I have always been a sucker for anything with Shirley Maclaine in it, but I was pretty much in the same boat as Paul ( the fabulous Ives Montand ), her character's ( Lucy Dell's ) husband, when he doubted her ability to do the part of Madame Butterfly, particularly since he wanted a real Japanese
to play the part. Maclain nailed it however, and did it with the dignity and attention to detail that the part deserved, with few of the cliches Occidentals portraying Asian people at the time so often brought to the table ( Brando in TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON comes to mind ). Ives Montand was wonderful as Lucy Dell's husband, Paul, as was the great Edward G. Robinson in the part of their producer. Yoko Tani as Lucy's geisha tutor was both exquisite, and quietly witty.

The story itself was a lot more clever than some of the romantic comedies of the time, The dialogue was crisp, and the direction well-paced.

Oh, and yes! Maclaine made a beautiful geisha.

A "chic flick" for certain but one any ( mature) chic would enjoy. Another oldie but goodie. Cute plot and well acted.

Delivery was prompt and thanks to our Panasonic HD recorder we are able to view NTSC films. As always, the parcel arrived in excellent condition, and the film quality is very good. It is a charming old film - considerably better in dialogue than so many films made in the last few years. Picture sharpness surprised me considering the film was made in 1962.

Puccini's lush, compelling, most dramatic, most beautiful opera is highlighted in the lovely film, MY GEISHA.

The plot and actors are overwhelmed by the exquisite music.

Shirley Maclaine, a marvellous actress in her younger days as in this film, portrays Madam Butterfly with such enormous grace, as someone else sings the words of "One Fine Day ..." which she so dramatically mouths.

Only Japan, with assistance from Shirley and her fellow actors, and with Puccini to provide the exquisite musical background, could have thrown up a trite story film like this, which because of the Japanese scenery and Puccini's music, remains a gem!

MY GEISHA, starring Shirley MacLaine and produced by her then-husband Steve Parker, is a very cute comedy lushly-filmed on location in Japan.

When celebrated movie director Paul Robaix (Yves Montand) decides to do a new version of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" on location in Japan, his actress wife Lucy Dell (Shirley MacLaine) secretly follows him, dresses in traditional geisha costume and lands the title role! An hilarious comedy of switched identity ensues.

Shirley MacLaine positively glows as Lucy, and looks very beautiful in her geisha disguises (Edith Head deservedly received an Oscar nomination for her colour costume designs). Yves Montand, always a little bit stiff when paired with his American leading ladies, tries his best to conjure up a rapport with MacLaine, but this is very much Shirley's show. Edward G. Robinson and Bob Cummings have fun supporting roles.

Filmed entirely on location in Japan, MY GEISHA was the climax of a fascination with the country for MacLaine and her husband Steve Parker, who lived there for a period. The visuals capture Japan at the height of it's beauty.

The new DVD edition of MY GEISHA is very pleasing. There is some minor image-flicker in certain scenes, but the colours are bold and strong; audio is offered in both 5.1 surround and 2-channel mono.