Main Cast: John Wayne, Eiko Ando, Sam Jaffe, So Yamamura, Norman Thomson
Release Year: 1958
Country: US
Run Time: 104 minutes
Plot
John Wayne's only collaboration with director John Huston turned out to be a major career misstep for both men. Barbarian and the Geisha is the true story of Townsend Harris (Wayne), who in 1856 was appointed the first American consul to Japan. Headquartered in Shimoda, Harris discovers that the Japanese thoroughly mistrust the Americans (and, as it turned out, not without reason). It's an uphill climb, but Harris gradually earns the respect of the local power brokers-and in so doing, is permitted to enter the city of Tokyo. Geisha girl Eiko Ando, originally sent to thwart Harris' mission, falls in love with him and protects him from harm. Though running only 104 minutes, the film seems to drag on for eons. Filmed on location, The Barbarian and the Geisha is consistently good to look at, but the discomfort of both star Wayne and director Huston is painfully obvious in every frame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
James Robbins - Lt. Fisher; Kodaya Ichikawa - Daimyo; Hiroshi Yamato - The Shogun; Tokujiro Iketaniuchi - Harusha; Takeshi Kumagai - Chamberlain; Fuju Kasai - Lord Hotta; Noriyuki "Pat" Morita - Prime Minister
Credit
Jack Martin Smith - Art Director, Lyle Wheeler - Art Director, Joseph E. Richards - First Assistant Director, John Huston - Director, Stuart Gilmore - Editor, Hugo W. Friedhofer - Composer (Music Score), Webb Overlander - Makeup, Charles G. Clarke - Cinematographer, Eugene Frenke - Producer, Walter Scott - Set Designer, Don Greenwood, Jr. - Set Designer, Warren B. Delaplain - Sound/Sound Designer, W.D. Flick - Sound/Sound Designer, Ellis St. Joseph - Screen Story, Charles Grayson - Screenwriter
Townsend Harris (Wayne) is sent by President Pierce to Japan to serve as the first U.S. Consul-General. Harris discovers enormous hostility to foreigners but the love of a young geisha.
Production notes
Director Anthony Mann initially owned the story but he sold the rights to 20th Century Fox after being unable to sign a big star to play the lead.
Exteriors were shot on location in Japan at Kyoto and the Tōdai-ji shrine in Nara. Interiors and additional scenes were completed at Toho Studios in Tokyo and 20th Century Fox Studios, Los Angeles
Before release, the film was heavily re-edited by the studio. Director John Huston denounced this version and even wanted to have his name removed from the credits. Huston had wanted to make a particularly Japanese film in terms of photography, pacing, color and narration but according to him only a few edits - representing his vision - were left intact in the theatrical version.
The film received lukewarm reviews and did disappointingly at the box office.
Historical background
Lithograph of "Shimoda as seen from the American Grave Yard" looking towards the harbor -- artist, Wilhelm Heine (1856).
The story is based on American diplomat Townsend Harris and his time in Japan during the 1850s and 60s. This was the period just prior to the Meiji Restoration when Japan ended its period of international isolation and began massive industrialization. But in Harris' time, Japan was still ruled by a shogun in a manner that had not changed for hundreds of years.
During his time in Japan, Harris had a romance with a 17-year-old geisha named Okichi. Their story is one of the most well-known folk tales in Japan. Harris died in New York in 1878. Tragically the real Okichi committed suicide in Shimoda in 1892.
Cosenza, Mario Emilio. (1930). The Complete Journal of Townsend Harris First American Consul General and Minister to Japan. New York: Doubleday. 10-ISBN B00085QAZQ [reprinted by Kessinger Publishing Company, Whitefish, Montana, 2007. 10-ISBN 1-432-57244-X; 13-ISBN 978-1-432-57244-0]
Dulles, Foster Rhea, "Yankees and Samurai: America’s Role in the Emergence of Modern Japan, 1791-1900", Harper & Row, New York, 1965.
