The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)

A satire on America's very own drive of a world changer: One year after world war ii, Captain Fisby is sent to the village Tobiki in Okinawa to teach the people democracy. First step is to ... See full summary »

Director:

Daniel Mann

Writers:

John Patrick (screenplay), Vern J. Sneider (book),

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford, Machiko Kyô

Nominated for 6 Golden Globes. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marlon Brando	...	Sakini
Glenn Ford	...	Capt. Fisby
Machiko Kyô	...	Lotus Blossom (as Machiko Kyo)
Eddie Albert	...	Capt. McLean
Paul Ford	...	Col. Wainwright Purdy III
Jun Negami	...	Mr. Seiko
Nijiko Kiyokawa	...	Miss Higa Jiga
Mitsuko Sawamura	...	Little Girl
Harry Morgan	...	Sgt. Gregovich (as Henry {Harry} Morgan)

Storyline

A satire on America's very own drive of a world changer: One year after world war ii, Captain Fisby is sent to the village Tobiki in Okinawa to teach the people democracy. First step is to build a school - but the witty folks know what they really want. They tell him about their culture and traditions - and persuade him to build something they really want: a teahouse. Fisby has a hard time to break this to his superiors.

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Plot Keywords:

satire | democracy | village | japanese woman | building | 

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Taglines:

All The Riotous Fun Of The Prize-Winning Stage Comedy!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

La casa de té de la luna de agosto

Filming Locations:

Okinawa, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On Okinawa, the village of Tobiki where the story is supposed to take place, does not really exist. However, on the southern part of the island near the capital city of Naha, there really is a Teahouse of the August Moon, which is now a popular restaurant that features local cuisine and Ryukyuan folk dancing.

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Quotes

Sakini: Pain make man think. Thought make man wise. Wisdom make life endurable.

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Connections

Referenced in The Beverly Hillbillies: The Teahouse of Jed Clampett (1971)

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Soundtracks

"Mashunko-Bushi"
Written and Arranged by Kikuko Kanai

User Reviews

Marlon Brando as Japanese?

Casting Marlon Brando in this film as Sakini, a Japanese interpreter for American troops in post WW-II Japan is considered by many critics and film historians alike as one of the worst casting errors ever made in a film history. In my opinion, though, Marlon Brando is the one responsible for turning this quite an average film into a hillarious comedy. Yes, they really did it. With a little bit of make up and great effort from actor's part to learn Japanese mannerism and language in order to get an accent in his speech we have here Marlon Brando in his most unimaginable role. The rest of the cast is also quite good, namely Paul Ford as Colonel Waiwright Purdy III, a somehow cliche figure of stubborn, narrow minded US military officer and Glenn Ford by his side as Captain Fisby, for whom Brando's character Sakini ends up working as an interpreter and, of cause, unforgettable Machiko Kyo, as a spirited geisha, whom lovers of Japanese cinema must remember from Akira Kurosawa's films.

Directed by Daniel Mann (Butterfield 8, Come Back, Little Sheba) and based on John Patrick's stage play that was a big hit on Broadway at it's time, The Teahouse of the August Moon is slow in parts and in terms of some aspects of the story considerably aged and outdated but still funny and entertaining movie. 8/10