PimpinAinttEasy Dear Marlon Brando,you were an unusual casting choice for the role of Sakini, a sort of a Japanese man Friday to occupying American forces looking to spread democracy across Japan. You looked like you were having fun and for once I could understand exactly what you were saying as you were not mumbling. I would love to hear the story behind your casting as a Japanese villager.The film is a farcical and feel good social satire about American attempts to spread their values and way of life in the village of Tobiki, Okinawa after World War 2. Glenn Ford is the good hearted solider who is trying to impart the merits of democracy to the unsuspecting villagers with the help of Sakini. But things do not go according to plan and Ford's character ends up falling in love with the village and even helps them set up a brewery. A light-hearted study of American follies ..... I mean foreign policy and attitudes towards the natives, the film has some great one liners and some of the scenes are truly hilarious. It is worth the price of admission for your comedic role as a Japanese villager, Marlon. Paul Ford turns in a great performance as the hawkish Col. Wainwright Purdy III.Best Regards, Pimpin.(6/10)

elision10 This film made me realize how much we've lost as a country since the 1950s. According to Wikipedia at least, the book, play, and film were enormously popular for about 25 years, when political correctness set in, and liberals were oh-so-terribly aghast at Marlon Brando playing an Okinawan with a heavy accent. But it's Brando's character who is the most admirable in the movie -- sharp, perceptive, and cunning, but also warm, generous, and forgiving.All told, it's the Okinawans who come off well -- it is we Americans who seem rather ridiculous, with our notions of winning hearts and minds and spreading democracy. Remember that this film was made just ten years after WWII, when we were up against the Soviet Union, and democracy and "the American way" were at the heart of what we thought we were all about. But here is a film that completely satirizes, if not ridicules, all that, and yet it was enormously popular. Perhaps I'm looking at it through rose-tinted lenses -- there may well have been the Michael Savages and Rush Limbaughs of the day who inveighed against the Hollywood liberals seeking to undermine American resolve in the face of the Soviet threat and disgracing the memory of those who had died in WWII. But I think, more accurately, it was a time of greater American self- confidence, when we were able to laugh at ourselves more easily, and weren't terrified that this, that or another group might be ticked off. In short, this is a wise movie that should be seen by all those in power who have anything to do with how we conduct ourselves toward other nations and peoples -- as well as anyone who wants to see an entertaining but also educational film.

frisch16 NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD as part of the Marlon Brando Collection. One of the greatest Glenn Ford movies IMO. Brando disappears into the role of Sakini, an interpreter assigned to Captain Fisby, Glenn Ford. Area locations seem true to life, reminded me of my tour of duty on Okinawa with the US Marine Corps. Excellent situation comedy showing the influence of the Ryukyu Islands people on the US Army. Little geography follows: The Ryukyu Islands are a small chain of islands south of Japan and now once again part of Japan. Okinawa is the largest island, approximately 12 miles wide by 60 miles long at the maximums so the jeep driving around the island and continuing to run into water and fishing villages can be believed. Dip your toes into the East China sea on the eastern side of the island and swim in the Pacific Ocean on the west. Definitely a funny and feel good movie for the entire family.Socks Up, Boss!

cherokeecfg Marlon Brando was amazing in this film. I saw the comments made on TCM before they started the film and they said he saw the stage play and begged Paramount (?) to let him have a part in it when they made the film. They said he could have any part he wanted and he picked Sakini, the translator. As a Japanese teacher I want to tell you that I was stunned at his perfect accent! He spoke English exactly as a native Japanese person would. If I hadn't been told ahead of time that it was Marlon Brando, there is no way you could have convinced me that it wasn't a native Japanese actor doing the part. I could see that an attempt was made to make the natives look uneducated and doltish, but having lived in Japan for a year and a half, I simply couldn't see them that way. All you have to do is take a few minutes to watch any people and see the intelligence in their eyes and in their mannerisms and you can see how intelligent they really are whether YOU understand their language or not!