Search - My Geisha on DVD

Lucille Ball would Blush at My Geisha

Scotman | Mt. Shasta, CA | 12/18/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Not a bad little comedy; interesting flick of Shirley playing "Lucy" a big star in film with her director husband. Director husband does not like being in her limelight and so tells her she cannot be in the picture he has in mind as she would not fit in. He does not bother telling her the truth, however, that he wants to be successful without her. Without this info, she takes it as a challenge and gets her producer, expertly played by E.R. Robinson, to go along with the gag. Considering the time period this was filmed, I thought they handled the Japanese culture fairly well, though the English-accented Japanese was a bit much.



That earns it the three star treatment, I'm afraid.



Funny scenes include Shirley caught in the act where she has to talk to a Japanese Sumo wrestler and talks Japanese gibberish at him (sounds like she is talking to ten and saying hello and goodbye and thanx!).



Yoko Tani plays the actual Geisha who's trying to train "Lucy" to be one. Yoko is known for being the Asian actress in the Communist-bloc film, First Spaceship on Venus.



Bob Cummings was fairly awful and I do agree with Amazon reviews that he was badly cast for the part.



The director does use split staging rather than film scene splitting, which makes it all very interesting.



If you loved Lucy, you'll love this one....



The VHS tape was clean and ran great, too. Is this on DVD now??



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YOKO TANI 20X24 B&W PHOTO

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My Geisha movie on DVD

Jeanette Owens | Door County Wisconsin | 06/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A "chic flick" for certain but one any ( mature) chic would enjoy. Another oldie but goodie. Cute plot and well acted."

Delectable, And Charming

Geary A., Jones | 12/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have always been a sucker for anything with Shirley Maclaine in it, but I was pretty much in the same boat as Paul ( the fabulous Ives Montand ), her character's ( Lucy Dell's ) husband, when he doubted her ability to do the part of Madame Butterfly, particularly since he wanted a real Japanese

to play the part. Maclaine nailed it however, and did it with the dignity and attention to detail that the part deserved, with few of the cliches Occidentals portraying Asian people at the time so often brought to the table ( Brando in TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON comes to mind ). Ives Montand was wonderful as Lucy Dell's husband, Paul, as was the great Edward G. Robinson in the part of their producer. Yoko Tani as Lucy's geisha tutor was both exquisite, and quietly witty.



The story itself was a lot more clever than some of the romantic comedies of the time, The dialogue was crisp, and the direction well-paced.



Oh, and yes! Maclaine made a beautiful geisha.



"

An Under rated delight

Les G. Solomon | NSW, Australia | 03/19/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Watching this glorious DVD version of this film makes one realise what a little gem this film was and how sad that is has been over looked and never seen as one of the principal films in Shirely Maclaine's acting canon until now. Certainly some of the sexist elements of the storyline are dated by today's standards (a woman should never be more important professionally than her husband )but the storyline is fresh and original and Maclaine should definitely been nominated for an oscar for her extraordinary doiuble sided performance.



Like Julie Andrews in "Victor Victoria", you need to suspend disbelief a little, even with the Geisha makeup, one cant imagine how husband Yves Montand doesnt recognise her, but the performances and the charm of the idea and the lush cinematography an d the theatrics of the piece make up a delightful package. Interesting to note that the film was inspired somewhat by Maclaine's relationship with film producer Steve Parker who also produced the film and to whom she was married at the time of the making of it.

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