| His Majesty O'Keefe | 
| Director: Byron Haskin
Actors: Burt Lancaster, Joan Rice, Andre Morell, Abraham Sofaer, Archie Savage
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $8.41
You Save: $11.57 (58%)
Buy New/Used from $7.77
Avg. Customer Rating:   (6 reviews)
Sales Rank: 35446
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 90 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: WARD117749D
UPC: 085391177494
EAN: 0085391177494
ASIN: B000UJ48RM
Release Date: October 23, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: January 16, 1954
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Description
The adventures of an American sea captain stranded on Micronesia in the South Pacific, as he tries to become an entrepreneur.
Amazon.com
Burt Lancaster spends a great deal of His Majesty O'Keefe without a shirt on, which might suggest the appeal of this 1954 South Seas yarn. Between the chest-barings, you can also detect the presence of a political parable about the innocent islanders of Yap and the overbearing colonialists looking to make a killing off them. The prize is coconut meat: rascally Lancaster wants to corner the market before the Germans can get their paws on it. There are grown-up elements to this story, including the somewhat worldly approach to Lancaster's island-based affairs with native women, and perhaps if you peer long enough into it you can see the remnants of the real story of the actual O'Keefe peeking out. But truth be told, this is a fairly pokey affair, enlivened by the splashy color photography and some Micronesian exoticism. You'd better love Lancaster's megawatt grin--and yes, the other stuff on display--because his bounding movie-star energy is the only thing keeping this one afloat. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 His Majesty O'Keefe September 1, 2008
I Loved this movie when it was released in about 1954(It was a hit). At that time it did the circuit of the local cinemas. Thanks to the magic of DVD it was just great to see it again.
BarryS41
An Oldy but a Goldie! February 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a fantastic movie, I enjoyed watching it. My father was the Camera Man and my mother was Joan Rice's understudy, so I knew all about the film and have lots of photos of behind the scenes. Some information you might like to know is that both the main charecters couldn't swim and when Burt Lancaster dived off the boat into the water a little row boat was waiting just out of camera shot to pick him up. The native girl he had a fling with (in the movie) was a waitress before this. My parents were married just before they went to Fiji to film the movie, so for them it was their honeymoon, not bad!
Inspiring Swashbuckler! November 17, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This all-but-forgotten fifties swashbuckler produced by the team of Harold Hecht-Burt Lancaster is a thrilling, beautifully photographed epic of the South Seas and the people of Fiji. Lancaster was never better as Captain David Dion O'Keefe, a soldier of fortune obsessed with making a fortune in copra, the oil extracted from cocoanuts. His intentions are deeply affected by a philosophical German trader, the heroic chief of the natives (played by an amazing local character who appears to be a naturally gifted actor/dancer), and the lovely half-caste girl he falls in love with. As if the visuals are not enough, the film is worth seeing for the incredible score by Dmitri Tiomkin, definitely one of his best.
 Burt goes native October 4, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is a true story about an American in the western Pacific who sets himself up as king of the island of Yap in the late 1800's. The book is very interesting and the movie is too although it is a 1950's Hollywood "treatment" of the story. Burt Lancaster is in his prime in this adventure film. He gets to show off his great physique, his acrobatic talents and of course his 1000 watt smile. The movie was actually filmed in Fiji and the scenery is beautiful. It made me smile to see how conservative our culture was in the 1950's: In the book, O'Keefe has nightly trysts with a native girl but in the movie Burt simply looks at her and smiles and then later you see her with one of his gold coins around her neck. Sex used to be much simpler.
A rousing old fashioned adventure movie May 14, 2002
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Lancaster gives a fine performance in this classic account of a soldier of fortune willing to risk his neck for profit, and yet, act with honor and courage.
Terrific support cast, excellent settings and the color is superb.
Plenty of action, nefarious German officals and a bevy of lovely dancing girls, some evil slave traders and some good fist fights to boot.
Well worth the price is you are looking to pump up your tape collection.
Go for it, you won't be disapointed
Mike
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