FAQ

Reverend Abner Hale (Max von Sydow) and his new wife Jerusha Bromley (Julie Andrews) set sail in 1819 for the Hawaiian islands on a mission to "bring the heathen Hawaiians to the Lord" and to civilize them. While the Hawaiians are eager to learn to read and write, their customs are in direct conflict with Hale's strict and uncompromising theology, a situation that can only lead to tragedy for Hawaiians and missionaries alike.

Hawaii (1959) is an epic novel written by American novelist James Michener [1907-1997]. Although the novel spans the eleven centuries between the ninth century C.E. and the mid-1950s, the movie focuses on the book's third chapter From the Farm of Bitterness, set during the early 1800s in the town of Lahaina. It was adapted for the movie by American screenwriters Dalton Trumbo and Daniel Taradash. It was followed by The Hawaiians (1970) (1970), which picks up sometime after Hawaii left off and is based on later chapters in Michener's novel.

Hawaii consists of a chain of eight islands, including Hawai'i (a.k.a. The Big Island), O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i, Moloka'i, Lana'i, Kaho'olawe, and Ni'ihau (which is in private ownership). Lahaina is the largest town on the coast of West Maui. Its name is said to mean "merciless sun" or "cruel sun", referring to the long hot days of the drought season.

The only character mentioned in Hawaii that truly existed was King Kamehameha. Some of the other characters, i.e., Abner Hale, John Whipple, Queen Malama, and Keoki Kanakoa, although fictional themselves, were modeled after people and events that really did figure in Hawaii's history. For example, it was a lecture by one Henry Obookiah (Keoki Kanakoa in the movie) that inspired New England Reverends Hiram Bingham and Asa Thurston (Abner Hale and John Whipple) to take their missionary work to Hawaii. One of the targets of their missionary work was the ruling Queen Kaahumanu (Queen Malama).

There were five. Kamehameha I (the Great) ruled during the 1750s. His son Kamehameha II ruled from 1797-1824. When Kamehameha II died, Kamehameha I's second son became Kamehameha III and ruled from 1825-1854. Kamehameha IV, grandson of Kamehameha the Great, ruled from 1855-1863. Kamehameha IV's brother became Kamehameha V in 1863 and ruled until his death in 1872. He never married and died without naming an heir. After him, Hawaii's rulers were elected by the Hawaiian Legislature.

Abner Hale is supposed to be rigid, unlikable and pathetic. His attitude toward the native Hawaiians is meant to represent much of the ignorance that the New England missionaries brought to the islands and their attempts to sanitize a culture that had evolved over almost 2,000 years. If you hated Abner Hale, then the director succeeded in bringing James Michener's character to the screen.

Some of the more prominent Hawaiian words that were used in this movie include: mahalo = thanks, aloha = hello, goodbye, welcome, love, aloha nui = love intense, haole = white person, kane = man, wahini = girl, mana = anima, spiritual grace, mano = shark, makua = a respected elder

An Alii is a member of the highest class of Hawaiian society, ranking even above the Kahunas. An Alii Nui is the supreme Alii and can only claim heritage from parentage of that rank.

Abner is devastated when told by Reverend Quigley (John Cullum) that the church's Board of Commissioners in Boston have reappointed him, after 20 years of ministering in Lahaina, to a pulpit in New Surrey, Connecticut. Abner refuses to go. The children are sent back to New England to live with the Bromleys and continue their education. After waving goodbye to the children as they board the boat, Abner returns to his house where he finds a young man waiting to see him. He introduces himself as Jonah Kimalu and asks for permission to become Abner's assistant. Abner suggests that he talk with the new Reverend when he arrives, but Jonah is adamant that he wants to work with Abner. Suddenly, Abner recognizes Jonah by the birthmark on his face as being the little baby that he and Jerusha kept from being buried alive because of his blemish. Abner races excitedly into the house to tell Jerusha before remembering that she died several years earlier. In the final scene, Jonah picks up Abner's cane and carries it into the house with him.

There is much more to the book than in the movie, as the movie covers only one chapter from the book. Probably the most notable difference is that, in the book, Jerusha is alive when Rafer Hoxworth (Richard Harris) brings her the house, and she lives there for another three years. In the movie, she dies in 1834, before Rafer delivers her house.

All the child nudity scenes were deleted or, when more significant to the plot, darkened. For example, in the original movie, nude women and girls swam to the ship and happily walked away with sailors. The young girl portions were deleted. Later, Abner found a nude girl in his home and learned that she was given to him. Here, she was made to seem in the shadows and could barely be seen.The most dramatic cut scene occurs when the deformed offspring of brother and sister Keoki (Manu Tupou) and Noelani (Elizabeth Logue) is drowned by Keoki. When she learns the truth of what happened, Jerusha stands up in the middle of Abner's sermon, takes the children with her, and denounces his actions publicly before storming out of the church. It is a breathtaking moment when she defies him so publicly.

The cuttings also detract from Jerusha's character and the overall mood of the film. Her post-wedding scene is cut and this is unfortunate because we see Jerusha comforting her little sister [the one who dies] who doesn't want to see her go so far away, a moment that comes back to mind when Jerusha reads the news of her sister's death. Prior to this, a scene involving Abner's family—the farewell with his sisters and Mother—is entirely cut. This is too bad because the cold, repressed family is such a stark contrast to the open warmth of the Bromleys—and it gives us a clear picture of why it is nearly impossible for Abner to let himself feel and express love. The boat trip from New England to Hawaii suffers perhaps the most time being cut—and it is here that we experience Jerusha as a strong force, able to stand up to Abner at his most controlling and intolerant. Later, there are important scenes of gentle intimacy between them that are cut—scenes where he promises to make sure she will not die in childbirth (which has resonance later on when she almost does), and a tender scene in which she cares for him after the shark attack: he confesses that he "sinned the day I married you, and I sin this day in keeping you'" He says further that he cannot love both her and God. Jerusha answers that God is to be worshiped and that she wants only to be loved as a woman.