Introduction

Back in the 30s, there was a particular genre of motion picture which I still find irresistible. The Great Star (it could have been Crawford, Garbo, Lombard, Kay Francis or a dozen others) is declassé and either starts or winds up singing in a club in some exotic locale. The best and most indomitable of all was Dietrich, and EAST OF SAMOA is a script she should have done had the Hayes Office and the National League of Decency had a sense of humor.   I have tried to include all the wonderful absurdities: the vague crime she may or may not have committed, the fuzzy political situations, the lure of a romanticized Orient, the ethnic stereotypes and the macho hero who eventually melts her steel heart.

Here then is East of Samoa, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed creating it.