Alexander Markey (1891–1958) was an American filmmaker and founder of Markey Films. He was born in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and died in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. From 1928 to 1935 he was in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

making films about the Māori people. In 1928 he was sent by

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle ; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a German-American film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the ...

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

to make a film he called ''Taranga'', but did not keep to schedule or make any effective footage. The film was completed as '' Under the Southern Cross'' by

Lew Collins Lewis D. Collins (January 12, 1899 – August 24, 1954) was an American film director and occasional screenwriter. In his career spanning over 30 years, he churned out dozens of Western (genre), Westerns. Career Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Co ...

. Two years later and described as "somewhat eccentric" Markey then returned for the making of '' Hei Tiki''; originally a silent film, which was released in 1935 with music and voice-over added in America. 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 ...

. When shooting was finished Markey left for America with “the film footage, many of the artifacts he had borrowed from Māori, a great many unpaid bills, and his partner Zoe Varney”. He had obtained £10,000 from New Zealand investors, and borrowed

taonga ''Taonga'' or ''taoka'' (in South Island Māori) is a Māori-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 ...

or cherished tribal artifacts from the Māori cast. He had fired Alfred Hill who was to write the music, and Ted Coubray the original cameraman, but sold Coubray's camera to his rivals the Welsh brothers. A 1935 ''New York Times'
review
of ''Hei Tiki'' says that Merkey had been a lecturer and editor. In 1944, Markey published a series of discourses titled ''Silent Revelations of Meher Baba''.

Meher Baba Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spirituality, spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following o ...

had given Markey permission to rework a series of his discourses given in the 1930s, edited by C. D. Deshmukh.

References

Citations

Cited sources

* *

External links

*
''Adventures in Maoriland: The Making of Hei Tiki'' (documentary with extracts online by NZOnScreen)
*
Silent Revelations of Meher Baba
' by Alexander Markey (1944), at Avatar Meher Baba Trust website Film directors from California Hungarian emigrants to the United States 1891 births 1958 deaths American expatriates in New Zealand {{US-cinematographer-stub