Sayonara
Encyclopedia
Sayonara is a 1957 color (Technicolor
) American film starring Marlon Brando
. It tells the story of an American
Air Force
flier who was an "ace" fighter pilot during the Korean War
.
Sayonara won four Academy Awards
, including acting honors for co-stars Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki
.
The film's screenplay was adapted by Paul Osborn
from the novel
by James Michener, and it was produced by William Goetz
and directed by Joshua Logan
. Unlike most 1950s romantic dramas, Sayonara deals squarely with racism and prejudice.
) near Kobe
, Japan
. He falls in love with a Japanese entertainer who is a performer for a Takarazuka
-like theater company, whom he meets through his enlisted crew chief, Airman Kelly.
Kelly is about to wed a Japanese woman, Katsumi, in spite of the disapproval of the United States military, which will not recognize the marriage. The Air Force, including Gruver, is against the marriage. Gruver and Kelly have an argument during which Gruver uses a racial slur to describe Kelly's fiancee. Gruver eventually apologizes, then agrees to be Kelly's best man at the wedding.
Kelly suffers further prejudice at the hands of a particularly nasty colonel, pulling extra duty and all the less-attractive assignments. When he and many others who are married to Japanese are ordered back to the States, Kelly realizes he will not be able to take his wife, who is now pregnant.
Finding no other way to be together, Kelly and Katsumi commit double suicide. This strengthens Major Gruver's resolve to marry his own Japanese lover. When asked by a Stars and Stripes
reporter what will he say to both the "big brass" as well as to the Japanese, neither of which will be particularly happy, Major Gruver says, "Tell 'em we said 'Sayonara.'"
The ending in the movie, however, differs from that of the book, in which Gruver says "sayonara" to his Japanese girlfriend and returns to the States.
for Gruver, despite the objections of director Logan, who did not think a Southern accent was appropriate for a general's son who was educated at West Point. Logan later admitted to the author and journalist Truman Capote
about Brando, "I’ve never worked with such an exciting, inventive actor. So pliable. He takes direction beautifully, and yet he always has something to add. He’s made up this Southern accent for the part; I never would have thought of it myself, but, well, it’s exactly right — it’s perfection.”
, including acting honors for co-stars Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki
. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
reports that 100% critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.2/10.
for
It was also nominated for
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
) American film starring Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
. It tells the story of an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
flier who was an "ace" fighter pilot during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Sayonara won four Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, including acting honors for co-stars Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki
Miyoshi Umeki
was a naturalized American actress and standards singer. She was best known for her roles as Katsumi, the wife of Joe Kelly , in the 1957 film Sayonara, as Mei Li in the 1958 Broadway musical and 1961 film Flower Drum Song, and as Mrs. Livingston, the housekeeper of Bill Bixby's and Brandon Cruz's...
.
The film's screenplay was adapted by Paul Osborn
Paul Osborn
Paul Osborn was an American playwright and screenwriter best known for writing the screen adaptation of East of Eden as well as South Pacific, The Yearling, The World of Suzie Wong and Sayonara....
from the novel
Sayonara (novel)
This article is about the book. For other uses, see Sayonara .Sayonara , is a novel published by American author James A. Michener. Set during the early 1950s, Sayonara tells the story of Major Gruver, a soldier stationed in Japan, who falls in love with Hana-Ogi, a Japanese woman...
by James Michener, and it was produced by William Goetz
William Goetz
William Goetz was an American Hollywood film producer and studio executive. William Goetz died of cancer in 1969 at his home in Los Angeles and was buried in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California....
and directed by Joshua Logan
Joshua Logan
Joshua Lockwood Logan III was an American stage and film director and writer.-Early years:Logan was born in Texarkana, Texas, the son of Susan and Joshua Lockwood Logan. When he was three years old his father committed suicide...
. Unlike most 1950s romantic dramas, Sayonara deals squarely with racism and prejudice.
Plot
Lloyd "Ace" Gruver, a major and the son of a U.S. Army general, is stationed at Itami Air Force Base (now Osaka International AirportOsaka International Airport
or Osaka-Itami International Airport is the primary domestic airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is classified as a first class airport....
) near Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He falls in love with a Japanese entertainer who is a performer for a Takarazuka
Takarazuka Revue
The Takarazuka Revue is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals, and sometimes stories adapted from shōjo manga and Japanese folktales. The troupe takes its name...
-like theater company, whom he meets through his enlisted crew chief, Airman Kelly.
Kelly is about to wed a Japanese woman, Katsumi, in spite of the disapproval of the United States military, which will not recognize the marriage. The Air Force, including Gruver, is against the marriage. Gruver and Kelly have an argument during which Gruver uses a racial slur to describe Kelly's fiancee. Gruver eventually apologizes, then agrees to be Kelly's best man at the wedding.
