''Hei Tiki'', also known as ''Primitive Passions'' and ''Hei Tiki: A Saga of the Maoris'', is a 1935 American mock documentary film made in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
by the eccentric
Alexander Markey Alexander Markey (1891–1958) was an American filmmaker and founder of Markey Films. He was born in Hungary and died in Switzerland.
From 1928 to 1935 he was in New Zealand making films about the Māori people. In 1928 he was sent by Carle La ...
and released (with sound added) in America. The film gained notoriety in America for having scenes of
nudity
Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing.
The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...
cut in various states.
Markey directed and produced the film, also writing the screenplay and the "native melodies". His girlfriend Zoe Varney was credited as associate producer.
Alfred Hill Alfred Hill may refer to:
* Alfred John Hill (1862–1927), British railway engineer
* Alfred Hill (cricketer, born 1865) (1865–1936), English cricketer
* Alfred Hill (politician) (1867–1945), British Member of Parliament for Leicester West 19 ...
, the original composer, and Ted Coubray, the original cameraman, were both fired and not credited; Coubray also lost his camera to Markey. The film also used unpaid
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
extras, and
taonga
''Taonga'' or ''taoka'' (in South Island Māori) is a Maori-language word that refers to a treasured possession in Māori culture. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the Treaty of Waitangi significant. The current d ...
, their cherished tribal artefacts, were lent by the cast; Markey took the artefacts when he returned to America, leaving unpaid bills behind him. Local investors had invested £10,000 in the film.
The film was shot in
Waihi
Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town.
The town is at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, close to the western end of the Bay of Plenty. The nearby res ...
. The film was released in America with sound added; a
symphonic
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...
voice-over
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...
" narration, which avoided the problems of synchronisation.
It is one of four films (with ''
The Devil's Pit
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...