Archive of material on "White Shadows in the South Seas" [Southern Skies] from the estate of Monte Blue

W.S. Van Dyke (director)
Frederick O'Brien (novel)
Jack Cunningham (screenwriter)
Ray Doyle (adaptation)
Monte Blue, Raquel Torres (starring)

Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1928. Archive of material from the 1928 film. From the estate of actor Monte Blue, who starred in the film.

Included in the archive are a carbon typescript draft script, here under the working title “Southern Skies,” four vintage photographs, each with a mimeo snipe on the verso, one with a press stamp as well, and a later, 1921 edition of the 1919 travel book by Frederick O’Brien which served as the source material for the film, signed and dated by Blue, with his bookplate on the front pastedown.

MGM’s first film with a fully prerecorded soundtrack, comprised of music and sound effects, including, most notably, the first time the company’s mascot Leo the Lion roared at the film’s start, White Shadows in the South Seas doesn’t quite classify as a “talkie,” as only the single whispered word “hello” appears in the soundtrack. Winner of an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

Set on a Polynesian Island, shot on location in Tahiti, at the time an ambitious endeavor to shoot a Hollywood film on location among native islanders, using many of them as extras in the film.

Carbon typescript draft:

Cream colored titled wrappers, rubber-stamped copy No. 5046 and production No. 338, dated November 29, 1927, with credits for screenwriter Jack Cunningham and adaptation writer Ray Doyle. Title page integral with the first page of the text, dated November 16,1927, with credits for Cunningham and Doyle. 146 leaves, with last leaf of text numbered 146. Carbon typescript on onionskin stock. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Poor bound with two gold brads.

1921 copy of "White Shadows in the South Seas:"

Early The Century edition from 1921, first edition was originally published by The Century in 1919. Very Good, lacking jacket. Front hinge split, with light rubbing to the cloth at the extremities.


[Book #140906]