Post #681461 by tobunga on Mon, Jun 10, 2013 8:22 PM

On 2013-06-09 20:20, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

On 2013-06-09 16:30, Thurston Howell IV wrote:
OK here's my 2 cents worth. What could be more 'tiki' than the scenes in Kim Novac's exotica boutique in Bell Book and Candle?

And I know it's old hat but the whole of the footage in South Pacific where Billis takes Lt. Joe Cable (of Cable, Cable & Cable) to the bore's tooth ceremonial is quintessential polynesia pop. That little hut in the hills where Liat is presumably deflowered by Joe Cable could be your perfect tiki bar and in fact many years later I tried to recreate the pivoting doors of that hut in my own tiki space - in this photo.

Well Mr Howell (those doors do look great) to be contrarian, those scenes in "Bell Book and Candle" are a good example of
Primitive Art & Mid-Century Modern, but not Tiki.

And "South Pacific" is a great example of South Sea's cinema style, which we associate with Tiki, but it in fact is a desperate genre
one that just may be more Tiki then Tiki, because they depict actual Island locations & exotic situations
rather then a recreation of actually visiting those places in a bar or restaurant.

Thanks Matt, People, Matt Reese is always right! :)

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2013-06-09 20:22 ]
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Here's a thought... South Pacific, in it's original incarnation as Michener's novel, Tales of the South Pacific, helped create the thirst for tiki that blossomed into a full fledged mid-century movement... when the film version was released, tiki culture was in full swing... the boar's tooth ceremony scene depicts a location that never existed (the island of Bali Hai), just as tiki establishments of the day did... some of them also named Bail Hai. That scene is pretty pastiche-y polynesian, as it blends several different types of tiki art together to create its exotic mood. The scene was art-directed by Lyle Wheeler, who also decorated the legendary Aloha Jhoe's in Palm Springs!

To my mind, this scene, from what's depicted on screen, to the behind the scenes connections, fall right in line with what tiki bars and restaurants were doing at the time! Very tiki to me!

Funny about Bell, Book and Candle... there are some great PNG pieces in Kim Novak's primitive art gallery, and then it later becomes "Flowers of the Sea" (I think that's what it's called) a shop that sells, among other things, fish floats and other nautical jetsam... if both inventories had been mixed, it could have been a tiki shop!