Kona Coast (1968)

Kona Coast is a 1968 crime thriller based on John D. MacDonald’s story Bimini Gal. It’s set in Hawaii, but not the glamorous Hawaii of the tourists. It has a bit of an “adventures in the Pacific” feel to it.

Sam Moran (Richard Boone) owns a charter boat. He gets a ’phone call from a girl named Dee. She’s in trouble again. She’s the girl we saw running along the beach at the start of the movie and she’s definitely in big trouble. We don’t know why Sam is so concerned about her, but he is. Unfortunately she hangs up without telling him where is.

Shortly afterwards the police fish her body out of the water.

The only lead Sam has takes him to the fancy beach house of the arrogant decadent Kryder (Steve Ihnat) but Same can’t find any evidence that Dee was there.

Sam should leave this to the police but he has reasons for considering Dee’s fate to be a personal matter.

Someone definitely wants to discourage Sam’s interest in the case. They blow up his boat, and in the process blow up his best friend Charlie Lightfoot (Chips Rafferty).

Sam would never have left it to the police anyway He’s not that kind of guy.

We have a setup for a crime thriller here but the movie gets distracted by Sam’s personal life, and the many women with whom he gets himself involved.

Firstly there’s Kittibelle (Joan Blondell), Charlie Lightfoot’s sister. Sam finds himself part owner, with Kittibelle, of a beat-up old tub of a boat.

Secondly there’s Melissa Hyde (Vera Miles), an old flame. Maybe they want to rekindle the romance and maybe they don’t. Melissa is a drunk but she’s been drying out at the Refuge, where Kittibelle takes in assorted drunks and others of life’s victim.

Thirdly there’s a little cutie Sam rescued from an awkward situation. Sam is old enough to be Mim’s dad but apparently women of all ages are attracted to Sam.

While Sam sorts out his woman troubles the plot grinds to a bit of a halt. It’s not that these emotional interludes are entirely uninteresting but we do start to wonder when the crime thriller plot is going to kick in again.

The movie starts in Honolulu but much of the action takes place in Kona on the Big Island, which in 1968 was a long way off the tourist trail. There’s a deliberate contrast made between Honolulu (with all the problems endemic to big cities) and the simple old-fashioned lifestyle of Kona.

Richard Boone had his own distinctive personal style of charisma. He could play a fine villain or a hero. Here’s he a hero, albeit a slightly imperfect one. Sam just can’t keep out of trouble and his personal life has always been a shambles but he has absolute self-confidence. He gives an enjoyable performance. Vera Miles is a slightly dull leading lady. It’s probably not her fault. Melissa is just not a very sympathetic character.

Joan Blondell is always worth watching although she doesn’t get enough to do here. Gina Villines is fun as the good-natured brat Mim. Kent Smith almost steals the picture as the likeable Akamai, who runs the local store. Steve Ihnat is a delightfully creepy villain.

This is a very low-key thriller. In fact it’s too low-key for its own good. It loses direction badly in the middle with way too much focus on bar scenes and on the romance angle. Romance is fine but this one just isn’t all that interesting.

It finally remembers it’s supposed to be a thriller but the climactic showdown falls rather flat. Harlan Ellison was originally hired to do the screenplay but was fired. That may have been a mistake.

The film’s main selling point is the good use that is made of Hawaiian locations (it was shot entirely in Hawaii). Richard Boone lived in Kona and he was the executive producer. You can’t help feeling that he just really wanted to make a movie there.

Kona Coast had potential but the script needed to be tightened up a lot and it needed a lot more energy and focus. It’s not terrible but it’s not really a success. At 93 minutes it’s way too long. It could have made an OK episode of Hawaii Five-O. Worth a look but I wouldn’t recommend paying top dollar to see it.