Posts from ethanedwards in thread „The Barbarian And The Geisha (1958)“

Great pic Larry

Quote from Peridot

Well, I managed to finish it out and I'm grateful I did. The fight scene was interesting and the photography was beautiful when it was new, I imagine. I'd like to get hold of the Blu-ray. I saw a letterboxed unrestored version from television.

Thanks to everyone for their encouraging support. I give this one two stars because it was finished and I could see what they were going for in the film.

Glad you enjoyed, I also did, but it was just tiresome film.

Quote from H.sanada

About Earl Norman (AKA Norman Thomson) who performed as Ship Captain Edmunds
in this film,I already posted to General discussion thread last night.
he is a very interesting person, i think.
i found the site about novel that he wrote.
someone who knows him, please share more information .

http://www.thrillingdetective.com/bann.html

regards,
H.sanada

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A touching story, thanks for posting this

Hi Bill,
That's probably what Duke also meant when he said,

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Don't talk to me, about that Japenese thing

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Originally posted by ethanedwards@Jan 22 2006, 09:28 PM
Hi Popul Vuh,
You are a cheeky monkey,and you make me laugh, but I get your point!!
I've actually spent hours and hours doing this,as you you can tell, and I came to the conclusion, that when the new Forums were formed, there seemed little point,
having them sit there empty!!
No one can comment on the films, until they're posted!
The original idea, of doing 2 or 3 a week, went out the window,
when the new forums, were opened.
I feel that once they're all in there, our members,
can browse, and post in their own time.

[snapback]25676[/snapback]

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Hi Popul,
Thanks for the info,
hey I've just noticed you've got cheeky monkey, on your avatar setting,
this wouldn't be in reference, to what I called you, not long ago????

Best Wishes,

Well, as they say, a strange old film this one!!
I enjoy, the film, and it's very entertaining.

Duke looked oddly out of place as Townsend Harrison,
and from the look of it, he thought so too.

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Duke tried hard, but the film ended up being a mess,
mainly because Duke and John Huston, got to dislike one another, in a big way!

Chuck Roberson said,

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I liked Huston well enough, but the guy drove Duke up a pagoda,
the way he hemmed and hawed, over directing a scene.

Duke later was calling Huston a liar, and said,

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Actors were like figures on a Japenese screen to him;they were just things in the foreground...
I found it impossible to make any contact at all.

Things got bad to worse, and a good picture ended up as a bad picture,
with Duke, much to the fury of Huston, re-editing the final prints.

Huston said

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By the time the studios, had finished hacking up the picture to Duke's instructions...
it was a complete mess.

Well there's one User Review below I tend to agree, about the entertainment value.
However, critics pointed out, that as I mentioned before,
Duke looked bewildered in the movie, but many found it lovely to watch, with beautiful sets and costumes.
To sum up,The NYTimes said,

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Single shots, of exquisite beauty, and incredible delicay of hues

.
Duke said,

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Don't talk to me, about that Japenese thing

There you go, beat that!!!

User Review

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Author: Sycotron from California, USA.from IMDb

Not an action packed John Wayne adventure but enjoyable for it's own merits.*
Those merits include an interesting look at Japan circa 1856 and how the arrival of non-Japanese were looked on with fear and loathing.
There are some odd directorial dead spots such as when Wayne as Townsend Harris is told he cannot fly the American flag. The Duke agrees to take it down but gives a speech stating that he will fly the flag at certain times. The scene trails off somewhat anti-climactically despite seemingly leading up to a dramatic confrontation.
On the whole I found the film entertaining and worth viewing.

INFORMATION FROM IMDb

Plot Summary
Townsend Harris is sent by President Pierce to Japan
to serve as the first U.S. Consul-General to that country.
Harris discovers enormous hostility to foreigners, as well as the love of a young geisha.
Summary written by Jim Beaver

Full Cast
John Wayne .... Townsend Harris
Eiko Ando .... Okichi
Sam Jaffe .... Henry Heusken
Sô Yamamura .... Governor Tamura
Kodaya Ichikawa .... Daimyo (uncredited)
Tokujiro Iketaniuchi .... Harusha (uncredited)
Fuji Kasai .... Lord Hotta (uncredited)
Takeshi Kumagai .... Chamberlain (uncredited)
Morita .... Prime Minister (uncredited)
James Robbins .... Lt. Fisher (uncredited)
Norman Thomson .... Captain Edmunds (uncredited)
Hiroshi Yamato .... The Shogun (uncredited)

Writing Credits
Nigel Balchin uncredited
James Edward Grant uncredited
Charles Grayson
Alfred Hayes uncredited
Ellis St. Joseph story

Original Music
Hugo Friedhofer

Cinematography
Charles G. Clarke

Stunts
Chuck Roberson .... stunts (uncredited)

Trivia
Based on the true story of American diplomat Townsend Harris, his time in Japan in the 1850s and 60s, and his romance with a 17-year-old geisha named Kichi. Their story is one of the most well-known folk tales in Japan. The real Harris died in New York in 1878, and the real Kichi committed suicide in Shimoda in 1892.

Average Shot Length = ~10.5 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~9.7 seconds.

Director Anthony Mann owned the rights to this story, but sold it to Fox after being unable to sign a big enough star to play the lead.

John Huston later dismissed this film, claiming that the final version, re-cut by the studio, didn't resemble his vision at all and that he would've liked to have his name removed from the credits. Stylistically, Huston wanted to make it a particularly Japanese film in terms of photography, pacing, color and narration. According to him, only bits of this attempt were still intact and visible in the theatrical version.

While making The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958), John Wayne apparently became so enraged with director John Huston (who was something of a tough guy himself and was nearly as tall as Wayne, but not as massive) that he throttled and punched him out. It is unknown what Huston did to earn the beating, but the director was known to have a mean streak. Wayne later re-enacted the incident for Peter Bogdanovich, who was somewhat terrified to be used as a substitute for Huston.

Goofs
Incorrectly regarded as goofs: At one point, Townsend calls to his Chinese servant Sam; this was not, as some thought, a mistaken reference to an actor's real name.

Filming Locations
20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA
(studio)
Eiga Film Studios, Tokyo, Japan
(studio)
Kawana, Japan
Kyoto, Japan

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