A beauty contest winner of the "Miss Pineapple Princess" pageant takes part in a publicity scheme in Hawaii, and is pursued by an advertising executive for the agency doing the promotion.A beauty contest winner of the "Miss Pineapple Princess" pageant takes part in a publicity scheme in Hawaii, and is pursued by an advertising executive for the agency doing the promotion.A beauty contest winner of the "Miss Pineapple Princess" pageant takes part in a publicity scheme in Hawaii, and is pursued by an advertising executive for the agency doing the promotion.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
- Dr. Victor Quimby
- (as Leif Erikson)
- Priest
- (as Prince Lei Lani)
- Old Woman
- (uncredited)
- Photographer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBing Crosby sang "Sweet Leilani" by Harry Owens, which went on to win an Academy Award for Best Song. It beat out George and Ira Gershwin's "They Can't Take That Away from Me", which is from the 1937 film "Shall we Dance", and which, unlike the semi-forgotten "Sweet Leilani", became a classic. (Even the song "Blue Hawaii", also written for "Waikiki Wedding", is today more famous than "Sweet Leilani", thanks to Elvis Presley.) Bing Crosby sang four different Oscar winning songs in his films.
- GoofsWhen Martha Raye sings "Okolehua", her hairstyle changes from being down at the sides of her face, to up away from her face in the middle of the number.
- Quotes
Tony Marvin: Gotta keep her on course.
Georgia Smith: Well, your star moved.
Tony Marvin: Oh, lady, if you could count on women the way they can count on that star, there'd be much more smooth sailing and far less wrecks.
Georgia Smith: Well! Personal experience or something out of a book?
Tony Marvin: What's the difference? It's true.
Georgia Smith: I see... out of a book.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Mark Steyn: Episode #1.72 (2022)
- SoundtracksSweet Is the Word for You
(uncredited)
Music by Ralph Rainger
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Sung by Bing Crosby
Reprised by Shirley Ross
Set in Hawaii, the story begins with Tony Marvin (Bing Crosby) and his pal, Shad Buggle (Bob Burns), accompanied by his pet pig, attending a native wedding feast, in which Tony participated with a Hawaiian song. Tony, a smooth talking publicity man for J.B. Todhunter (George Barbier), president of a pineapple company, is hired to escort Georgia Smith (Shirley Ross), from Birch Falls, a "Miss Pineapple Queen" contest winner, on her Hawaiian tour, accompanied by her companion, Myrtle Finch (Martha Raye), who in turn becomes escorted by Shad. Because Georgia is not satisfied with her trip, threatening to return home to the states and refusing to participate in any publicity campaigns, Tony goes through extremes in keeping her in Hawaii, ranging from having her accused of smuggling a black pearl, abducted by a native group headed by Kimo (Anthony Quinn); vocalizing to her, and having her attend ceremonial dances. After discovering this whole affair to be nothing but tricks to keep her in Hawaii, the angry Georgia decides to book passage on the next boat to return home and marry her dull fiancé, Victor P. Quimby (Leif Erickson), causing Tony, who now loves her, to continue using provide more tricks instead of sincerity to keep her.
Along with the lightweight plot and Hawaiian surroundings, the bright score by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin include: "Blue Hawaii" and "In a Little Hula Heaven" (sung by chorus during opening credits); "Nani Ona Pua" (sung by Bing Crosby); "Blue Hawaii" (sung by Crosby); "Blue Hawaii" (sung by Crosby and Shirley Ross); "Sweet Leilani" by Harry Owens, (sung by Crosby); "In a Little Hula Heaven" (sung by Crosby and Ross); "Okolehao" (sung by Martha Raye. Take notice how Raye's hair style changes midway through this number); "Sweet Is the Word for You" (sung by Crosby) and "Sweet Is the Word for You" (reprise, sung by Ross). While "Blue Hawaii" and "In a Little Hula Heaven" are the best sounding tunes for this production, it's the slower tempo lullaby of "Sweet Leilani" that became the Academy Award winning song of 1937.
The supporting cast features Grady Sutton as Everett Todhunter; Granville Bates as Uncle Herman; George Regas, Emma Dunn, and Mitchell Lewis, among others.
While "Waikiki Wedding," which runs at about 89 minutes, hasn't aired on any television station for quite some time now, it was distributed on video cassette in 1995 as part of the Bing Crosby collection, along with other titles as RHYTHM ON THE RANGE (1936) with Frances Farmer, and its WAIKIKI WEDDING co-stars, Bob Burns and Martha Raye, and a decade later onto DVD double featured with DOUBLE OR NOTHING (1937) also featuring Martha Raye. Oh, boy!!!! All films mentioned make recommended viewing for Crosby fans. (***)
- lugonian
- Dec 21, 2002
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Waikiki
- Filming locations
- Hawaii, USA(second unit)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1