Flower Drum Song (1961)

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

Joseph Fields (screenplay)
C.Y. Lee (novel)

Release Date:

9 November 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Broadway's Most Romantic Musical Comedy comes to the Screen!!!

Plot:

A Chinese woman and her father illegally enter San Francisco to marry her fiance. While in San Francisco...

Plot Keywords:

Steamship | Nightclub | Chinatown | Chinese American | Tradition

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Nancy Kwan	...	Linda Low
James Shigeta	...	Wang Ta
Benson Fong	...	Wang Chi-Yang
Jack Soo	...	Samuel Adams 'Sammy' Fong
Juanita Hall	...	Madame 'Auntie' Liang
Reiko Sato	...	Helen Chao
Patrick Adiarte	...	Wang San
Kam Tong	...	Doctor Li
Victor Sen Yung	...	Frankie Wing
Soo Yong	...	Madame Ten Fong
Ching Wah Lee	...	Professor
James Hong	...	Headwaiter
Miyoshi Umeki	...	Mei Li

Also Known As:

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | 3 Channel Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Australia:G | UK:U | Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Fields Productions

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "Flower Drum Song" opened at the Saint James Theater on December 1, 1958, ran for 600 performances and was nominated for the 1959 Tony Award (New York City) for the Best Musical. Miyoshi Umeki and Juanita Hall reprise their stage roles in the movie. Jack Soo was in the original stage production in a different role.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mei Li and her father bow to a statue early in the film, a couple can be seen reaching the bottom of a flight of stairs. When the camera angle changes, the couple is shown walking down the stairs again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tradesman: [in Chinese] What was that?
Tradesman: [in Chinese] I don't know. Must be my stomach.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Punky Brewster: Miss Adorable (#1.9)" (1984)

Soundtrack:

A Hundred Million Miracles

Forget the PC and enjoy the movie, musical numbers, actors and film titles.

The last time I saw Flower Drum Song on a big screen was at the Asian Pacific American Studies event at New York University, spurred on by David Henry Hwang's Broadway revival which received favorable reviews except for one paper. I was invited because my father created the film titles. Socialogical connotations at the event were discussed: cultural and generational conflicts, old and new set in the City on Golden Hill, the quest to achieve, etc. I have seen the original musical, the film many times, and the revival which deserved a longer run. Then the film began. I was impressed by Nancy Kwan's acting and others, memorable musical numbers and the opening and closing title paintings by my father, Dong Kingman. In many ways a beautiful film, and a case can be made, a pioneering one. Okay so it is a bit corny, a few young members of audience uneasily snickered at the stereotypes, scenes could have been cut, especially one fantasy sequence. Yet the Flower Drum Song endures and to enjoy. Rating is 7 1/2, plus half star more for dad.