Tiara Tahiti (1962)

Interesting facts

• Filmed in: Tahiti and Pinewood Studios

Tiara Tahiti is a 1962 British comedy-drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring James Mason and John Mills. Kotcheff's directorial debut, it is based on the novel by Geoffrey Cotterell, who also adapted it for the screen with Ivan Foxwell.

Production

It was filmed in London and Tahiti. It started in Tahiti 14 August 1961 and 9 September in Pinewood. Filming had been postponed due to a union dispute over overtime.

Ivan Foxwell called the movie "a half-million pound escape from the kitchen sink. Tahiti that kind of magic which conjures up in most people's minds a paradise isle of golden beaches, blue lagoons and brownskinned beauties. It is a setting that in colour lends itself admirably to the cinema screen, and on a cold, foggy winter's night it spells one word—escapism." It was the first feature from Ted Kotcheff.

Mills called James Mason a "very shy and complex man with enormous charm. And, of course, one of the best film actors ever. I remember one evening we were at a dinner together, given by Ivan Foxwell, on the beach. Very romantic setting. After a dinner I sang a song I'd written, accompanying myself on the ukelele. When I finished, I was surprised to see Jimmy had tears rolling. For all his success I think he had quite a difficult life."

James Mason called the film "less good than A Touch of Larceny", an earlier movie he had made with Ivan Foxwell, but called it "a rare adventure for all concerned."

Ted Kotcheff later said "that film is best forgotten! It could have been a really interesting comedy. It was an Evelyn Waugh-style satire on class.... This playing out of class attitudes is enacted in this ridiculous, totally inappropriate setting of Tahiti. It could have been funny, but unfortunately I was too inexperienced. I was too young, still in my twenties. I bungled it."

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