"South Seas Adventure," the Cinerama film that opened Thursday night at the Villa Theater, is an unparalleled delight.

 

Its charm is so simple and so refreshing, it's difficult to see how anyone can leave the showhouse with anything but a feeling of happiness and a warm glow of satisfaction.

 

It enveloped the opening-night audience in its unique pleasure-creating atmosphere when the rolling Pacific Ocean washed out of the curving Villa screen, at the start, right to the finish, when the "Peaceful Sea" pounded against the rocks in Hawaii.

 

There are two and one-half hours of sheer magic between the opening and closing scenes.

 

The romance a girl from the mainland finds after her arrival in Hawaii; the peace and contentment a young Frenchman apprehends in Tahiti, where he has gone in search of the spirit of the painter Gauguin; the thrill of riding over blue-green waters in a plane and seeing the coral reefs building up near the small islands of the Pacific are among highlights of this wonderful film.

 

There also is the inspiration of a chorus of natives singing Handel's "Messiah" with a quality to their voices that is more distinctive than any other people can impart. And when they sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers," again in their native language, they create the gently soothing feeling of a calm sea for the audience.

 

There's the trout fishing in New Zealand, where a 9-pound rainbow is considered small; there are ski planes on the snowy slopes of New Zealand; and there is one native test of manhood in which a gigantic tower is built of tree trunks and branches and the men, their ankles tied by vines, dive head-first toward the ground.

 

The fact the vines are not long enough to cause them to hit the ground is the only thing that saves them.

 

Then there is a short tour of Australia with its koala bears; the outbank, fairly jumping with kangaroos, and a school that's conducted via a radio-telephone; a sheep-shearing scene with a song reminiscent of the happy ones in "Windjammer," and a festival that closes with "Waltzing Matilda."

 

"South Seas Adventure" is a movie experience no one should miss.