Plot
A boat, which was en route to Apia, is temporarily stranded on the South Pacific island village of Pago Pago due to a possible cholera outbreak on board. Among the passengers are Alfred Davidson, a self-righteous missionary, his wife, and Sadie Thompson, a prostitute. Thompson passes the time partying and drinking with the American Marines stationed on the island. Sergeant Tim O'Hara, nicknamed by Sadie as "Handsome", falls in love with her.
Her wild behavior soon becomes more than the Davidsons can stand and Mr. Davidson confronts Sadie, resolving to save her soul. When she dismisses his offer, Davidson has the Governor order her deported to San Francisco, California, where she is wanted for an unspecified crime (for which she says she was framed). She begs Davidson to allow her to remain on the island a few more days; her plan is to flee to Sydney, Australia. During a heated argument with Davidson, she apparently experiences a sudden religious conversion and agrees to return to San Francisco and the jail sentence that is waiting for her there.
The evening before she is to leave, Sergeant O'Hara asks Sadie to marry him and offers to hide her until the Sydney boat sails, but she refuses. Later, while native drums beat, the repressed Davidson succumbs to his lust and rapes her. The next morning, he is found dead on the ocean shore – a suicide. Disillusioned by the hypocritical betrayal by Davidson, Thompson switches back to her old self and goes off to Sydney with O'Hara to start a new life.
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