The film, directed by Joshua Logan, stars Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr and Ray Walston in the leading roles with Juanita Hall as Bloody Mary, the part that she had played in the original stage production.

Nellie is tormented by the revelation that de Becque had children with a Polynesian woman (who since died) and runs away, while Cable says he will not marry Liat; he is distressed by the thought of bringing her back to his family, fearing their reaction.

They fly out to a local fishing boat in order to secretly make it to a Japanese-held island to provide vital intelligence for the U.S. Navy.

The film was produced by "South Pacific Enterprises", a company created specifically for the production, owned by Rodgers, Hammerstein, Logan, Magna Theatre Corporation (owners of the Todd-AO widescreen process the film would be photographed in), and Leland Hayward, producer of the original stage production.

[7] Instead, Doris Day was offered the part of Nellie, but passed; Elizabeth Taylor tested for the same role, but was rejected by Rodgers after she suffered stage fright in her audition.

[6] Ultimately, Mitzi Gaynor, who had prior work in musical films, and had tested twice for Nellie, was cast in the role.

[6] Rossano Brazzi was cast as Emile, a role that was first offered to such established stars as Charles Boyer, Howard Keel, and Fernando Lamas.

Location filming provided sweeping shots of tropical island scenes, as well as a new sequence not in the stage version, in which Billis, having parachuted from a damaged plane, has a boat dropped on him, then comes under a series of attacks, following his fatalistic "Oh, it's going to be one of those days, huh?

Logan wrote in his memoirs that he wished he could stand outside theaters playing the movie, wearing a sign that said, "I DIRECTED IT, AND I DON'T LIKE THE COLOR EITHER!

A song titled "My Girl Back Home", sung by Cable and Nellie, cut from the Broadway show, was added.

The original European cut of the film shown in the United Kingdom and Europe does not switch those scenes and plays out as on the stage.

The stage version begins with Nellie and Emile's first scene together on the plantation, then proceeds to show Bloody Mary, Cable, and the Seabees on the beach, while in the film version Cable is shown at the very beginning being flown to the island, where the Seabees and Bloody Mary have their first musical numbers.

But her singing was dubbed for the film version by Muriel Smith, who played Bloody Mary in the London stage production.

[6] Ken Clark, who played Stewpot, was dubbed by Thurl Ravenscroft (who also sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" and was the voice of Tony the Tiger).

[10] When Fox (which by that time owned partial distribution rights to the film, including home video) learned of the print's existence, it took it to the United States to reinstate the 14 missing minutes and attempt to restore as much of the color as possible.

The company plans to release the films on video on demand and other home entertainment platforms sometime in the final quarter of 2023 as well as in new DVD and Blu-ray anniversary editions.

[17] It was withdrawn from general release at the end of 1960 with rentals of $16.3 million,[18] earning a place among the 50 most popular movies of all time at the domestic box office when adjusted for inflation and the size of the population in its era.

A film remake by producers Ileen Maisel and Bob Balaban starring Michelle Williams as Nellie Forbush was announced in 2010 but has not materialized.