This week’s mystery movie has been the 1932 RKO film “Bird of Paradise,” with Dolores del Rio, Joel McCrea, John Halliday, Richard “Skeets” Gallagher, Bert Roach, Creighton Chaney, Wade Boteler, Arnold Gray, Reginald Simpson, Napoleon Pukui, Agostino Borgato and Sofia Ortega. The screenplay was by Wells Root, Wanda Tuchock and Leonard Praskins, suggested by a play by Richard Walton Tully. Music by Max Steiner, art direction by Carroll Clark, photography by Clyde DeVinna, Edward Cronjager and Lucien Andriot, with photographic effects by Lloyd Knechtel. The executive producer was David O. Selznick, the director was King Vidor.
“Bird of Paradise” is available on DVD from Amazon.
“Bird of Paradise” opens in Los Angeles, Sept. 2, 1932.
“Bird of Paradise” was one of 11 films, also including “The Lost Squadron,” announced by David O. Selznick in late 1931 as the new executive vice president in charge of production.
Writing about a preview, Los Angeles Times film critic Edwin Schallert said (July 25, 1932):
King Vidor has turned loose more theatrical effects in “The Bird of Paradise” … than the screen has offered in many months. He offers a shark fight, underwater swimming marathon between hero and Luana, a volcanic eruption, an earthquake, a whirlpool in the ocean which swamps a boat. It looks as if C.B. DeMille had been busy on the picture rather than Vidor. The opening of the Red Sea is about the only thing missing.
The poor old idyllic “Bird of Paradise” is broken on the wheel of weird, wild movie action and sound effects, not to say sizzling sensuosity. The music consists of no soft guitar strumming, or steel-guitar whining. The score is operatic in scope. The music of the accompaniment is almost continuous.
The picture just falls short of being a movie milestone: it could have been that were genuine emotion in all the happenings. It is, in some ways, the fiercest outburst of theatercalism that the talkies have ventured, and one wonders about its fate at the box office, although I believe it will attract a lot of attention. I know one thing I wouldn’t have missed those camera effects.
Dolores del Rio and Joel McCrea are the hot-cha lovers.
The film received a warmer review in the Los Angeles Times from Whitney Williams (Aug. 7, 1932):
After establishing itself as one of the classics of the American stage, “Bird of Paradise” emerges on the screen as a beautifully photographed, idyllically treated melodrama, starring Dolores del Rio. Despite radical changes in the plot, the spirit of the original has been caught with a sincere regard to details and the whole effect spells a pleasant hour’s entertainment.
Parenthetical note: Williams says: “A new dramatic actor looms upon the cinema horizon in the person of Charles Laughton, from the London stage. While his American debut picture, “Devil and the Deep,” co-starring Tallulah Bankhead and Gary Cooper, is a pretty sorry spectacle of filmmaking, its saving grace is the performance of Laughton as the English submarine commander who goes insane with jealousy and sinks the underwater craft with all aboard.
The film opened in Los Angeles at the Orpheum on Sept. 2, 1932, and was formally reviewed in the Los Angeles Times by Philip K. Scheuer (Sept. 5, 1932), who called it “a second-rate melodrama.”
Writing in the New York Times (Sept. 10, 1932), M.H. said:
Out of Richard Walton Tully’s highly successful old play, “The Bird of Paradise,” King Vidor has produced a languid film with many beautifully photographed scenes. This story in its modernized form is frequently unconsciously humorous and even though much is made of the volcano on a South Sea isle exacting its annual human toll, there is here hardly anything akin to suspense.
It is the sort of thing which F. W. Murnau did so much better in “Tabu,” and granted that no expense has been spared in turning out this current work, it takes more than lovely scenes to make a really satisfactory entertainment. Mr. Vidor revels in sequences with sharks, a whirlpool and a volcano in eruption in the course of this tale about Johnny Baker, who falls in love with a native girl named Luana.
For Monday, we have a mystery woman.
Update: This is Sofia Ortega.
For Tuesday, we have these mystery gents.
Update: This is Arnold Gray, Bert Roach and Reginald Simpson.
For Wednesday, we have …. hey wait a minute! Didn’t we just?
Update: This is Wade Boteler and John Halliday.
Brain Trust roll call: Dan Nather (mystery movie and one of Tuesday’s mystery trio), Mary Mallory (mystery movie and Monday’s and Tuesday’s mystery guests), Sheila (one of Tuesday’s mystery trio), Mike Hawks (mystery movie and one of Tuesday’s mystery trio) and Howard Mandelbaum (mystery movie and Monday’s and Tuesday’s mystery guests).
The reason we had to have a repeat mystery guest Wednesday is because these gents could never be Wednesdays. They are Thursday guests.
Update: This is Richard “Skeets” Gallagher and Creighton Chaney, later Lon Chaney Jr., in his first credited screen role.
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (Wednesday’s mystery guests), Mike Hawks (Wednesday’s mystery guests), Floyd Thursby (one of Tuesday’s mystery trio), Patrick (mystery movie and mystery guests), Howard Mandelbaum (Wednesday’s mystery guests), Benito (mystery movie and Wednesday’s mystery helmsman), Don Danard (Wednesday’s mystery helmsman), Dan Nather (Wednesday’s mystery helmsman), Lee Ann, Megan and Thom (mystery movie and mystery guests).
