Original tiki used in brando's mutiny on the bounty movie

I saw a 4ft solid wood tiki used in brando's mutiny on the bounty. Great patina to it and it looked great. Any idea what this would be worth, or perhaps who carved it?
Jay

Hi Jay,

Sounds intriguing, but we'd really need to see a photo of the tiki before we could give any kind of educated guess. Over the years we've become very cautious, because just like other antiques, stories get passed down that an item came from this famous movie or that famous restaurant and often the story is just apocryphal, and the tiki had no famous pedigree but is just a nice, vintage tiki. Sometimes the seller is trying to deceive but sometimes they're just passing on what they've been told themselves.

For example, tikis often show up on eBay that are purported to have come from the famous "Luau" in Beverly Hills, or one of the old Trader Vic's but turn out to be modern pieces from Bali or Thailand that are made to look vintage. A lot of folks on this board are knowledgeable enough to tell the difference.

As I recall, one of the minor gripes with Brando's "Mutiny On The Bounty" were that no tikis actually appear in the movie (I may be wrong in this, but I haven't seen any tiki scenes from this Bounty posted here on TC and we've posted just about every movie where a tiki appears.)

There is this photo from LIFE magazine which shows a tiki on the set of the movie...

... and I would expect any tikis from the actual movie to look somewhat like these: hardwood instead of palm and Marquesan or Tahitian in design.

Let us know if you can post a photo. I'm sure a lot of the folks here would be very interested in seeing it. Thanks.

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2011-01-02 22:26 ]

Hi, Thanks for the information. These folks have had it in their possession for 15 years or so. it's definitely hardwood, I'll see if I can get a pic of it and post it.
Regards,
Jay

Hi,
Here is an image of the tiki. It doesn't seem to look like the Life pics, but hard to tell for sure. Does this help at all in IDing when it was made?

Regards,
Jay

Hmm...it is simple, unpretentious, and aged-looking enough to have been a prop in the movie. Maybe it was, but never came into frame. Problem is, if there is no photo or other documentation that proves its connection, you (or they) cannot "bank" on it.

I own a black plaster skull from the original "Terminator" movie, the ones that were crushed and pulverized by machine-tanks in the "vision of the future" sequences. It was given to me by an art department member of the movie over 20 years ago, so I forgot the person's name. It was just a B-movie back then, but since:
" In 2008, it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"

So it would be worth something to movie memorabilia collectors, but without proof of pedigree, it's just a black painted plaster replica of a skull. It's sorta like Tiki stuff in general: You and I know it's cool, but it ain't worth much on Antiques Road Show. :)

Ya, it is a problem. I'm trying to see if the owners do have some kind of documentation. I remember years ago on ebay someone was selling a painting used in the original Father of the Bride with Spencer Tracy. I'd seen the movie before, but went out and rented it and watched it looking for the painting, never did find it, so no bids from me on that one :)
Thanks for the help, I'll post again if I'm lucky enoguh to get some proof on this one.
Jay

1962 Book on the making of the movie

Thanks! I'll see if I can find it tomorrow at powell's
jay

The tiki on the cover is the only image of one in the whole book. It has the names of the set and art directors who won awards from this movie. However they have since gathered other rewards in paradise. No need really to own the book as this info can be found online. You still can pick a copy up for around five dollars. The games afoot, good luck !