Right on the heels of his first Academy Award nominated performance in From Here To Eternity came this film which was a return to the more traditional roles Burt Lancaster did in his early years. Besides the charismatic actor's presence, His Majesty O'Keefe boasts some splendid location photography in the Fiji Islands. And most of you thought it was Marlon Brando who discovered the South Seas in that remake of Mutiny on the Bounty.
The year is 1870 and Captain O'Keefe (Lancaster) is set adrift by his mutinous crew in the same manner John Wayne was in Wake of the Red Witch. But he manages to be rescued on the island of Yap by the natives and given shelter by German missionary Andre Morrell.
Lancaster's not a man to pass an opportunity up when he sees all the unpicked coconuts around which will yield the valuable copra. The trick is to get the natives to work for it. Before long Lancaster is mixing in the political situation on Yap among the various tribal chiefs and in the European politics where all kinds of powers are making their presence felt in the South Pacific.
In fact the South Seas were undergoing colonization then much like Africa and Asia. By the end of the 19th century even before the Spanish American War when we took over Spain's colonies there, we were among many powers like the British, Germans, French, Spanish, and the Japanese who were expanding into the Pacific.
Because he leads a rescue of the island from out and out slavers led by Charles Horvath, Lancaster is proclaimed a King of Yap. But the crown carries responsibilities and people who resent him having it.
Lancaster playing a larger than life role and the splendid location cinematography of Fiji make His Majesty O'Keefe fine viewing and it holds up well today. A must for Burt Lancaster's many fans.
The year is 1870 and Captain O'Keefe (Lancaster) is set adrift by his mutinous crew in the same manner John Wayne was in Wake of the Red Witch. But he manages to be rescued on the island of Yap by the natives and given shelter by German missionary Andre Morrell.
Lancaster's not a man to pass an opportunity up when he sees all the unpicked coconuts around which will yield the valuable copra. The trick is to get the natives to work for it. Before long Lancaster is mixing in the political situation on Yap among the various tribal chiefs and in the European politics where all kinds of powers are making their presence felt in the South Pacific.
In fact the South Seas were undergoing colonization then much like Africa and Asia. By the end of the 19th century even before the Spanish American War when we took over Spain's colonies there, we were among many powers like the British, Germans, French, Spanish, and the Japanese who were expanding into the Pacific.
Because he leads a rescue of the island from out and out slavers led by Charles Horvath, Lancaster is proclaimed a King of Yap. But the crown carries responsibilities and people who resent him having it.
Lancaster playing a larger than life role and the splendid location cinematography of Fiji make His Majesty O'Keefe fine viewing and it holds up well today. A must for Burt Lancaster's many fans.