Very Mild Spoilers
The basic plot of `My Geisha' is so cliché as to be ridiculous. A husband slights his wife by implying that she could not handle the lead in his new production of `Madame Butterfly', she dresses up as a Geisha to prove he couldn't tell her from a real Japanese girl, and he hires the lovely (fake) Japanese. The rest of the story toys with infidelity and the question of whether the couple `really' loves each other and all's well that ends well. You've seen it all (and with far better comic timing) on `I Love Lucy' dozens of times.
However, Shirley MacLaine is both young and exciting as the spurned actress, Yves Montand is excellent as the long-suffering `Ricki' equivalent, and Edward G Robinson manages to pull off both Fred and Ethel while making it look almost fun to be an overstressed film producer. The Japanese actors all hold their own very well - in spite of a plot that may disturb the racial sensitivities of modern audiences. In spite of its datedness, this film manages to approach the intricacies of Japanese culture with genuine respect, and does not treat the `Geisha' as a by-definition dishonored woman. This is not to say that it depicts its subject with any degree of accurate detail, but at least it avoids the most heinous cliches.
The other redeeming aspect of the movie is a reasonable amount of strong outdoor location work in 1960's Japan. The cinematographer is Japanese, suggesting that Jack Cardiff (who was himself a cameraman at one time) was looking for an Asian eye to depict the Japan he wanted American audiences to see. `My Geisha' does not capture an `authentic' Japanese flavor - certainly it looks nothing like a contemporary Japanese film - but it does, perhaps, give a refined tour guide's perspective.
The basic plot of `My Geisha' is so cliché as to be ridiculous. A husband slights his wife by implying that she could not handle the lead in his new production of `Madame Butterfly', she dresses up as a Geisha to prove he couldn't tell her from a real Japanese girl, and he hires the lovely (fake) Japanese. The rest of the story toys with infidelity and the question of whether the couple `really' loves each other and all's well that ends well. You've seen it all (and with far better comic timing) on `I Love Lucy' dozens of times.
However, Shirley MacLaine is both young and exciting as the spurned actress, Yves Montand is excellent as the long-suffering `Ricki' equivalent, and Edward G Robinson manages to pull off both Fred and Ethel while making it look almost fun to be an overstressed film producer. The Japanese actors all hold their own very well - in spite of a plot that may disturb the racial sensitivities of modern audiences. In spite of its datedness, this film manages to approach the intricacies of Japanese culture with genuine respect, and does not treat the `Geisha' as a by-definition dishonored woman. This is not to say that it depicts its subject with any degree of accurate detail, but at least it avoids the most heinous cliches.
The other redeeming aspect of the movie is a reasonable amount of strong outdoor location work in 1960's Japan. The cinematographer is Japanese, suggesting that Jack Cardiff (who was himself a cameraman at one time) was looking for an Asian eye to depict the Japan he wanted American audiences to see. `My Geisha' does not capture an `authentic' Japanese flavor - certainly it looks nothing like a contemporary Japanese film - but it does, perhaps, give a refined tour guide's perspective.