I look at Marlon Brando in this picture and I shudder. And then I wonder what might have possessed the man to take on a role like that of Sakini, a Japanese interpreter for the U.S. military. Then to make it even more comical, because I guess that's what it's supposed to be, the name of Sakini sounds a lot like zucchini, so that impression stayed with me and was reinforced when Captain McLean (Eddie Albert) came on the scene with his experimental gardening program. No zucchinis in his game plan were mentioned though, they would have been a nice addition.
I will admit the picture was humorously entertaining for the most part, and the principal players fell into their roles rather well. While appearing here as Colonel Wainwright Purdy III, Paul Ford must have been taking on a relief assignment from his regular gig as Colonel John T. Hall on 'The Phil Silvers Show', more commonly referred to today as 'Sergeant Bilko'. Harry Morgan, who portrayed Purdy's staff assistant Sergeant Gregovich, would also find himself in another military situation as Colonel Sherman T. Potter in both the movie and TV versions of "M*A*S*H". Glenn Ford looked a little out of his element here as Captain Fisby, but his character seemed to be written that way so it worked. And then there's Brando; still scratching my head over that casting decision. Those weird ridges on his forehead didn't help matters any.
Well there was no such thing as political correctness back in the Fifties, at least not as we know it today. Brando as a Japanese recalls such character actors as Warner Oland, Sidney Toler and Roland Winters playing Charlie Chan, Boris Karloff as Mr. Wong, and Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto, so his casting here probably wasn't as weird back then as it would be today. And amid the lunacy going on with those purveyors of military intelligence, his character Sakini was probably the most stable one in the story.
I will admit the picture was humorously entertaining for the most part, and the principal players fell into their roles rather well. While appearing here as Colonel Wainwright Purdy III, Paul Ford must have been taking on a relief assignment from his regular gig as Colonel John T. Hall on 'The Phil Silvers Show', more commonly referred to today as 'Sergeant Bilko'. Harry Morgan, who portrayed Purdy's staff assistant Sergeant Gregovich, would also find himself in another military situation as Colonel Sherman T. Potter in both the movie and TV versions of "M*A*S*H". Glenn Ford looked a little out of his element here as Captain Fisby, but his character seemed to be written that way so it worked. And then there's Brando; still scratching my head over that casting decision. Those weird ridges on his forehead didn't help matters any.
Well there was no such thing as political correctness back in the Fifties, at least not as we know it today. Brando as a Japanese recalls such character actors as Warner Oland, Sidney Toler and Roland Winters playing Charlie Chan, Boris Karloff as Mr. Wong, and Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto, so his casting here probably wasn't as weird back then as it would be today. And amid the lunacy going on with those purveyors of military intelligence, his character Sakini was probably the most stable one in the story.