Return to Paradise (1953): Cast & Plot
Return to Paradise is a 1953 drama directed by Mark Robson, starring Gary Cooper as Mr. Morgan, Barry Jones and Moira Walker. It runs 1 hour 40 minutes.
- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 40m (100 min)
- Director
- Mark Robson
- Genre
- Drama
- Original language
-
English - Studio
- Aspen Productions
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is Return to Paradise About?
The premise of Return to Paradise without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
Morgantani is revered by many as a god, yet to a lone woman he is simply Mister Morgan, a man. When an American drifter arrives on a secluded Polynesian island dominated by a strict missionary, his presence upends the community’s rigid social order, stirring conflict and change.
Return to Paradise Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- missionary
- south-pacific
- world war two
- 1920s
- based on short story
- cricket the sport
- man punches a woman
- church
- curfew violation
- rowing a boat ashore
- basket weaving
- bare chested male
+38 more Show fewer
- working on the sabbath
- palm frond
- church service
- bathing in a pond
- assembling a gun
- shooting out a window
- double barreled shotgun
- cocking a gun
- cooking dinner
- exile
- playing pinochle
- rainy day
- chorus
- skiff
- pearl trader
- woman wears a sarong
- title song
- three word title
- sea adventure
- tropical setting
- woman with a black eye
- repairing a boat
- building a hut
- skinny dipping
- island dancing girl
- tropical island
- fistfight
- remote island
- warden
- military pilot
- water crash landing
- polynesian woman
- pregnancy out of wedlock
- native rebellion
- unwelcome visitor
- puritanical attitude
- adventurer
- loner
Return to Paradise Cast & Characters
Gary Cooper leads the cast as Mr. Morgan, with Barry Jones as Pastor Corbett and Moira Walker as Turia. Directed by Mark Robson; 8 actors are credited in all.
- Director Mark Robson
-
Gary Cooper as Mr. Morgan - Barry Jones as Pastor Corbett
- Moira Walker as Turia
- Roberta Haynes as Maeva
Also Starring in Return to Paradise
· 4 more- John Hudson Captain Harry Faber
- Maylia Fong Maeva's Aunt
- Hans Kruse Rori at age 21
- Mamea Matatumua Tonga
More from Mark Robson
More films directed by Mark Robson, best-rated first: Peyton Place, Earthquake, Valley of the Dolls and Avalanche Express.
Return to Paradise Plot Summary
What happens in Return to Paradise from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 2-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
In the 1920s, an itinerant American beachcomber, Gary Cooper as Mr. Morgan, arrives in Matareva, a quiet village on the island of Upolu in Samoa. He soon becomes a fixture in the community, but his arrival unsettles the local order, especially Pastor Cobbett, Barry Jones who governs Matareva with Puritanical zeal and keeps watch over the town through a small cadre of wardens. Morgan earns the trust of the islanders after a tense confrontation with the wardens, using a shotgun that is later revealed to be unloaded, a moment that marks his rough, improvisational entry into village life and foreshadows the fragile balance between outsiders and locals. During this volatile period, he fathers an illegitimate child, Turia, with island girl Maeva, Roberta Haynes as Maeva.
Full summary
The whole story of Return to Paradise, scene by scene
How Well Do You Know Return to Paradise?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
Which legendary actor stars as Mr. Morgan, the itinerant American beachcomber?
Return to Paradise Also Known As
12 alternative titles, including “A Volta ao Paraíso” and “El regreso al Paraiso”.
- Also known as
-
- A Volta ao Paraíso
- El regreso al Paraiso
- Sydhavets vagabond
- Åter till paradiset
- Visszatérés a Paradicsomba
- Retorno al Paraíso
- Retour au Paradis
- Rückkehr ins Paradies
- Samoa
- Возвращение в рай
- Retorn al paradís
- Från himmel till helvete
Seen Return to Paradise?
Movies Like Return to Paradise
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including Paradise Island, Sinners in Paradise and Paradise.
Return to Paradise FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date
Runtime, release date, director, cast and post-credit scenes of Return to Paradise, each answered in a sentence.
How long is Return to Paradise?
Return to Paradise runs 1 hour 40 minutes (100 minutes).
When was Return to Paradise released?
Return to Paradise was released on July 19, 1953.
Who directed Return to Paradise?
Return to Paradise was directed by Mark Robson.
More films by Mark Robson Who is in the cast of Return to Paradise?
Return to Paradise stars Gary Cooper as Mr. Morgan, Barry Jones as Pastor Corbett and Moira Walker as Turia, among 8 credited actors.
Does Return to Paradise have a post-credit scene?
No. Return to Paradise has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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