henry shoesmith be the pagan and a happy and handsome half caste and perfectly attune with his south seas home . henry be also the owner of the large cocoanut plantation on the island and which arouse the greed of an unscrupulous white trader with a beautiful native ward . ramon novarro be charm in this and his final silent film . once again and mgm have their mexican star play another in his wide range of ethnic role . here he be a polynesian and but he play his part so well and and be obviously have such a good time and that he give one of his most entertaining of performance . he be serve well by his excellent support cast . dorothy janis be novarro beautiful love interest innocent and vulnerable and passionately in love . donald crisp be superb a the villainous white trader and consume with lust for the girl he call his christian duty and embitter with hatred for novarro . his final fate be most proper and welcome . renée adorée score a the island harlot and a staunch friend to both novarro and janis . direct by peripatetic w. s. van dyke and the location filming in and around papeete and tahiti enhances the story greatly . come a it do at the very cusp of the new talkie era and this be essentially a silent film with an effective soundtrack that include musical interlude and background dialogue . novarro croons pagan love song ( by nacio herb brown and arthur freed ) to good effect give hollywood one of it first hit tune and his fine singing voice would be hear again in forthcoming film .