- The 1961 Rodgers and Hammerstein adaptation follows ‘picture bride’ Mei Li (played by Miyoshi Umeki) who is brought to the US to marry a nightclub owner
- Japanese actors played Chinese characters, and there were plenty of terrible gags, although the film was a rare view of upstanding Chinese citizens in the US
Matt Glasby+ FOLLOW
Published: 4:15am, 15 Apr 2024
When it was released, in 1961, Flower Drum Song set two remarkable – and remarkably depressing – records.
On the one hand, it was the first Hollywood film to feature a majority Asian cast in a contemporary setting. On the other, it was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical adaptation to underperform at the box office.
Cynics might wonder if the two could possibly be related.
Based on the 1957 novel by Chin Yang Lee and directed by Henry Koster, the film deals with timely issues of immigration and integration in San Francisco’s Chinese-American community, even though a lot of its stars are plainly Japanese.