The musical number "Happy Talk" (sung by Bloody Mary) was inexplicably jettisoned from this version because its lyrics were deemed racially insensitive to modern audiences, despite the fact that all of Bloody Mary's dialogue and songs are written in a similar pidgin vein.
The original Broadway production of "South Pacific" opened at the Majestic Theater on April 7, 1949, ran for 1925 performances starring Mary Martin as Nellie Forbush and Ezio Pinza as Emile de Becque, won the 1950 Tony Award for the Best Musical, Libretto and Score and won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1950.
As of 2021, this film has been released three times on home video. The Mill Creek and Kino issues present the film in its original 1.33:1 broadcast ratio. While the packaging of the Buena Vista Home Video release purports to have mastered the film in that same ratio, the DVD actually contains an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen print. As such, when viewed on 16:9 televisions, picture information on the top and bottom of the screen is matted, as if for theatrical exhibition.
Lori Tan Chinn's limited vocal range resulted in nearly half of "Bali Ha'i" being expunged. Where the song traditionally moves into its bridge, Tan Chinn cuts straight to the finish. Missing is the entire middle section: "Some day you'll see me, Floating in the sunshine, My head sticking out from a low flying cloud... You'll hear me call you, Singing through the sunshine, Sweet and near as can be. Come to me... here am I... Come to me... If you try, you'll find me where the sky meets the sea, Here am I, your special island! Come to me, come to me... Bali Ha'i... Bali Ha'i... Bali Ha'i..."
Using James Michener's prose as inspiration, this film remake sets up a friendship between Bloody Mary and Cable that doesn't exist in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage adaptation.