A Warner Bros Picture. New York opening at the Paramount: 4 February 1954. U.S. release: 16 January 1954. U.K. release: 26 July 1954. Australian release: 7 October 1954. 8,133 feet. 90 minutes. SYNOPSIS: An American adventurer in the South Seas in the 19th century tries to corner the copra trade on the island of Yap. He faces three problems: (1) The natives are unwilling to work; (2) The German government claims trading rights over the island; (3) A notorious pirate and blackbirder, Bully Hayes, has his marauders attack the island. Further complications for Captain O'Keefe are his inability to raise money to float the copra project and his involvement with a native girl whom he is forced (not unwillingly) to marry. NOTES: The picture was filmed entirely in the South Seas, with the co-operation of the then Secretary of Fijian Affairs. Most of the film was lensed on the Fijian island of Viti Lemu. VIEWERS' GUIDE: I thought it too violent for the kids, but both the contemporary British and Australian censors disagree. The film was granted a Universal or General Exhibition certificate in both England and Australia. COMMENT: Bit of a mystery here. My guess is that there are three versions of the movie: British, American and the current (2010) composite DVD version. Doubtless the British version opened at the Sydney Mayfair on 7 October 1954. The American version was shown on Sydney TV, thirty years later. This has different credit titles, including Roth and McWhorter, who are both omitted from the British prints, Scheid who replaces Sid Wiles, and, most importantly, Tiomkin replacing Farnon and Levy. Just to confuse matters, the current TV print has British credit titles, but uses some or all of Tiomkin's score! Fortunately the music is far from the movie's main attraction. In fact, few people will even notice it. The colorful scenery is far more attractive than the somewhat nondescript sound track. It's a tribute to Lancaster's skill and charisma that he manages to hold his own both against often routine situations and exotically distracting backgrounds. The other players fare less happily, though Miss Rice makes a moderately pleasant if somewhat innocuous heroine, while a solid contingent of Australian actors vie for attention underneath native make-up or "character" costumes. Alexander Archdale is at least readily recognizable as the heroine's dad, but it is the heavily disguised Guy Doleman who makes the most impression as the supercilious Herr Weber. Director Byron Haskin has staged it all with more than enough vigor to compensate for any shortcomings in the plot's familiarity or credibility.OTHER VIEWS: Although it has all the usual vices of its genre — white actors cheerfully impersonating natives; a Boys' Own Paper approach to history; a simplistic attitude to vice and virtue, heroes and villains; a coy yet patronizing depiction of indigenous people — this is an entertaining enough romp through the picturesque South Seas, produced on a grandly adventuresome scale. It's a tale in which the location scenery and exotic backgrounds tend to dwarf the actors. But the ever-smiling Lancaster manages to hold his own, even against all the vividly Technicolored splendors — not to mention the copious incidental action of combat, rebellion and mutiny — of Yap. Aside from Andre Morell, the other players — including the well-publicized contingent of Australians — make little impression. Haskin's direction is efficient, but all the honors go to his Technicolor cameraman and his open check-booked producer. — G.A.His Majesty O'Keefe has improved with age. Despite its exotic Fijian locations, we all thought it run-of-the-mill routine 55 years ago, even something of a bore or a chore to sit through. I was not looking forward to this re-appraisal. To my surprise, the photography not only still glows with all that remembered tropic lushness, but the film has pace, yes pace and action — lots of action. Talky-talky TV has made even what was regarded by all as a very routine actioner, now full of excitement. Beautifully photographed and colored, pleasantly and capably played, tensely scripted with an engrossing plot and believable characters and very capably directed, HMO'K is a well-mounted, handsome production that doesn't pinch any pennies but delivers a full quota of action and excitement (with Mr L doing his own fighting and stunting) in a romantic and exotic setting. Joan Rice looks quite attractive and never appeared to greater advantage. Lancaster is his usual smiling self, while the support players are led by Andre Morell (a convincing though kindly German). His confrontation scene is very effectively staged drama.

Unique & Great Movie if you like Burt Lancaster at his athletic finest...I did...OK, flimsy/iffy plot & but realistic to many of us who've never gotten to the South Pacific...Beautiful photography...In line with the masses' attitudes towards South Pacific natives at the time...They were still exotic...Although, this movie was filmed during thermo-nuclear tests in the South Pacific, especially by France & America...It shows the vast gap between two cultures & their inevitable clash...1st world capitalism greed versus 4th world innocents in their belief in the value of an absurd commodity...Whatever works to whoever's favor, as Burt's character proves...As his majesty, O'Keefe is humbled?, as he acquires his maiden (a beautiful, young, English turned native chick)...I like this movie...If you really think about it, given Burt Lancaster's life long & uncompromising liberal stance, then this movie is right up his alley as a statement during the McCarthy era political times...As a reality check in many ways, to those who might use the ultimate weapon of destruction, and the hell with anyone else who might be only able to kneel naked before their particular God...Long live Burt with his great physique as a younger man, and his forward looking political views which will last forever...Just like his unique films...

