Julie Andrews Retrospective Continues with ‘Hawaii’

Sag Harbor Cinema’s year-long retrospective, “The Worlds of Julie Andrews,” continues with a screening of the 1966 film “Hawaii” on Sunday, February 19, at 4 p.m.

Directed by George Roy Hill (“The Sting”) and produced by Walter Mirisch (“The Magnificent Seven,” “West Side Story,” “In the Heat of the Night”), the film adaptation of James Michener’s epic novel, penned by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, explores the colonization of Hawaii through the story of Reverend Abner Hale (Max Von Sydow) who is tasked with taking the word of God to the Hawaiian natives and sets sail towards the islands with his new wife, Jerusha (Julie Andrews). Upon arriving, however, the missionaries discover an established way of life that is strongly at odds with the values they represent. Jerusha is quick to accept the islanders’ resistance to change, but Abner is determined to stamp them with his own beliefs.

With Mirisch’s reputation for delivering Hollywood grand spectacle, its lavish tropical locations on Maui and the name recognition of Andrews, “Hawaii” got away with a surprisingly critical view of the Calvinist missionaries and the American whalers. The film was a big hit and garnered seven Academy Award nominations, including a surprising nomination for Jocelyne LaGuard — who had never acted before and never did again — for her role as Malama Kanoka, ruler of the community where the missionaries land. She was the first Polynesian and first Indigenous person to receive a nomination from the Academy.

Mirisch brought together a stellar cast that, along with Andrews, LaGuard and Von Sydow, included Gene Hackman, Richard Harris and Carroll O’Connor. A young Bette Middler made her debut cameo as a girl on the boat. Director George Roy Hill took over the production when Fred Zinneman split with United Artists and risked being replaced himself (by Arthur Hiller) when the film went over budget. The Polynesian extras refused to film with the new director and Hill was rehired. He would go on to direct Julie Andrews again in “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

Joining the cinema’s founding artistic director Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan for a Q&A following the screening will be Emma Walton Hamilton, the daughter of Julie Andrews who was a child at the time the film was made and stayed on location with Andrews.

In the spirit of bringing the tropics to wintry Sag Harbor, a $35 ticket includes a “Tiki Tasting” after the screening on the third floor with tiki-themed drinks and small Polynesian bites sponsored and catered by Honest Plate. Tickets for the screening alone and the screening with tasting event are available at sagharborcinema.org. Sag Harbor Cinema is at 90 Main Street, Sag Harbor.