The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956) on Netflix
Captain Fisby is sent to the Okinawan village of Tobiki to Americanize it, with Sakini as his interpreter. The army wants a pentagon-shaped school there, but the villagers want a teahouse.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb6.6/104,062 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes83%
Trailer
Plot summary
After World War II, Okinawa is under American occupation, and the army sends Captain Fisby to the village of Tobiki to Americanize it. Colonel Wainwright Purdy III gives him Sakini, a wily local, as his interpreter. The military's plan is a school shaped like a pentagon. The villagers would rather have a teahouse. With Sakini and Lotus Blossom, a young geisha, near him, Fisby begins to take on the ways of the village.
Cast
- Mitsuko Sawamuraas Little Girl
- Carlo Fioreas Soldier (uncredited)
- Carlo Fioreas Soldier (uncredited)
- Harry Harvey Jr.as Soldier (uncredited)
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- Miyoshi Jinguas Old Woman on Jeep (uncredited)
- Roger McGeeas Soldier (uncredited)
- Dansho Miyazakias Sumata's Father (uncredited)
- Minoru Nishidaas Mr. Sumata (uncredited)
- Aya Oyamaas Daughter on Jeep (uncredited)
- Kichizaemon Sarumaruas Mr. Hokaida (uncredited)
- Shichizo Takedaas Ancient Man (uncredited)
- Frank Tokunagaas Mr. Omura (uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Louis Calhern was originally cast as Colonel Wainwright Purdy III but died of a heart attack soon after arriving in Nara, Japan. Paul Ford, who had played the part more than a thousand times on the Broadway stage, replaced him.
- Marlon Brando spent two months studying Okinawan culture, speech and gestures for his role as a villager, then two hours a day in make-up to make him appear Japanese.
- Stormy weather during the shoot in Nara and Kyoto forced the production to return to the United States early, finishing exteriors in Los Angeles, including at Yamashiro Historic District.
- Machiko Kyō, acclaimed for Rashomon and Gate of Hell, took the lightly comedic part of Lotus Blossom; it was her only non-Japanese and only English-language film role.
- Filipino actress Tita Duran auditioned for the role of Lotus Blossom in mid-1954, traveling to New York City with her husband, actor Pancho Magalona, to see the stage play.
- Marlon Brando's Okinawan impersonation was criticized as yellowface, and in 1980 Michael Medved gave his performance a Golden Turkey Award for "Most Ludicrous Racial Impersonation".
