The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Charles Grayson (screenplay)
Ellis St. Joseph (story)
(more)

Release Date:

30 September 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

The geisha girl they sent to love and to destroy the barbarian from the west!

Plot:

Townsend Harris is sent by President Pierce to Japan to serve as the first U.S. Consul-General to that country...

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Japanese Woman | Intrigue | Japanese | Samurai

Cast

John Wayne	...	Townsend Harris
Eiko Ando	...	Okichi
Sam Jaffe	...	Henry Heusken
Sô Yamamura	...	Governor Tamura (as So Yamamura)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kodaya Ichikawa	...	Daimyo (uncredited)
Tokujiro Iketaniuchi	...	Harusha (uncredited)
Fuji Kasai	...	Lord Hotta (uncredited)
Takeshi Kumagai	...	Chamberlain (uncredited)
Fuyukichi Maki	...	Peasant (uncredited)
Morita	...	Prime Minister (uncredited)
James Robbins	...	Lt. Fisher (uncredited)
Norman Thomson	...	Captain Edmunds (uncredited)
Hiroshi Yamato	...	The Shogun (uncredited)

Directed by
John Huston

Writing credits
Charles Grayson		(screenplay)
Ellis St. Joseph		(story)
Nigel Balchin		revised dialogue (uncredited)
James Edward Grant		uncredited
Alfred Hayes		revised dialogue (uncredited)

Produced by
Eugene Frenke	....	producer
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Hugo Friedhofer

Cinematography by
Charles G. Clarke		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Stuart Gilmore

Art Direction by
Jack Martin Smith
Lyle R. Wheeler

Set Decoration by
Don Greenwood Jr.
Walter M. Scott

Costume Design by
Charles Le Maire

Makeup Department
Web Overlander	....	makeup artist (as Webb Overlander)
Ben Nye	....	makeup supervisor (uncredited)
Helen Turpin	....	hair styles supervisor (uncredited)
Haruhiko Yamada	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
William Eckhardt	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph E. Rickards	....	assistant director
Joseph Lenzi	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Joseph E. Markarof	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Mike Salamunovich	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Don B. Greenwood	....	property master (uncredited)
Tatsumi Toda	....	assistant: art department (uncredited)

Sound Department
Warren B. Delaplain	....	sound
W.D. Flick	....	sound
William Buffinger	....	recordist (uncredited)
Carlton W. Faulkner	....	sound supervisor (uncredited)
Walter Rossi	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Walter Fitchman	....	grip (uncredited)
Til Gabani	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Arthur Gerstle	....	camera assistant (uncredited)
William Huffman	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Bob Landry	....	special photographer (uncredited)
Scotty McEwin	....	camera assistant (uncredited)
Hiroshi Mori	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Paul Vogel	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Charles Wise	....	head electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	executive wardrobe designer (as Charles LeMaire)
Ed Wynigear	....	wardrobe director (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Leonard Doss	....	color consultant (uncredited)

Music Department
George Adams	....	supervising music editor (uncredited)
Lionel Newman	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Mitsuo Hirotsu	....	technical supervisor
Minoru Inuzuka	....	dialogue coach
Kisaku Ito	....	technical art advisor (as Kisaku Itoh)
Teinosuke Kinugasa	....	script supervisor
Paul Nakaoka	....	assistant to producer
Kampo Yoshikawa	....	technical advisor: Japan
Angela Allen	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
John Campbell	....	publicist (uncredited)
Ken Ishii	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Tony Kuroda	....	interpreter (uncredited)
Joe Shinomiya	....	interpreter (uncredited)
Burt Steiner	....	dialogue director: retakes (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1958) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1963) (USA) (TV)
• Key Video (1988) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan for CBS/Fox Video)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Bausch & Lomb  CinemaScope lenses
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color (as De Luxe)
• Intrada  score album released by (limited edition)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation  CinemaScope is the registered trademark of (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation ®)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:TV-G | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | West Germany:6 (f)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Based on the true story of American diplomat Townsend Harris, his time in Japan in the 1850s and 60s, and his romance with a 17-year-old geisha named Kichi. Their story is one of the most well-known folk tales in Japan. The real Harris died in New York in 1878, and the real Kichi committed suicide in Shimoda in 1892.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: At one point, Townsend calls to his Chinese servant Sam; this was not, as some thought, a mistaken reference to an actor's real name.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick (1989)

Based on facts with John Wayne as intrepid American Ambassador in Japan

The picture develops the true tale of Townsend Harris (John Wayne) who during the nineteenth century is sent -along with his helper (Sam Jaffe)- by President Pierce to Japan to serve as the first American Consul-General to that nation . Towsend gets enormous hostility to foreigners , as well as dangers and risks . There finds romance with a gorgeous geisha (Eiko Ando) . Meanwhile he confronts the governor , Baron Tamura (Shomamura ), but finally he contacts in Edo with the Shogun . Then the geisha beauty is sent to destroy the barbarian from the west .

This costumer picture is based on historic events . Japan was dominated for a dynasty occupied by the Togugawa family from century XVI until 1868 and characterized by ruling ¨ Daimios ¨ , confronting occidental people and shunning the opening imposed by Admiral Perry in 1863 ; he was the first foreigner in Japan who undergoes a culture shock . Being dead emperor Komei , succeeded in 1867 , Mutsu Hito , one time crowned as emperor Meiji , he abolished the Shogun , ( happenings developed in various films as ¨ Shogun ¨ with Richard Chamberlain and ¨The last Samurai¨ with Tom Cruise ). Matsu Hito carried out various changes, as a liberal cabinet , creating a Duma or Parliament and following actual models and modern spirit . Anti-reforms riots to return old values , traditional way of life and code Bushido were realized by the Samurais a type of medieval knight for preventing of occidental life style .

John Wayne becomes the first Ambassador from the Western world is this oriental adventure . The film deals with conflicts between the radical conservatism and modernism ; upon relation of the West and East World . Besides , a sweeping, complex human drama with all the ingredients : betrayal , romance , inter-racial love story, , emotions and is pretty interesting . Stunning images illuminate the full-blown feats of Towsend Harris under impressive sets created by Lyle Wheeler and Walter Scott . Glimmer and colorfully filmed by cameraman Charles G Clarke shot in locations as 20th Century Fox Studios, Los Angeles, California,(studio) ,Eiga Film Studios,Tokyo, and Kawana ,and Kyoto , Japan .Evocative and appropriate score by Hugo Friedhofer . Panned by the critics , the movie was a flop at box office , receiving awful reviews , considering Wayne is horribly miscast and ¨Barbarian and Geisha¨ resulted to be one of the worst of his bad films . However , nowadays is best deemed . Motion picture produced and released by Twenty Century Fox- Darryl F Zanuck- is regularly directed by John Huston . The movie hasn't the thematic unity of 'African's Queen', ' Asphalt jungle' , ' Key Largo' , ' Maltese Falcon' or ' The treasure of Sierra Madre' the John Huston's best and shares his failures to 'Phobia' , ' the Bible' or 'Kremlin letter' . Rating : 5,5 , acceptable and passable .