Trailer
Plot summary
Hitu, an aged emissary, arrives at Bora Bora by sailing ship carrying word from the chief of Fanuma. A maiden sacred to the gods has died, and the message names Reri, who is of royal blood, as her successor. From then on she is tabu: no man may touch her or cast a desiring eye on her, on penalty of death. The news is painful to Reri and to Matahi, the young man who loves her. Matahi cannot bear to see her taken. That night he brings her off the ship, and the two of them leave the island in an outrigger canoe.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Tabu was F. W. Murnau's last film. He died in a hospital after an automobile accident on 11 March 1931, a week before the film's premiere in New York City.
- During World War II the US government seized Tabu, believing it belonged to German citizens. After the war the Brown brothers re-released it in 1948, adding a new title sequence and cutting five minutes, including material the Production Code deemed objectionable.
- When the small company Colorart failed to deliver on financing, F. W. Murnau grew tired of sending telegrams for the money and paid for Tabu himself, having received only $5,000 of what was promised.
- To cut costs on Tabu, Murnau sent the Hollywood crew home and trained the local islanders to work as the crew. He also dropped plans to shoot in color, making the film in black and white instead.
- Robert J. Flaherty had been living on $40 a week and was broke when shooting on Tabu ended in October 1930. Days after the wrap he sold his share of the film to Murnau for $25,000.
- While scouting locations on Bora Bora, Murnau and Flaherty found their leading lady, Anne Chevalier, in a local cocktail bar.
