Main Cast: Rosalind Russell, Alec Guinness, Ray Danton, Madlyn Rhue, Mae Questel
Release Year: 1961
Country: US
Run Time: 149 minutes
Plot
This standard love story adapted by Leonard Spigelgass from his stage play was acclaimed when it was released for probing into the nature of prejudice. Rosalind Russell plays Mrs. Jacoby, a Jewish widow living in Brooklyn whose daughter Alice (Madlyn Rhue) is married to Jerome (Ray Danton), a U.S. diplomat newly assigned to Japan. Because of Jerome's new post, Mrs. Jacoby decides to visit the land of the rising sun, and once there, she meets Koichi Asano (Alec Guinness). Asano is a suave, sophisticated, and wealthy man with an aesthetically impressive Tokyo home. After the two meet, love starts to blossom. This was one of the rare '60s films geared to the older set but it is significant that even during this period Hollywood still chose to cast a white actor (albeit Alec Guinness!) in the role of Asano. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Review
In A Majority of One, Rosalind Russell plays a Jewish widow from Brooklyn and Alec Guinness plays a Japanese businessman. This may not be the height of miscasting, but it provides one of the reasons why Majority doesn't really work. Both of these stars are talented, often brilliant actors, and each has more than enough technique to get through their roles. But even though each has some very nice moments, the viewer never really forgets that he is watching Russell and Guinness, rather than Mrs. Jacoby and Mr. Asano. Even with more likely actors, Majority would still have problems. While it has its heart very much in the right place, it's more than a bit earnest, and while some sequences manage to treat its theme of racial tolerance with a light touch, others are just too heavy-handed. Leonard Spigelgass' screenplay (from his Broadway hit) is a trifle mechanical and manipulative, but it does contain a couple of sequences -- in the garden of Asano's house and the final sequence in Mrs. Jacoby's apartment, for example -- that are touching, in spite of the manipulation. A Majority of One is not a chore to sit through -- though it could stand to lose 20 minutes -- but, overall, it's only mildly entertaining. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
