Return to Paradise (1953) stars Gary Cooper as Mr. Morgan, a casual drifter who lands on a beautiful island in the South Pacific. The native islanders he finds there are living in fear under the iron fist of Pastor Corbett (Barry Jones), a fire and brimstone preacher hell-bent on imposing Christianity on them. Morgan's blatant defiance of Corbett shakes things up on the island, and the natives look to him for guidance as they struggle to break free of Corbett's chains. Morgan, a free spirit, cannot be pinned down on anything. However, the love of the beautiful island girl Maeva (Roberta Haynes) might just change that.

The story for Return to Paradise was taken from James Michener's 1951 novel of the same name. It was a sequel of sorts to his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, which had famously provided the source material for the smash Broadway musical and film South Pacific (1958).

Wanting to present a realistic backdrop of island life, director Mark Robson shot Return to Paradise on location on the idyllic island of Upolu in Western Samoa. The beautiful natural scenery proved to be one of the film's strongest assets, though with shooting on location came the usual headaches. The biggest problem, according to Robson, was the decision to use many of the Samoan locals as extras. The native Samoans were crucial to the film since so many of the scenes required the presence of all the island villagers. However, getting them to act before the camera and show up on time was a challenge. "You must remember that there's little time sense in that section of Samoa, and the people just won't be hurried," said Robson in an interview upon the film's release. "The heat and humidity of the country make working very difficult. You have to drive yourself to it." Gary Cooper later echoed Robson's sentiments adding, "The natives got bored quickly. That was our biggest production problem. We used too many natives in the picture, and getting them to take their work seriously was difficult."

Return to Paradise successfully blends action, romance and drama and features Gary Cooper in one of his most offbeat roles. The title song sung by Kitty White features lyrics by Ned Washington and music by Oscar®-winning composer Dimitri Tiomkin, who also wrote the film's memorable score.

Producer: Harry Lenart, Mark Robson, Theron Warth, Robert Wise
Director: Mark Robson
Screenplay: Charles Kaufman, James Michener
Cinematography: Winton C. Hoch
Film Editing: Daniel Mandell
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Cast: Gary Cooper (Mr. Morgan), Barry Jones (Pastor Corbett), Roberta Haynes (Maeva), Moira MacDonald (Turia), John Hudson (Captain Harry Faber), Mamea Matumua (Tonga).
C-89m.

by Andrea Passafiume