My Geisha (1962)

An actress disguises herself as a geisha in order to land the lead role in her director husband's film version of 'Madam Butterfly'.

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
Yôko Tani	...	Kazumi Ito
Tatsuo Saitô	...	Kenichi Takata
Tamae Kiyokawa	...	Amatsu Hisako (as Tamae Kyokawa)
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:

kimono | screen test | audition | geisha house | female protagonist | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview Shirley MacLaine stated that she was granted permission to live with real Geishas for two weeks, learning the intricacies of the delicate tea ceremony, the Japanese dance and how to play the stringed instrument. She also said that the makeup process caused a lot of problems. Her eyes were slanted by attaching gauze to the corners of her eyes with liquid adhesive. Strings were then fastened to the gauze and pulled around her head. She said that by the end of the picture her temples were raw and they had to shoot the picture carefully so that the damage did not show. She also had problems with the contact lenses, especially during the scene on the hillside when the smoke that was used to simulate mist got under the lenses.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

References The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)

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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

Shirley as Madam Butterfly will tear your heart out.

Most of this movie is a regular romantic comedy with some excellent stars. But the end of the movie, where Shirley plays the death scene from Madam Butterfly, will make you weep. I first saw this when I was in the military, and had never seen Madam Butterfly. After seeing this movie, I went to the opera to see the full opera, and it has become my favorite. Having seen the death scene many times in my life, Shirley's performance still ranks up there with the best.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

February 1962 (Austria)

Also Known As:

My 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