White Shadows in the South Seas

After completing filming on the tropical island, they returned to the MGM lot at Culver City, where W.S. Van Dyke shot some additional material, including a typhoon at sea and a shipwreck. Then the studio decided to make White Shadows in the South Seas (1928) their first sound film, so they added a synchronized soundtrack consisted of a romantic score by William Axt and David Mendoza, with a few sound effects such as wind howling, a storm, trees ruffling and the words "Hello" and "wait."

This was MGM's first sound picture, and it premiered in Hollywood at Sid Grauman's Chinese Theater on Friday, 3 Aug 1928. It is known for being the first MGM film to be released with a pre-recorded soundtrack.

The drowned young man's left arm moves by itself.

There is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA srl, "L'UOMO DI ARAN (1934), NANUK L'ESCHIMESE (1922), OMBRE BIANCHE NEI MARI DEL SUD (1928)" (3 Films on a single DVD), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.

Featured in Settling the Score (2005)