Tiara Tahiti
Encyclopedia
Tiara Tahiti is a 1962 drama-comedy film directed by Ted Kotcheff
, starring James Mason
and John Mills
. It is based on the novel by Geoffrey Cotterell, who also adapted it to screen together with Ivan Foxwell
. It was filmed in London
and Tahiti
. Roy Kinnear
had a minor role in the film.
is rudely interrupted by the arrival of his old adversary now director of a hotel chain looking to expand into the burgeoning South Seas market.
What was virtually a two-hander featuring two of Britain's best film actors then, regretfully, broadens out into a not particularly funny or engaging comedy with stereotyped minor characters and a largely superfluous love interest. Some of the exchanges between Mills and Mason shine through the fog of ordinary, but the film loses most of its impetus. James Mason has exactly the right air of supreme self-confidence that the public school man exudes, the sense of being comfortable in his own skin whether in an Officers' Mess or on a South Sea Island. John Mills, probably a Grammar school
boy, certainly not quite a gentleman. He may have money and business acumen but he will never be one of "them" no matter how rich and successful he becomes and that rankles. Whenever they are on the screen together Tiara Tahiti comes alive. Without them it would be very thin gruel indeed. If you want to see another film with James Mason exiled on an island try to catch the little-known British comedy A Touch Of Larceny
, it's clever, funny and altogether enchanting. John Mills out-acts Alec Guinness
's bravura performance in Tunes of Glory
as Col Barrow, on the face of it rather a cold fish,but with unsuspected sensitivities, not unlike Col Southey.
Ted Kotcheff
Ted Kotcheff , sometimes credited as William Kotcheff or William T. Kotcheff, is a Canadian film and television director, who is well known for his work on several high-profile British television productions and as a director of films such as First Blood.-Early life:Kotcheff was born William...
, starring James Mason
James Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
and John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
. It is based on the novel by Geoffrey Cotterell, who also adapted it to screen together with Ivan Foxwell
Ivan Foxwell
Ivan Foxwell was a British screenwriter and film producer. The screenplay for Tiara Tahiti on which he worked was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay in 1962.-Selected filmography:Producer...
. It was filmed in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. Roy Kinnear
Roy Kinnear
Roy Mitchell Kinnear was an English character actor. He is best remembered for playing Veruca Salt's father, Mr. Salt, in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.-Early life:...
had a minor role in the film.
Plot summary
Clifford Southey (John Mills) is a clerk at a brokerage firm who is promoted to lieutenant colonel during the war. His subordinate officer, Captain Brett Aimsley (James Mason), was a partner at Southey's firm. Popular and charismatic, Capt. Aimsley is everything Col. Southey is not, but aspires to be. Unfortunately money is Aimsley's weakness. Achilles Heel and his profligacy sees him removed from Southey's command. Some time after the war Aimsley's comfortable exile in TahitiTahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
is rudely interrupted by the arrival of his old adversary now director of a hotel chain looking to expand into the burgeoning South Seas market.
What was virtually a two-hander featuring two of Britain's best film actors then, regretfully, broadens out into a not particularly funny or engaging comedy with stereotyped minor characters and a largely superfluous love interest. Some of the exchanges between Mills and Mason shine through the fog of ordinary, but the film loses most of its impetus. James Mason has exactly the right air of supreme self-confidence that the public school man exudes, the sense of being comfortable in his own skin whether in an Officers' Mess or on a South Sea Island. John Mills, probably a Grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
boy, certainly not quite a gentleman. He may have money and business acumen but he will never be one of "them" no matter how rich and successful he becomes and that rankles. Whenever they are on the screen together Tiara Tahiti comes alive. Without them it would be very thin gruel indeed. If you want to see another film with James Mason exiled on an island try to catch the little-known British comedy A Touch Of Larceny
A Touch of Larceny
A Touch of Larceny is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Guy Hamilton and starring James Mason, George Sanders, Vera Miles, Harry Andrews, Rachel Gurney, and John Le Mesurier. It is based on a diverting and mildly cynical novel, The Megstone Plot , by Paul Winterton under the pseudonym Andrew...
, it's clever, funny and altogether enchanting. John Mills out-acts Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
's bravura performance in Tunes of Glory
Tunes of Glory
Tunes of Glory is a 1960 British film directed by Ronald Neame, based on the novel and screenplay by James Kennaway. The film is a "dark psychological drama" centring on events in a Scottish Highland regimental barracks in the period following World War II...
as Col Barrow, on the face of it rather a cold fish,but with unsuspected sensitivities, not unlike Col Southey.