The Teahouse of the August Moon

Well now, those of us who possess some degree of mental health (excluding those with excessive work compulsions) probably didn't flick out every night of exam period and therefore might well have missedThe Teahouse of the August Moon the first time around. It is worth seeing now and not only for the Japanese music and U.T. prices.

John Patrick's screenplay is almost identical to his play, an effective satire of the attempt of the U.S. Government and Army to bring American democracy and values to the inhabitants of Okinawa after the war. Thanks to Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford, Cinema scope, and Warnercolor the movie is better than the play.

Much of the pre-release speculation about Teahouse concerned the casting of Marlon Brando as the buffoonish Okinawan interpreter and village philosopher. All doubts of his ability to play the part should be dispelled by Brando's charmingly engaging performance, even though his enunciation is about as good as that of a prizefighter swallowing his mouthpiece. Also excellent is Glenn Ford who plays the ineffectual (ex-humanities instructor) American captain assigned to bring the blessing of democracy to a village more interested is sitting in the pine grove to watch that evening sun go down and building a teahouse than in erecting the Government-prescribed pentagon-shaped schoolhouse. The teahouse wins out of course, art being the resultant of cultural conflict.

Instead of the usual second feature, the program is filled out by hastily selected short subjects. Magoo and Skiing at Sun Valley are enjoyable. It is advisable to leave after the latter. But even sitting through all three and a half hours is recompensed by the unsubtle humor of The Teahouse of the August Moon, a movie that makes a worthwhile point without moralizing or being unpleasant.