I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy "A Wonderful Guy" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "South Pacific." It was first introduced by Mary Martin in the original Broadway production and sung by Mitzi Gaynor in the 1958 film adaptation. In the show, Nellie sings this song after being convinced that despite the racial differences between her and Emile, there is good in him. And so she is elated to be in love with him. Rodgers and Hammerstein were as inspired by Mary Martin's personality as they were by the character of Nellie Forbush to
Tales of the South Pacific "Our Heroine", about Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque. Characters from other stories, such as Bill Harbison, Bus Adams, and Luther Billis, play minor or supporting roles. Some of the characters from the stories were merged and simplified to serve the format of the musical. For example, the coastwatcher in the musical is an American Marine (Lt. Cable) assisted by an expatriate French plantation owner (Emile de Becque). In Michener's short story "The Cave" the coastwatcher is an English expatriate assisted by native islanders, and is a disembodied voice on a short-wave radio identifying himself only as "The Remittance Man".