It is 1820 and Rev. Abner Hale (Max von Sydow), a recent graduate of the Yale Divinity School, agrees to take the "word of God" to the Hawaiian natives...and, with his new bride Jerusha Bromley (Julie Andrews), sets sail to Hawaii. Hale and Bromley perceive the Hawaiians as children-- they make love without restraint and, in the temperate climate, resist any changes in their way of life. Bromley quickly comes to terms with this, but Hale is determined to stamp these people with his own beliefs. Thus is established the basis for the personal and historical conflicts which sweep through this sun-blessed island. The ships will start to arrive soon--with sailors and businessmen, with commercialization and disease and with the ever-present "moral superiority" of the West. Based on the novel by James Michener.
Hollywood at Home: Hawaii, Saturday at 9 p.m. on PBS 6.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.