As you may infer from this shot of our leading lady, our mystery movie is a Pre-Code film.
And here is our leading man and leading lady.
Update: This is Joel McCrea and Dolores del Rio.
Trivia note: McCrea began making another island picture, “The Most Dangerous Game,” with Fay Ray in May 1932, immediately after “Bird of Paradise.”
Brain Trust roll call: David Inman (mystery movie and Thursday’s mystery guests), Mary Mallory (Thursday’s mystery guests), B.J. Merholz (mystery movie and Thursday’s mystery guest No. 2), Mike Hawks (Thursday’s mystery guests), Beachgal (Thursday’s mystery guest No. 2), Shelia (mystery movie, Wednesday’s mystery helmsman and Thursday’s mystery guests), Howard Mandelbaum (Thursday’s mystery guests), Sarah (mystery movie and Thursday’s mystery guest No. 2), Howard Decker (mystery movie and Thursday’s mystery guest No. 2), L.C. (mystery movie and mystery guests) and Lee Ann, Megan and Thom (Thursday’s mystery guests).
ladailymirror.com 
Benito says “It’s Jonathan Winters in drag!” and I second.
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Maude Frickert would be a Thursday, I think.
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Wild-eyed guess of movie title: “Down to Their Last Yacht”?
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Interesting guess, but…..
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Roseanne Barr?
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Alas, I’m afraid not.
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Is it from Gilligan’s Island when Gilligan did something that made him obligated to marry the tribe leader’s daughter?
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I’m guessing the 1932 BIRD OF PARADISE, and that the three are Wade Boteler, Bert Roach, and Joel McCrea.
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BIRD OF PARADISE, and Bert Roach in the middle today?
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Tuesday’s middle mystery guest looks like Bert Roach, but with a disfiguring nose event.
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Bert Roach in center spot. BIRD OF PARADISE 1932.
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Monday: Sofia Ortega in BIRD OF PARADISE (1932)
Arnold Gray, Berti Roach, Reginald Simpson
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Sofia Ortega in BIRD OF PARADISE
Arnold Gray, Bert Roach, Reginald Simpson
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Arnold Gray on the left and Reginald Simpson on the right today, Sofia Ortega yesterday.
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Wade Boteler on the left and our friend Mr. John Halliday.
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Wade Boteler and John Halliday go sailing along.
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Looks like Bert Roach on Tuesday.
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For Wednesday, it is Gale Gordon at the wheel.
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Alas, I’m afraid not. Mr. Conklin was in his 20s when this movie was made and hadn’t started in films.
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Sofia Ortega, Reginald Simpson, Bert Roach, Arnold Gray, Wade Boteler and John Halliday in Bird of Paradise from 1932.
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Wade Boteler, John Halliday
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John Halliday again. Is it Bird of Paradise?
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It’s John Halliday at the wheel. He was one of my favourite actors ‘way back when.
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Not sure who’s on the left in today’s photo, but that’s John Halliday on the right,
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Our consensus is that it’s BIRD OF PARADISE: Sofia Ortega for Monday; Bert Roach, Arnold Gray and Reginald Simpson (?) on the left for Tuesday; and Wade Boteler and John Halliday for Wednesday.
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Skeets Gallagher and Lon Chaney Jr. today, making this “Bird of Paradise.”
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Skeets Gallagher and Creighton Chaney today.
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It looks like Creighton Chaney in Bird of Paradise.
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Richard “Skeets” Gallagher and Lon Chaney, Jr.
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Thurs – the actor on the right is Lon Chaney Jr and the film is Manfish.
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John Halliday, Skeets Gallagher and hotsy totsy Lon Chaney Jr., ‘Bird of Paradise’
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Richard “Skeets” Gallagher, Lon Chaney, Jr.
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Thanks to Creighton Chaney today, I know it’s 1932’s “Bird of Paradise.”
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Well, the last guy (on the right) is Creighton Chaney. Is this Bird Of Paradise, 1932?
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This is Bird of Paradise (1932) w/Sofia Ortega, Wade Boteler, John Halliday, Lon (Creighton) Chaney, Jr, Joel McCrea & Dolores Del Rio
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Today’s guests are Richard Gallagher and Creighton Chaney, before he became Lon Jr..
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Well, today it’s got to be “Bird of Paradise” with Joel McCrea and Dolores del Rio.
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Friday we have Dolores DelRio and Joel McCrea in Bird of Paradise.
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Monday is Sofia Ortega
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Wed are John Halliday and Wade Boteler
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Joel McCrea and Dolores Del Rio.
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Dolores Del Rio and Joel McCrea.
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Lovely Dolores Del Rio also gets a bit racy in the charming pre Code MADAME DU BARRY 1934, by wearing a see through gown and singing naughty songs.
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I guess it’s Lon Chaney Jr. and Joel Mac Crae in Bird of Paradise.
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Dolores Del Rio (yum, yum) and then her again with Joel McCrea, without his cowboy hat. He never met dames like that on the wide open ranges, fer sure.
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Joel McCrea, Dolores Del Rio
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PS: The shark footage used in BIRD OF PARADISE was also used in THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, released a month later in 1932.
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