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The Misfortunes of Mr. and Mrs. Mott on Their Trip to Tahiti
(1913) United States of America
B&W : Split-reel
Directed by [?] Gaston Méliès and/or Bertram Bracken?
Cast: Baptiste Léon Géraud [himself, the governor of Tahiti]
G. Méliès production; distributed by [?] The Vitagraph Company of America through The General Film Company, Incorporated? / Produced by Gaston Méliès. / Released 6 March 1913; in a split-reel with The “Upa Upa” Dance (1913). / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The production was shot aboard the ship Manuka.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Mr. Mott, who all his life has plowed the soil of California for his living, suddenly comes into a fortune, and Mrs. Mott induces him to take a trip to the South Sea island of Tahiti. They board ship at San Francisco, and during the voyage the sailors revive the ancient customs observed when crossing the line of the Equator. The custom was prevalent in the days of sailing vessels, when passengers and sailors crossing the line for the first time were baptized or initiated. Neptune comes on board attended by his heralds, lieutenants, servants, etc., and takes complete command over the ship during the crossing of the line. Mr. Mott is arrested in the name of Neptune and brought before his majesty for sentence, which is, to be shaved by the monarch’s barber with a razor of rough wood; dipped thrice in sea water; ride the greased pole, etc., much to the discomfiture of Mr. Mott, but to the amusement of the sailors. The island of Tahiti is at last sighted and the pair disembark at Papeete, the capital. They witness the reception tendered by the natives to the French Governor, Monsieur Geraud, and to the ex-queen, Maoao, a great spectacle of its kind. Then they go sight seeing over the island, witnessing the odd costumes and sports of this people of a tropical country. The film pictures the coral reef which surrounds Tahiti, and many customs and picturesque spots of the island, rightly termed “The Garden of the Pacific.”
Reviews: [The Moving Picture World, 22 March 1913, page ?] A not very substantial picture, taken mostly on the steamer which carried the Melies Company to Tahiti. It is simply fun amid scenes of great beauty and there was considerable laughter in the audience while it was on. The photography is very fair. One of its features is a picture of the Upa Upa dance in which men and women keep time to the “tum tum.”
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 25 May 2024.
References: Thompson-Star pp. 69, 233 : Website-IMDb.
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