Judging by the few votes this movie must not be seen very often by the modern viewing audiences. It was on the TCM channel last night, and comes across very well for a vintage movie.
Rosalind Russell is the lead character as Mrs. Jacoby on a cruise to Japan. Her son in law is to do business with the Japanese, and one of their key businessmen is on the same ship. Mrs Jacoby is relatively recently widowed and her daughter has been encouraging her to mix more socially, to try to bring some joy back into her life.
When I first saw Alec Guinness I didn't quite recognize him, but he looked familiar, and I was surprised when I learned his character was the Japanese businessman. But after a while it didn't look strange any more, his light "Asian" makeup helped him look the part, and of course the fabulous actor that he is, he made it seem very real. His character was Koichi Asano.
When Mrs Jacoby first met Asano she gave him a very "cool" reception, she had lost a loved one just a few years earlier in the war, at the hands of the Japanese. But after Asano explained that he too had lost loved ones, at the hands of the Americans, she understood that there was no reason to remain bitter. Eventually they became quite friendly and, when the daughter caught a glimpse of them dancing on deck one night, she became concerned that Asano was just using her mother to get an advantage in the upcoming business dealings.
Not a great, highly significant, or memorable movie, but a nice one, worth the time to watch it. Plus we get to see two of the best actors of that era.
It was also nice to see famous TV actress Madlyn Rhue in her younger days. Here she plays the married daughter, Alice Black.
Rosalind Russell is the lead character as Mrs. Jacoby on a cruise to Japan. Her son in law is to do business with the Japanese, and one of their key businessmen is on the same ship. Mrs Jacoby is relatively recently widowed and her daughter has been encouraging her to mix more socially, to try to bring some joy back into her life.
When I first saw Alec Guinness I didn't quite recognize him, but he looked familiar, and I was surprised when I learned his character was the Japanese businessman. But after a while it didn't look strange any more, his light "Asian" makeup helped him look the part, and of course the fabulous actor that he is, he made it seem very real. His character was Koichi Asano.
When Mrs Jacoby first met Asano she gave him a very "cool" reception, she had lost a loved one just a few years earlier in the war, at the hands of the Japanese. But after Asano explained that he too had lost loved ones, at the hands of the Americans, she understood that there was no reason to remain bitter. Eventually they became quite friendly and, when the daughter caught a glimpse of them dancing on deck one night, she became concerned that Asano was just using her mother to get an advantage in the upcoming business dealings.
Not a great, highly significant, or memorable movie, but a nice one, worth the time to watch it. Plus we get to see two of the best actors of that era.
It was also nice to see famous TV actress Madlyn Rhue in her younger days. Here she plays the married daughter, Alice Black.