I was reading a Wikipedia article on "yelllowface" in the movies. There was.a long list of examples of the practice, but I was frustrated that My Geisha wasn't listed. I kept reading and found it in a secondary list, probably because the audience is aware of the movie's premise--a great example of the extended use of dramatic irony. I saw it when I was 14; I was already a fan of Shirley MacLaine and was surprised that this comedy had some dramatic depth to it. Some of the location photography is stunning, and it was my first introduction to Puccini's music. Well, I haven't seen it since and probably never will just so I don't have to watch Bob Cummings reprising his "ladies man" routine, which was pretty funny on his tv show but lays a huge egg here. Yves Montand is always a pleasure, as is Edward G. Robinson, playing light for a change. Shirley is pretty good as well. My one bit of praise is for the "revelation scene," which makes a clever use of film technology to wake up the inattentive M. Montand. I think I saw it twice, mainly for the music. If you're an opera fan, you should see.the 1995 film version of Madame Butterfly, which I rate as one of the top five filmed operas.