His Majesty O'Keefe is directed by Byron Haskin and adapted to the screen by Borden Chase & James Hill from the novel written by Lawrence Klingman & Gerald Green. It stars Burt Lancaster, Joan Rice, Andre Morell and Abraham Sofaer. Music is by Robert Farnon and Technicolor photography by Otto Heller.Plot finds Lancaster as Captain David O'Keefe, who after a mutiny is tossed overboard in the South Pacific. Making his way to Yap Island, O'Keefe is pleased to see the money making potential by harvesting copra from the mass coconut growth on the island. However, the natives aren't exactly thrilled by his intentions and there's also some serious German businessmen interested in the island as well. Too many cooks spoil the broth and this once peaceful little island is soon to become a hotbed of greed and division.It's all very muscular and pretty (actually filmed on location in Fiji), led by a super tanned, white toothy grinned Lancaster, film has a very decent theme at its core, but sadly this mostly get lost in the confusing mixture. Picture never quite settles into being one cohesive whole, at times a wannabe swashbuckling adventure propelled by a South Seas love story, at others an observation of capitalism corrupting the beautiful untapped paradise's of the world. The pace is stop/start, with Haskin (Treasure Island) struggling manfully to make the various strands of the screenplay work, and cast are effective enough in just about retaining viewing Interest.Worth it for Lancaster fans, and for fans of great choreography and attractive scenery. But it remains a hit and miss affair, it takes an age to make its point but survives ignominy on account of the unusual flavours in the mix. 5/10

Rowdy, masculine, adventurer David O'Keefe (Lancaster) sees millions of dollars of copra ready to be harvested from the coconuts on Yap, a South Sea Island. The local representative of a German trading company (Andre Morell) is sympathetic but hopeless: the "natives" are too lazy to work because they already have everything they want, and money is not among the things they want. Lancaster finally finds out what motivates the natives to work -- "fei." It's a kind of local currency, but it's stone, harvested from a distant island and involving a dangerous voyage to and fro. Using dynamite instead of hand picks, Lancaster brings them more fei than they can eat, and the Yapese elect him king. He and his supporters defeat incursions by Bully Hays and the German trading company (at the cost of Morrell's life) and he marries a Caucasian girl and everyone lives happily ever after.It's a bully movie, full of the kind of raw capitalism that produced Diamond Jim Brady and the Gilded Age of McKinley and colonialism generally. It's marvelous seeing Lancaster do his own stunts. And Joan Rice is a perfect innocent virgin.Lancaster has a tooth damaged in a fist fight with Bully Hayes. He is taken to a Chinese dentist and is asked whether he'd like expensive gold, that will last longer, or cheap tin. "Tin," replies Lancaster in the dentist's chair, "and drive it in to last." Most of us wouldn't have said that. The film was shot in the 1950s in Fiji, in Melanesia, not in Yap, in Micronesia. There are physical differences between the populations, but it doesn't affect the fun of the movie.Lancaster was never more fit than here. He bounces around with his Hollywood-shaved pectorals, and defeats every physical challenge. It's only the moral questions that finally leave him nonplussed.I saw this in Elizabeth, New Jersey, as a school kid with my date, and she translated the German for me. Now, after having spent two years studying the natives on a Polynesian Island as an anthropologist, I can follow the native language about as well as Eleanor followed the few words of German. What curious twists Clio, the muse of history, provides us.For what it's worth, the story of fei is real. Fei was valuable for the same reason that gold (or any other mineral or gem) is valuable. It's hard to get. You had to work like nobody's business to find some. It's called the "value added" theory of goods. You add value to some commodity because of the labor that has gone into the getting of it, as Freidrich Engels and others have pointed out. (Fresh air is worthless because no value had been added to it, so nobody charges you to breathe. Compressed air at the gas station costs money because it has been worked on.) Fei is made of stone. On Yap, in real life, a boat with some fei was sunk offshore, but the fei was not lost. Since everyone knew it was out there, although at the bottom of the ocean, it was still used as currency. Well -- why not? Is it that much different from our printing more Treasury bonds when WE need money? Just substitute paper for stone. The danger illustrated in this movie is that if you use modern mining methods to collect fei, you get too much of it and it becomes worth less. Ditto for printing too much money. How did I fall into this disquisition? End of confusing economics lesson.This is something more than just another action flick in an exotic setting. It puts Lancaster in something of a dilemma. Which is more important -- profit or social responsibility? The question has resonance.