My Geisha (1962)

Director:

Jack Cardiff

Writers:

Norman Krasna (screenplay)
Norman Krasna (story)

Release Date:

February 1962 (Austria)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It's the WACKIEST HOAX That Ever Turned the Screen Hilarious!

Plot:

Paul Robaix is a well known director, married to Lucy Dell, a famous movie star. Robaix wants to make a movie of the classic play Madame Butterfly...

Plot Keywords:

Madame Butterfly | Geisha | Director | Producer | Disguise

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Shirley MacLaine	...	Lucy Dell / Yoko Mori
Yves Montand	...	Paul Robaix
Edward G. Robinson	...	Sam Lewis
Robert Cummings	...	Bob Moore
Yoko Tani	...	Kazumi Ito
Tatsuo Saito	...	Kenichi Takata
Tamae Kyokawa	...	Amatsu Hisako
Ichirô Hayakawa	...	Hisako
Alex Gerry	...	Leonard Lewis
Tsugundo Maki	...	Shiga
George Furness	...	George (Robaix's butler)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Shu Umeara did the makeup for 'Shirley McClaine''s Geisha role after Michael Westmore, the regular make-up man, fell ill. His design catapulted Shu to international recognition and he founded a studio of his own.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A huge premiere is planned for the movie Lucy is working on mere days after the final scene is shot; in reality, a major film of the magnitude she's starring in would take months for editing and other post-production work.

Quotes:

Sam Lewis: I'm not a philosopher; I'm a film producer!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996) (TV)

Soundtrack:

MADAMA BUTTERFLY

"Dramedy" Before Its Time: See it for Shirley

"My Geisha" never quite manages its transitions smoothly, but they were trying something quite difficult for the period: a comedy with some genuine depth of feeling. They get there in the end, thanks to MacLaine and Montand, but there are a couple of stops along the way. You've read the setup by now, and know that Bob Cummings is playing her leading man, while her husband (Montand) is the Director of his first serious film without his wife's fame to help him succeed. He Has to Do It On His Own. It takes both his wife and his producer much too long to take this seriously, and thereby endanger both marriage and friendship. Because they think he'll come around, or appreciate the joke of her disguise, we do too...until he finally recognizes her. At that point, Montand stops being a supporting player and moves into full partnership. We believe him, and ache for him. We don't believe that "Bob Moore" is his best friend. Cummings' "arrested adolescent" is unfunny and unappealing, and he's given way too much screen time. Edward G Robinson is a pleasure throughout, but a lot of the gags - mixed bathing, sumo wrestling - are fairly condescending and forced in spite of the obvious admiration for Japan and its culture. The scenery is stunning, but there's sadness too in seeing it now. Nobody shoots beautiful films about Japan IN Japan any more; "Last Samurai" was largely shot in New Zealand, "Memoirs of a Geisha" in California. And the undercurrents - the Parker/MacLaine marriage and its eventual dissolution - sometimes haunt the script. Franz Waxman's peppy score keeps preventing us from really believing we're watching a shoot about "Madame Butterfly". When the Puccini music finally arrives, it's marvelous. And when Shirley lip-synchs the aria, she breathes like a singer. Shirley MacLaine went on to prove over and over again that she was more than a kooky comedienne...but at the time this film was made, it was a case of Art imitating Life. It's uneven, but parts of it are definitely worth seeing.