Tonight's Movie: Flower Drum Song (1961) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

Rodgers and Hammerstein's FLOWER DRUM SONG (1961) is now available in a Kino Lorber Special Edition Blu-ray.

I've spent much of my life familiar with every aspect of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Big Five" musicals, OKLAHOMA!, CAROUSEL, SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC, as well as the film and TV favorites STATE FAIR and CINDERELLA.

However, other than seeing part of the movie very chopped up on local television as a teen, I had not previously watched FLOWER DRUM SONG in its entirety. I really don't know why, given that both musicals and this show's particular composers are definitely my "thing."

FLOWER DRUM SONG is the story of Mei Li (Miyoshi Umeki) who comes to San Francisco as a stowaway along with her father (Kam Tong).

Mei Li is a "picture bride" contracted to wed nightclub owner Sammy Fong (Jack Soo), but he didn't think Mei Li would be able to immigrate for years and is head over heels for Linda Low (Nancy Kwan), a dancer in his nightclub.

Sammy knows that the family of Wang Ta (James Shigeta, THE CRIMSON KIMONO) want him to marry a nice, traditional girl like Mei Lei and sets them up. What Sammy doesn't realize is that Wang Ta has just started dating Linda, who despairs of Sammy ever proposing.

There are many romantic complications among the quartet, with the unrequited love of Helen (Reiko Sato) for Wang Ta making things even more difficult before the expected happy ending is reached after 133 minutes.

Overall FLOWER DRUM SONG is a pleasant musical and movie, though I definitely found it "lower tier" Rodgers and Hammerstein. One of my main issues is that the film is simply way too long for the material, and it's easy to see spots where it could have been trimmed into a more concise story; for instance, I think the character of Helen could have been completely excised, with some other excuse used as a roadblock for Wang Ta and Mei Li's relationship. Her character hits sort of a dead end and adds a dark cloud to what is generally an upbeat show.

I also would have dropped the pointless opening song, "A Hundred Million Miracles," which only delays the actual story getting underway.

From my reading over the years I suspect I'm in the minority in finding Umeki's character overly bland; she has a few nice comedic moments, especially near the end, but while I have no problem at all with a quiet, traditional girl, I simply didn't find the actress or the role especially compelling.  Part of my dissatisfaction was that I wanted to better understand what Wang Ta and Mei Li had in common and why they came to love one another, other than being nice, traditional people.  

Kwan, on the other hand, tops the movie's multiple virtues. She's stunningly beautiful and lights up the screen with energy on every appearance. Her dancing is delightful, whether it's one of the film's best-known songs, "I Enjoy Being a Girl," or the high-energy "Grant Avenue." The choreography was by Hermes Pan, who worked with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

One of my favorite numbers of the film is the dream ballet "Sunday" with the newly engaged Kwan and Soo visualizing a happy married life against a delightfully stylized set. It works beautifully to convince us that this couple is truly meant to be together, as they are happy at the end of the dance even after chaos interrupts their idyllic Sunday. Java's Journey does a nice job describing this sequence.

Handsome James Shigeta really wowed me in THE CRIMSON KIMONO (1959) a couple years ago, so it was great to see him as a leading man once more. The cast also includes Juanita Hall (SOUTH PACIFIC), Benson Fong, Patrick Adiarte, Soo Yong, and James Hong. (The 93-year-old Hong just received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2022.) Umeki, Hall, and Jack Soo were all in the musical's original Broadway cast.

The film was directed by Henry Koster, who worked on a number of favorite Deanna Durbin movies. His skill with sentimental stories helps keep the more serious romantic relationship in this film believable and sometimes touching.

The film was produced by Ross Hunter who, along with cinematographer Russell Metty, gives the film a nice glossy widescreen look. The attractive Blu-ray print is from a new 2K master. Sound quality is also excellent.

There are extensive extras carried over from the film's original DVD release, including a commentary track with Nancy Kwan and the late Nick Redman; the trailer; and several featurettes on the history of the musical.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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