South Pacific

Based on the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein eponymous musical, which in turn is loosely based on James A. Michener's 1947 short-story collection Tales of the South Pacific, this film offers a sweeping international love story during World War II. Nurse Nellie Forbush (Mitzi Gaynor) of the U.S. Navy stationed on a South Pacific island falls for middle-aged French plantation owner Emile De Becque (Rossano Brazzi), but recoils upon discovering that he's fathered two mixed-race children. When Nellie leaves him, the heartbroken Emile agrees to take on a dangerous espionage mission. In his absence, Nellie struggles to reconcile her prejudices with her love for him -- and after she spends time with his children and comes to care for them, fears that Emile may not return alive.