People are voting emotionally.

Charming and brutal

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

"The Seekers" is an unusual and interesting movie. Although there are more than a few wince-worthy moments, I feel that the good points outweigh the bad ones.Set in 1821, Philip Wayne, a sailor played by Jack Hawkins, befriends a Maori chief, Hongi Tepe when his ship stops in New Zealand. After returning to England he comes back with his wife Marion, played by Glynis Johns, to settle permanently. Other settlers arrive, but after Philip and Marion have a baby things get complicated. Philip has an affair with the chief's daughter, Moana, played by Laya Raki, and one of the settlers accidentally kills a Maori warrior sparking a climactic battle.It would be hard for a movie made in 1954 that depicts early European settlers clashing with the original inhabitants to avoid a charge of racism, no matter whether it is set in the American West, South Africa, Australia, or as in this case, New Zealand. The mid-50's was not exactly a time of deep reflection about the topic, which seemed to come more in the following decade and ever since.Possibly it's too much baggage to load onto a movie where the filmmakers didn't let historical or cultural accuracy get in the way when it came to telling a good story – especially when Laya Raki was around.Although much of it was apparently shot in New Zealand, the film is surprisingly stagey and studio bound. Jack Hawkins plays it pretty straight throughout, but it is Glynis Johns who stands out by effectively underplaying her role. Kenneth Williams appears in a pre-"Carry On" role as the settler who triggers the final confrontation with the Maori.The movie would have been pretty heavy going if it weren't for Laya Raki as Moana. Early in the movie, she performs a dance number – but not one that is likely to be included in the repertoire of traditional dances at the Maori Cultural Centre in Rotorua. Moana also takes a strong interest in Philip Wayne. Every time he goes into the bush to hunt or fish, he stumbles across her in a classic, 1950's pinup pose perched on a rock or draped across the track.Then she does that nude swim. Not something one expects in a 1954 movie. Possibly it got through the censors under the old National Geographic Magazine adage that pictures of topless woman were allowed as long as they were from indigenous cultures where lack of clothes was accepted. Although she looked exotic, Laya Raki certainly wasn't Maori – she was German – but maybe the censors didn't know that.The final battle is quite spectacular and features some original touches. For defence, the settlers dig pits and man them with a couple of muskets each – long before the WW2 foxhole. I don't think I have ever seen that in any other film set in this period.By the final reel, Philip Wayne's adulterous affair with Moana, and the battle of annihilation with the Maori, gave the film a darker tone – it is a movie that starts slowly but builds power and delivers a strong punch at the end.

I give it an "8" for historical interest as the first colour feature filmed in my country of New Zealand, even though I haven't seen it yet (I have a copy ordered). This film is available (legally) on DVD in Australia in a two-movie pack with another Jack Hawkins film "The Planter's wife". You can order it from www.ebay.com.au (for only ten Australian dollars!!!). Is also advertised on www.ebay.com in the States from another Australian source. "The Seekers" is an important film historically in New Zealand where I live, because it's the first colour feature filmed here and one of the handful of international productions before the 1970's explicitly set here and it features several prominent indigenous Maori actors including acclaimed opera singer Inia Te Wiata who went on to perform at Covent Garden in London.No doubt the comments posted by others above are valid re-the racist colonialist attitudes etc. After all, at the time this film was made, in 1954, the only features made here in New Zealand were directed by foreigners such as the British Annakin. We had to wait until the 1960s before a feature by a New Zealander. And even white New Zealanders in this period shared such colonialist attitudes and saw themselves s carrying white civilization to the "barbarous Pacific." No doubt some humour can be found if, like me, you enjoy marveling at the dated heroic poses often found in these British films made at the fag-end of Empire when Britannia hadn't quite yet waived the rules...At least this production has some Maori cast members- most Hollywood films set in New Zealand of this period use Mexicans or Asians to stand in for the indigenous Maori people (see below).Other major international productions filmed or set in New Zealand in this period include "Green Dolphin Street" (director Victor Saville, 1947; starring Lana Turner and Van Heflin) about an Englishman thwarted in love who seeks redemption in exile in New Zealand, which won an Oscar for Best Special Effects for its earthquake scenes; "Until They Sail" (director Robert Wise, 1957; starring Paul Newman, Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Sandra Dee and Piper Laurie) about GIs romancing New Zealand girls during the war; and "Two Loves" (director Charles Walters, 1961; starring Jack Hawkins again, Shirley MacLaine and Laurence Harvey) in which Shirley Maclaine is an idealistic young American immigrant school teacher amongst the impoverished Maoris battling (and in love with) the cynical Harvey and the set-in-his ways school inspector Hawkins. All the Maori roles seem to be played by Asians or Mexicans. This is also the case on "Green Dolphin Street" where all the Maoris seem to be played by Mexicans (apparently that one was filmed on a Hollywood lot).A late entrant in the "British films with a New Zealand connection" genre is the entertaining "Mr Forbush and the Penguins" (aka "Cry of the Penguins") 1971 (starring John Hurt and Hayley Mills) based on a New Zealand novel. Esteemed English thespian Joss Ackland wins the all-time award for "worst foreign attempt at a New Zealand accent" in his cameo as a Kiwi official at the High Commission in London (has to be heard to be believed!!!).

There are some nice locations in this film that are captured in strikingly vibrant colour with effective camera movement and angles. It is, however, not a very well written film, with a dull romance, stereotype characters and some unwelcoming ideas about colonisation. The visual side of the film keeps it moderately engaging, with good costumes and sets, and a few extra sparks are added in by Kenneth Williams, in an early pre-Carry On role. It becomes sillier and lamer as the film progresses, and some of the music choices are awfully unfitting, but the film does still have a small share of virtues nevertheless.

This film, about white men colonising New Zealand in the early 1800's, starts off well as two sailors discover the Maori culture. Unfortunately once they return to colonise, things become melodramatic and silly. Hawkins is good, but the wonderful Glynis Johns is completely wasted. The most interesting casting is the young pre-Carry On Kenneth Williams playing, as butch as he can, a go-getter colonist. The ridiculous music score constantly over-powers the action, and the action scenes are poorly staged and filmed.But what is most distressing about this film is its assertion that white man and his Christianity saved the Maoris from a savage society constantly at war and brought them peace. In reality white man brought mass slaughter, disease and cultural genocide. I am amazed that as late as the 1950's such imperialist racist attitudes still prevailed.