The Tuttles of Tahiti

If Pacific Islanders can be considered a race, and in some questionnaires they seem to be, then The Tuttles of Tahiti may be considered a pioneering (for its time) film representation of a racially integrated family. But there's not a bit of preaching to shove race mixing down anyone's throat. The Tuttles are naive and incompetent in their attempts to maintain financial solvency. They are also materialistic and fun-loving. The clan's females are impressively hip-swinging in dance, and the males offer seemingly authentic Polynesian grunts to the music. Charles Laughton is, of course, an acting genius as the doltish elder on whom dozens of family members depend for leadership. His spectacular failures are the stuff of which this charming comedy is made. I first saw this film when it was released in 1942, when I was 14 and too young to appreciate its subtle qualities. (After all, Lost Horizon author James Hilton was one of the writers.) But seeing it again at age 89 was a fulfilling experience. Nobody makes movies like this anymore, so we've got a special gem here.

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.

Anyone want to see Charles Laughton in a comedy that's also incredibly sad? I did, so I rented The Tuttles of Tahiti. He plays a member of a large, unruly family living on Tahiti. The matriarch is Charles's mother, Adeline De Walt Reynolds, and through the generations, no one has learned very much responsibility or forward-thinking. Charles summarizes their life view by saying they'd rather be happy than rich, and he soon gets to put his theory to the test.

To me, this movie only works because of Charles Laughton. He's so lovable, and when he pouts, it just makes you want to cry and hug him. If he's flawed, you feel sorry for him; but if he knows he's flawed, it's so much sadder. He could have just played his character as an irresponsible beach bum, but since he's a great actor, he lets a bit of self-awareness show through to the audience. He knows he could have a better life, but he also knows he won't.

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!

Like the Capra film, this one is all about the maxim of, "Work to Live, don't Live to Work".

In today's parlance, the Tuttles would be considered 'white trash'. Working only enough to get by, 'mooching' off of their friends, wasting their money on fun and games. In truth, they live the sort of life that everyone secretly wishes that they themselves could live. Fortunately for them (and the film), instead of envying them, others around them love them for it.

While their home may be run down, and their credit is no good, the Tuttles themselves are rock solid people who have their values straight. Family, Fun, and Fishing. That's about as fundamental as it gets.

The plot is thin, but that's OK. It's the characters that carry this movie.

Frankly, it's the sort of film one doesn't see anymore. What with the breakdown of the family unit, and the now foreign idea of large family's living under a single roof, the setup alone may be one that modern audiences no longer understand. It very much perpetuates the matriarchal/patriarchal social dynamic that one used to find in the U.S.A. While the setting may be in the far flung south pacific, no doubt that Midwestern families back when this movie premiered could see certain of themselves in the Tuttles.

It's an ode to a slower (and richer) pace of life that too many people in our 'go-go-go' world have lost touch with these days.

So, get a little money, get a little gasoline, do a little fishing, and then have a party with your friends. Life is all about the living of it.