The Tuttles of Tahiti

This film has two of the great ones, Charles Laughton and Florence Bates. She was one of the great character actors and he was just great. However, when you add a Nordhoff and Hall story to the mixture, you get a delightful story about a ne'er-do-well dreamer whose sons salvage a ship and Papa, Laughton, spends the prize money. I especially loved it when Papa Tuttle has spent all the money and gets a note from the bank that he's overdrawn and sends one of his kids with a check to cover the checks he's been writing. How many times have we all wanted to do that? The story is a bit too romantic and commonplace for today's audiences who demand slice 'n dice bloody scenes along with spectacular eye-dazzling effects. It's still a wonderful tale and has a great deal of charm about a lost time and place before it all turned to modernity. If that sounds too maudlin or nostalgic, I guess that's just how it is. Check it out. Bates and Laughton are great as is Hall out of his usual sarong roles with Dottie Lamour.

I wanted to see this film because my grandfather acted in it. His name is James Spencer. I found this nostalgic look at the "Island Life" to be very satisfying. It clearly showed the very important polynesian element of "Family". Watching these many and talented actors work in their scenes was like watching real life. Quite a pleasure!

Here in the 21st century, it's very hard to imagine a mainstream family movie whose plot involves cock fighting! But, very oddly, this is a major plot element in "The Tuttles of Tahiti"--a very strange film from 1942. Times sure have changed and I am pretty sure PETA-types won't appreciate this movie.

The casting of "The Tuttles of Tahiti" is quite strange--though in the 1940s, such odd casting was not unusual. While you might expect French-speaking (or at least French-accented) actors since the islands are French, there are none. While you might expect Polynesian-looking actors, many are just white guys who are painted a bit dark to look kinda Tahitian! As I said, this was the norm in the good 'ol days. So, don't be too surprised when you see Charles Laughton in this inappropriate role.

The story is about the Tuttles--sort of like the Waltons set in Polynesia. The patriarch of the family (Laughton) seemed like a bit of a schemer and lazy guy. After all, gambling everything he has on a cock fight! And, throughout the course of the film it gets worse--but you'll have to see to that yourself. All I know is that I had a hard time liking or connecting with any of them. And so, when he gets himself into serious trouble, I just didn't care. However, I noticed the other reviewers did like the film--so maybe you will, too. Well made but the script just didn't wow me at all.

Even Charles Laughton cannot save this severely flawed comedy about a large family that seems to not understand the basics of capitalism. This, and several other families on this part of the island are primarily concerned with cocks. Cockfighting seems to be the primary entertainment and sport on the island. No one dances sexier than Tahitian women, but they cannot save the film either. This family has very little in the way of socially redeeming value. Except for the grandmother, who is an honest, hard-working woman, the rest of the family doesnt seem to have a clue about money. Laughton plays a neer-do-well who loves cocks, drinking to excess, eating, sleeping, and leering at dancing Tahitians, is a thoroughly unappealing personality. Add a star if you are a Laughton fan.

In his third trip to the South Seas Charles Laughton plays the head of the Tuttle clan in The Tuttles Of Tahiti. This was definitely a more pleasant time than the first trip.

Laughton as we know was the infamous Captain Bligh in Mutiny On The Bounty the first time he was in the Pacific. His second role was as a lazy beachcomber reformed somewhat by missionary Elsa Lanchester in the film of the same name.

But if Elsa thought Charles was a challenge in The Beachcomber she'd flee back to England if she had to deal with The Tuttles Of Tahiti. Imagine a whole family of Ginger Teds, Laughton's character from The Beachcomber. This is a family of them, but even for them Laughton is a trial.

Even in the idyllic life of the South Seas there is a minimum amount of work to be done. In fact at one point the Tuttles are doing just that, fishing, and not just for everyone's individual dinner. But as they come upon a school of fish, their boat runs out of gasoline they thought they had. It seems as though Laughton emptied the tank and sold the gas to bet on a cock fight.

That scene also illustrated to me the inevitable tide of civilization even in small ways. For myself I was wondering why the Tuttle clan just didn't revert to the outrigger canoes of their culture and fish from them? Maybe in fact they'd lost the ability to use them though I find that hard to believe.

A certain ring of authenticity was present in the film with the casting of Jon Hall as the young scion of the Tuttle clan whose return home opens the film. Hall was in fact of Polynesian ancestry on his mother's side. And in the Dorothy Lamour role probably because RKO couldn't borrow Lamour from Paramount is Peggy Drake.

Laughton's best scenes are with Florence Bates who is the dowager queen of another clan which has a good natured rivalry with the Tuttles. They seem however to be grounded a bit more in reality. Bates while good might also have been a second choice as probably RKO would have wanted Elsa Lanchester.

Curt Bois has an interesting part as a local merchant and a real sneak besides, a typical role for him. He seems to delight in keeping the Tuttles consistently in his debt.

The Tuttles Of Tahiti flopped badly at the box office. Probably because in 1942 the South Seas was being invaded and America was sending its young people to chase the invaders away. Such fantasy films like The Tuttles Of Tahiti would have no place that year. Two years earlier and RKO and Charles Laughton might have had a hit.

Still viewed today it's a nice work and Laughton is brilliant as usual.