The 1954 film "His Majesty O'Keefe" is about an Irish-American adventurer David O'Keefe, who lands in the South Pacific Island of Yap in 1870, sets up a company to employ the residents to harvest coconuts and produce copra (coconut oil), and later becomes a "king" of the island. The film stars Burt Lancaster as David O'Keefe and was mostly filmed in Fiji. It is based on a true story. Examples of the famous Yap stone "money" (sacred stones or "Fei" stones) are shown along with copper coins from Canada, Japan, and Russia used as props for gold coins.

Captain David O'Keefe loses his ship to a mutiny and is washed ashore on the Island of Yap. Yap is located in the Caroline Islands in the South Pacific which are now part of the Federated States of Micronesia.

He is rescued by natives and taken to Alfred Tetins, a German trader who has lived on the island for 20 years. O'Keefe is an entrepreneur and notices the coconuts, which can be harvested and processed to produce copra sand coconut oil, which had many uses in the days before synthetic oils. O'Keefe becomes friends with a native chief/shaman, Fatumak, who speaks English and acts as a translator.

O'Keefe proposes hiring the natives to process coconuts but Tetins informs him that the natives have everything they need and can not be paid or forced to work. Tetins shows O'Keefe a Yap sacred stone or "Fei" stone. O'Keefe enters a duel against a native chief Boogulroo and impresses the natives by beating him.

These stones are quarried elsewhere and brought to the island. They are sometimes referred to as "stone money", but they are not moved around as a medium of exchange. O'Keefe tries out his scheme on the natives by offering them trade goods if they will work for him.

The natives are not interested in "high tech."

O'Keefe watches the natives unload the stones and realizes their worth. A boat arrives with Tetins' German partners and they agree to take O'Keefe to Hong Kong, the center of the copra trade.

O'Keefe has done some odd jobs for Tetins' and receives five gold coins, four of which are on the table.

The coins on the table are supposed to be gold coins but they appear to be copper coins used as props. The top left coin is a Russia 5 kopeks, copper, 33 mm, issued 1867 to 1912.
The top right coin is a Japan 2 sen, bronze, 32 mm, issued 1873 to 1892.
The bottom two coins are Bank of Upper Canada tokens, copper, 33 mm, issued 1850 to 1857.
One of the five coins is missing as O'Keefe has given it to Kakofel, a native friend.

O'Keefe arrives in busy Hong Kong.

O'Keefe tries to recruit investors for his scheme.

The bankers are not interested in loaning him a large amount of money for such a speculative venture. O'Keefe is punched in a bar fight and has to see a dentist, Dr. Tang, who, after making a dental cap, offers to invest in the scheme.

Dr. Tang loans O'Keefe a Chinese ship and helps to recruit a crew. Tang's assistant, Mr. Chou, accompanies the crew.

The ship had belonged to a famous pirate who gave it it's name. The ship sails towards Yap but stops on an unknown island.

O'Keefe and Chou go ashore and meet some residents. They give the native chief a gift.

The natives are not friendly and chase the men back to their ship. The ship arrives at the island of Palau where O'Keefe meets Friedlander, another German trade agent.

O'Keefe quickly becomes friends with Dalabo, Friedlander's daughter.

While wandering around the island O'Keefe makes a discovery.

O'Keefe and Dalabo watch the Yap men mine the stones and grind them to size.

O'Keefe brings some gunpowder to blast part of the quarry and shows the men how to use metal tools to produce more stones. O'Keefe ships the new stones to Yap on the Kathleen.

O'Keefe now has something that the natives will work for, he gets a load of coconut copra, takes the load and Dalabo to Hong Kong where he sells the copra and marries Dalabo. They return to the island of Yap, now wealthy. Kakofel, realizing that her relationship with O'Keefe is over gives her coin necklace to Dalabo.

Bully Hayes is the captain of a pirate ship and his crew land on the island to kidnap natives to be sold elsewhere as slaves. O'Keefe organizes his Chinese crew and some natives to fight and overcome the pirates.

In return for his services in leading the fight against the pirates, the islanders make O'Keefe an honorary "king."

A coronation ceremony is held.

Fatumak heads the pro-O'Keefe group and O'Keefe's old enemy Boogulroo heads a group which does not want to use the new stones which they believe have less power than stones produced the traditional way. A group of German traders arrive and recruit Boogulroo and his men by giving them rifles in order to stage a takeover of the island.

O'Keefe brings the two groups together to settle things.

O'Keefe sends Mr. Chou to destroy the new stones which are the cause of the conflict.

O'Keefe's island wealth is also destroyed in the blast but the discord is removed and the Germans, realizing that there is nothing for them, leave the island.

Burt Lancaster as Capt. David O'Keefe
Joan Rice as Dalabo
Tessa Prendergast as Kakofel
Abraham Sofaer as Fatumak (Medicine Man)
Archie Savage as Boogulroo (Native chief)
Philip Ahn as Sien Tang (Hong Kong dentist)
Andre Morell as Alfred Tetins
Director: Byron Haskin
Writers: Borden Chase, James Hill, Lawrence Klingman, Gerald Green