Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

sol ***SPOILERS*** Crash landing their plane in the far out South Pacific during a bombing run on the Japanese fleet the two surviving pilot and navigator Let. Alec Brook & Let. Joe Moore, Van Johnson & Cameron Mitchell, find themselves low on water and on the verge of dying of dehydration if their not found on time. It's during that time in waiting and hoping to be rescued that Alec goes into this long narrative, coupled with an almost hour long flashback, about this mythical island High Barbaree in the South Pacific that his uncle Thad Vail, Thomas Mitchell, always told him about until it came out of his ears. As luck would have it, and Brooke & Moore needed all the luck they can get, that island is supposed to be in the vicinity where their plane, ironically also named "High Barbaree",crash landed!We get to see the life and times as well as loves of young and later grown up Alex Brooke in a number of flashbacks that mostly take place in his hometown Westview Iowa. it was in Westview that Alec met little Nancy Fraser, June Allyson, whom he planned, at the age of 10,to marry when the two grew up. As it turned Nancy and her parents moved to the state of Montana and Alec soon lost track of her. Now, still in flashback, Alec has become the vice president of an aircraft company and is engaged to the boss' classy and beautiful daughter Diana Case, played by the drop dead gorgeous Marilyn Maxwell, when what seems like out of nowhere Nancy, now a navy nurse, pops back into his life! You can just imagine what major complications that brought into poor, in choosing between Nancy & Diana, Alec's life. Saved by the bell or the attack on Pearl Harbor Alec now in the Navy fighting the Japs, and not sitting behind a desk, seemed to have dropped Diana,what a jerk, and is now free to marry his long lost love Nancy! But as things or fate turned out Nancy dropped him in return and is now engaged to marry this navy man that she met while on duty in Honolulu! So where does the mythical island of High Barbaree fit into all this?****SPOILERS**** Well between all the BS that we and Joe go through listening to Alec story about the mythical island of High Barbaree it did served it's purpose in keeping the two clinging to life in hoping they'd find it up until help finally arrived! It's there in a dream sequence at High Barbaree that Alec, Joe by then had died from thirst and high fever, met this smiling Polynesian Chieftain Tangaror, played by native Hawaiian actor Al Kikume, who guided a shocked as well as happy Alec not only onto the island of mystery but to his hometown of Westview Iowa as well! The very predictable ending which shall remain nameless had all the qualities and trappings of your typical and phony Hollywood feel good happy ending! And it was that ending as well as Alec doing the brainless as well as unthinkable by dumping Diana for Nancy , which was like trading in a RollsRoyce for a Volkswagen, that made to film not all that believable to begin, or end, with.

vincentlynch-moonoi I had the feeling while watching this film that MGM though they had something truly special here. In reality, they have -- at best -- a rather average movie. There were two things about the film I really disliked. The pre-teen main character...well, I have seen far better child actors. But what really sealed this picture for me -- and I mean that in a negative sense -- was the segment with the bicycle ride at the circus, which was so preposterous...well, someone should have said to the director and screen writes -- "Are you nuts?" And then there's the ending...which I won't give away. The ending should have been expanded so that the audience would fully understand what High Barbaree actually was. But suddenly, the movie was simply over.Having said those things, however, I do have to say that this film has some redeeming qualities. There are some very fine segments here, especially back in the home town. But even more impressive is the acting by Van Johnson in the scenes when he is near death...perhaps the finest in his career.I really suggest that those who have a chance watch this film. It's intriguing, despite its faults. Recommended.

MartinHafer This is one of the stranger plots I've seen in a film in some time. Now I am not saying it's bad--just odd. My advice is stick with it--as the film progresses, it gets better--even if the 'High Barbaree' concept is bizarre and unnecessary."High Barbaree" begins during WWII. Van Johnson is the pilot of a Catalina seaplane. During a mission bombing an enemy sub (a pretty typical sort of thing for this slow plane), it gets the sub--but the sub gets the plane. Johnson and one other crew member survive the attack but the plane ditches in the ocean and the engines are shot. Their only hope is to be picked up or find land before they die from lack of food and water. During the interim, Johnson talks to his wounded comrade--telling him his life story as well as stories about his uncle (Thomas Mitchell) and his fictional land of Barbaree (this name, by the way, is taken from a sea chantey). He also talks about his love for his childhood sweetheart (June Allison).As I said above, the island of High Barbaree was totally unnecessary to the plot in my opinion. However, the love story between Allison and Johnson was very nice, as they both had a nice boy and girl next door look. These parts of the film were quite romantic as well. All in all, the film is a bit flawed but well worth seeing. Thank goodness MGM changed the original ending--it sounds absolutely dreadful (see the IMDb trivia for more on this).

Cory Love, innocence, and purity cast into a world gone mad. An eternal tale. Brilliant. Fortuitous in its timing. Simple and uncluttered. I happened upon this film while home during my freshman year in high school. Seems like an eternity ago. Have not seen it since. Not for want of trying but maybe some things are just not meant to be. I cannot find this film anywhere. 46 years old now and with plenty of scars of my own from this world of ours, I seem to recall the film at the oddest times. And in the heat of battle I'm not exactly sure it had me ducking or charging. But it always had me smiling. Frankly I'm not one to judge any film. Certainly High Barbaree tells of the greatest story one can tell. This particular film just seems to tell it unforgettably.