Howland with a knife. Paul tries to break up the fight and is killed. Bitter at Howland for Paul's death, Sloan runs off to Honolulu where she is taken in by Paul's brother Dean and his family.
Meanwhile, Mei Chen gives birth to Howland's child but dies during childbirth. Ever the rabid racist, Howland refuses to the accept the child and Sloan takes it upon herself to care for the baby. After an angry fight with Sloan and Dean, Howland is confronted with a personal dilemma — whether to continue on with his close-minded ways or to welcome his newborn son into his family.
Although the story is based on the novel by Peter Gilman, the screenplay by Marguerite Roberts makes several significant changes in Gilman's story. Several characters are eliminated—including Howland's father, Howland's wife, and his hapa haole (half-Hawaiian/half Caucasian) half-brother—and Roberts also changed the ending of the story.
.jpg)
