My Geisha (1962)

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, but he doesn't want his wife to play the ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Cardiff

Writers:

Norman Krasna (screenplay), Norman Krasna (story)

Stars:

Shirley MacLaine, Yves Montand, Edward G. Robinson

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited 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 Saitô	...	Kenichi Takata
Tamae Kyokawa	...	Amatsu Hisako
Ichirô Hayakawa	...	Hisako
Alex Gerry	...	Leonard Lewis
Tsugundo Maki	...	Shiga
George Furness	...	George (Robaix's butler)

Storyline

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, but he doesn't want his wife to play the leading part, as in his previous pictures. Producer Sam Lewis and Lucy Dell think up a scheme to get her in the picture after all. Lucy disguises as a Geisha, and gets the leading part in the picture. When Robaix finds out he gets so mad, he wants to divorce Lucy...

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Plot Keywords:

director | producer | disguise | geisha | madame butterfly | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

February 1962 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Ma geisha

Filming Locations:

Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Sachiko

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shu Uemura took over the makeup for MacLaine's Geisha role after Michael Westmore fell ill. The international recognition Uemura received for his work enabled him to launch his own cosmetics company.

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Goofs

When Paul Robaix (Yves Montand) plays rock-paper-scissors with a geisha, who unbeknownst to him is his wife Lucy Dell (Shirley MacLaine), a side camera view shows Montand taking his cigarette out of his mouth and putting it down before he plays the game. When he wins, the camera angle switches to MacLaine's point of view and shows Montand with the cigarette still in his mouth.

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Quotes

Kazumi Ito: No one before you, my husband, not even I.

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Connections

Featured in The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996)

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Soundtracks

"MADAMA BUTTERFLY"
Sequences
Written by Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica, Giuseppe Giacosa
Performed by Shirley MacLaine (dubbed by Michiku Sunahara) and Robert Cummings (dubbed by Barry Morell)
Conducted by Franz Waxman

User Reviews

Seen once, but unforgettable and haunting.

Although I only saw this movie once over ten years ago on late night TV,I was struck by the beautiful scenery and the storyline somehow reminded me of James Mason & Judy Garland "A star is born".Shirley Mclaine is a favorite of mine and she managed to imbue the Japanese persona so purely and one could feel Yves Montand frustration and eagerness to achieve success without his wife.I cannot recall much more of this film but I do know that my best friend Maruschka has watched it so many times that her tape copy is wearing out.It is a classic love story. Very hard to find a copy for it and I would love to see it out on DVD.I would then surprise my friend by buying her a copy (and one for me also).Millie