Ma geisha

"my geisha" is charming. suspend belief a bit, and one realises how good an actress shirley maclaine is and how convincingly she becomes a geisha.

the movie is fluff. but the attempt to parallel the plot to the libretto of "madama butterfly" is clever and almost successful. edward g.robinson as sharpless; maclaine as pinkerton, and montand as butterfly... it is a very literate attempt to use the sub-plot as the driver for the main plot.

there are moments when one is reminded of a doris day-rock hudson frolic - expected in a comedy from 1962. but there's also a real "edge" that comes from the characters being a little less than saccharine. as has been pointed out, the cinematography is quite sharp. so there is an air of substance to the production, and quality is evident.

in the end, though, one just should enjoy it.

What on the surface appears to be an improbable plot line becomes increasingly plausible due to the combination of great make up work, spectacular costuming, (Edith Head) and a truly amazing performance by Shirley Maclaine. Crisp, sharp focus, color cinematography, interesting locations and set design, combine with a genuine fondness for Japanese culture resulting in an admirable early 60's comedy/drama.

First saw this movie on TV one afternoon whilst I was off from work.Had always wanted to see it,but after it's release(rather like John Goldfarb),it kind of disappeared.Lucky to catch up with it though,as from the opening credits I was hooked.MacLaine,very young and initially kooky,is marvellous in this film.I guess most people know the plot by now,but for a comedy,it does have it's touching moments,especially at the end.The scenery is superb,the music is great,the costumes colourful and I for one am glad this will receive a DVD release in December.Edward G and Yves Montand are both good in their roles,although I found Bob Cummings just a bit long in the tooth for his part.Altogether a very enjoyable movie and one to watch for if you haven't seen it before.Yes,I know some of it doesn't make sense,but heck,this is a comedy,and wonderful it is too.

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.

My Geisha is a film that I'm not sure why it is overlooked. Essentially Shirley MacLaine plays two roles in this film. One she's Lucy Dell, a Hollywood Actress not unlike Shirley MacLaine. But with a lot of heavy makeup she's also playing a geisha girl who husband/director Yves Montand picks to star in a film version of Madame Butterfly.

Shirley at that time was married to Steve Parker who lived and worked in Japan and they had one of the weirdest marriages on record. They stayed together almost thirty years, basically because they only saw each other once or twice a year with her living in Hollywood. But this film with Steve Parker producing it for his wife brought them together for a much longer sojourn.

Montand directs his wife's films and she's known as a good comic actress in the profession. He and her perennial leading man Bob Cummings want to do a serious drama, Madame Butterfly, film the Puccini opera with dubbed in singers.

MacLaine and producer Edward G. Robinson go to Japan, Shirley in secret and for a lark she puts on geisha makeup and outfit. Montand and Cummings are so taken with her that Montand hires the geisha that Shirley is pretending to be as the lead in Madame Butterfly.

The masquerade is kept going, but the joke runs into some unforeseen complications for all concerned.

My Geisha glides effortlessly from comedy to drama when the careers and egos of both MacLaine and Montand are on the line. It works out in a highly unusual way. Both Montand and MacLaine do very well by their lead parts with Bob Cummings portraying a wolfish leading man and Edward G. Robinson to dispense wise counsel for all.

It's a very good part for Shirley MacLaine. She summons some hidden depths for the film in portraying the tragic geisha of Madame Butterfly. It's one of her best films.