Opération geishas

The female oriental stars of Sayonara, Miko Taka and Miyoshi Umeki, team once again for a story dealing with the American occupation of Japan in Cry For Happy. At least the film is not as tragic for Miyoshi as Sayonara was. It's also not as good, but it's also a good deal lighter.

The American leads are Glenn Ford who was also in a film about the post war occupation in The Teahouse Of The August Moon and Donald O'Connor. Ford is a Navy CPO in charge of photographic unit and O'Connor is one of his new men, the others being James Shigeta and Chet Douglas. Through an incredible combination of circumstances the four of them wind up living in a geisha house that Taka runs. Ford during a moment of inter-service rival bragging, boasts publicly of sponsoring an orphanage and has to make good on that for Admiral Howard St. John and more important the Admiral's wife, Harriet MacGibbon. Believe it or not it all works out.

Cry For Happy is a little slow at times, but enough laughs are there for it to be enjoyable. Best scene in the film involves Miyoshi Umeki discouraging nosy reporter Joe Flynn from adopting one of the 'orphans' with her broken English. Red tape is red tape in any language and culture.

Next best scene is at the very end with Ford having to provide temporary headquarters for an influx of real orphans his new establishment is getting, but is not ready to receive yet. And we can't forget the film that was shot with Navy equipment lent on the sly by Ford to aspiring Japanese film producer Robert Kino. I guess you could call it a Sushi western. It gets audience approval, but not quite the way Kino was hoping for.

The team of George Marshall and Glenn Ford is not often discussed as a director/actor combination. But some very funny comedies were turned out be this pair. Cry For Happy will be enjoyed by Glenn Ford's still legion of fans.

Rarely, if ever, have I seen a movie with as many, and as naughty, sexual innuendos as Cry for Happy. In the few years following the demise of the Hays Code, Hollywood specialized in making sex comedies featuring jokes, words, and entire situations they were forbidden to feature in the 1950s. Cry for Happy is a comedy about US sailors in Japan who stay in a geisha house, and can't "get" any geishas. That verb is used frequently, as are countless euphamisms and blatant phrases. Donald O'Connor is described as "frustrated". Glenn Ford tells Miiko Taka, "He's been warming up for eight innings, and he's not even gonna get to pitch," when she tells him her girls are innocent and won't sleep with his sailors. At one point, Chet Douglas suggests thinking of something very cold, like an iceberg, when trying to go to sleep. Donald says, "I tried that. It melts."

Mixed into the hilarious raunchy one-liners is a rather silly plot involving a fake orphanage and a botched attempt at Japanese filmmaking. There are a few politically incorrect jokes thrown in, but for the time period, it's not that bad. James Shigeta is expected to speak Japanese, and it's supposed to be a laugh line when he whips out a Japanese for Beginners pocketbook.

The girls, Miiko Taka, Miyoshi Umeki, Michi Kobi, and Tsuruko Kobayashi, are adorable and endearing. Not once does the audience doubt their innocence and sweetness. The boys are another matter, but even though they're despicably bawdy, the audience hopes there's time enough in the movie for them to shape up, fall in love, and treat their geishas with respect. And with nearly two hours of humor and romance, there just might be time.

This is another of a large list of service comedies, WWI, WWII and Korea, that were tried by Hollywood producers. Apparently, the idea of being part of an emergency organization of order-givers and not being able to risk one's life actively caused men in uniform to think up fantastic schemes, dream big dreams and want to get back to civilian profit-earning. Case in point--the gentlemen in this happy and very-well-made comedic satire. George Marshall directed these breezy proceedings with his usual genial skill; George Duning provided nice music and Burnett Guffey the colorful and lovely cinematography. The juxtaposition of news-corps uniformed types and Japanese ladies in a place rented by the newsmen for various purposes worked unusually well. In this talented cast are Glenn Ford, Donald O'Connor, Miiko Taka, Miyoshi Umeki, Nancy Kovack, Howard St. John, Michi Kobi, funnyman Joe Flynn, Harlan Warde and talented James Shigeta. Irving Brecher wrote the well-paced screenplay from George Campbell's clever and dialogue-rich novel. Forget the storyline; this is a fine story based on real experiences, exampling the differences between the thinking of the US soldiers and those with whom they deal in another country--in this case, Japan; it is almost a companion piece to "Don't Go Near the Water", only much lower-keyed. It even has a theme--"Be true to yourself", and there are no real villains; only a timetable and romances and the usual GI slightly-illegal goings-on. A vastly underrated and well-remembered film. Watch it, slowly. Enjoy!

My 90 year old mother asked me if I had this in my oldies collection. Spent hours online trying to find the DVD for a Christmas present. Nada. Now I want it for me too. It's not even on Prime or Vidu. What's going on?

It's 1952. Navy photographer Andy Cyphers (Glenn Ford) gets three new recruits. When he gets pressed for coverage during wartime, he claims that they are supporting an orphanage in Japan. Once in Japan, they accidentally take over a geisha house. When the Navy and reporters take an interest, the guys and girls quickly recruit children to be their orphans.

This may be a bit edgy for its time. I wasn't around. So I don't know. It has a mildly amusing premise. The execution is mildly amusing. The sex comedy part is rather hit and miss for me. The girls are stuck operating at that one gear. The best part happens when the Admiral tries to adopt. Booby is a funny word.