Kelly suffers further prejudice at the hands of a particularly nasty colonel, pulling extra duty and all the less-attractive assignments. When he and many others who are married to Japanese are ordered back to the States, Kelly realizes he will not be able to take his wife, who is now pregnant.
Finding no other way to be together, Kelly and Katsumi commit double suicide. This strengthens Major Gruver's resolve to marry his own Japanese lover. When asked by a Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
reporter what will he say to both the "big brass" as well as to the Japanese, neither of which will be particularly happy, Major Gruver says, "Tell 'em we said 'Sayonara.'"
The ending in the movie, however, differs from that of the book, in which Gruver says "sayonara" to his Japanese girlfriend and returns to the States.
Cast
- Marlon BrandoMarlon BrandoMarlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
- Maj. Lloyd 'Ace' Gruver, USAF - Patricia OwensPatricia Owens (actress)Patricia Molly Owens was a Canadian-born American actress, working in Hollywood...
- Eileen Webster - James GarnerJames GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
- Capt. Mike Bailey, USMC - Martha ScottMartha ScottMartha Ellen Scott was an American actress best known for her roles as mother of the lead character in numerous films and television shows.-Early life:...
- Mrs. Webster - Miiko TakaMiiko Takais a Japanese American actress best known for co-starring with Marlon Brando as Hana-ogi in the 1957 movie Sayonara.-'Sayonara':Taka was born in Seattle, but raised in Los Angeles, California as a Nisei; her parents had immigrated from Japan. She graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1943...
- Hana-ogi - Miyoshi UmekiMiyoshi Umekiwas a naturalized American actress and standards singer. She was best known for her roles as Katsumi, the wife of Joe Kelly , in the 1957 film Sayonara, as Mei Li in the 1958 Broadway musical and 1961 film Flower Drum Song, and as Mrs. Livingston, the housekeeper of Bill Bixby's and Brandon Cruz's...
- Katsumi Kelly - Red Buttons - Airman Joe Kelly
- Kent SmithKent SmithKent Smith was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theater, and television.Born Frank Kent Smith in New York, New York, Smith made his acting debut on Broadway in 1932 in and, after spending a few years there, moved to Hollywood, California, where he made his film debut in The...
- Lt. Gen. Mark Webster - Reiko Kuba - Fumiko
- Soo Yong - Teruko
- Ricardo MontalbanRicardo MontalbánRicardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
- Nakamura
Production
Brando adopted a nondescript Southern Southern accentAmerican English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
for Gruver, despite the objections of director Logan, who did not think a Southern accent was appropriate for a general's son who was educated at West Point. Logan later admitted to the author and journalist Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
about Brando, "I’ve never worked with such an exciting, inventive actor. So pliable. He takes direction beautifully, and yet he always has something to add. He’s made up this Southern accent for the part; I never would have thought of it myself, but, well, it’s exactly right — it’s perfection.”
Critical reception
Sayonara has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its writing and cinematography, in addition to the acting ability of its cast. It has won four Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, including acting honors for co-stars Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki
Miyoshi Umeki
was a naturalized American actress and standards singer. She was best known for her roles as Katsumi, the wife of Joe Kelly , in the 1957 film Sayonara, as Mei Li in the 1958 Broadway musical and 1961 film Flower Drum Song, and as Mrs. Livingston, the housekeeper of Bill Bixby's and Brandon Cruz's...
. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 100% critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.2/10.
Awards
Sayonara won multiple Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for
- Best Actor in a Supporting RoleAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Red Buttons) - Best Actress in a Supporting RoleAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Miyoshi Umeki) - Best Art Direction-Set DecorationAcademy Award for Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(Ted HaworthTed HaworthTed Haworth was an American production designer and art director. He won an Academy Award and was nominated five more times in the category Best Art Direction....
& Robert PriestleyRobert PriestleyRobert Priestley was an American set decorator. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for another in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:...
) - Best SoundAcademy Award for SoundThe Academy Award for Sound Mixing is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most euphonic sound mixing or recording, and is generally awarded to the production sound mixers and re-recording mixers of the winning film. Compare this award to the Academy Award for Sound Editing...
(George Groves)
It was also nominated for
- Best Actor in a Leading RoleAcademy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Marlon Brando) - Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
(Ellsworth Fredericks) - Best DirectorAcademy Award for DirectingThe Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
(Joshua Logan) - Best Film EditingAcademy Award for Film EditingThe Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
(Arthur P. Schmidt & Philip W. Anderson) - Best PictureAcademy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
(William Goetz) - Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another MediumAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
(Paul Osborn)
External links
- Trailer of Sayonara introduced by Miika Taka
- The Duke and His Domain by Truman CapoteTruman CapoteTruman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
- James Garner Interview on the Charlie Rose Show
- James Garner interview at Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....
- (c/o Google Video) - March 17, 1999