Sayonara Information

Sayonara is a 1957 color (Technicolor) American film starring Marlon Brando. The picture 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 was produced by William Goetz and directed by Joshua Logan. Unlike most 1950s romantic dramas, Sayonara deals squarely with racism and prejudice. The supporting cast also features Patricia Owens, James Garner, Martha Scott, and Ricardo Montalban.

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 Airport) near Kobe, Japan. He falls in love with a Japanese entertainer (Hana-ogi) 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.

Cast

• Marlon Brando - Maj. Lloyd "Ace" Gruver, USAF
• Patricia Owens - Eileen Webster
• James Garner - Capt. Mike Bailey, USMC
• Martha Scott - Mrs. Webster
• Miiko Taka - Hana-ogi
• Miyoshi Umeki - Katsumi Kelly
• Red Buttons - Airman Joe Kelly
• Kent Smith - Lt. Gen. Mark Webster
• Reiko Kuba - Fumiko
• Soo Yong - Teruko
• Ricardo Montalban - Nakamura

Production

Brando adopted a nondescript Southern accent 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."

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 Awards, 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.

The film earned $10.5 million in rentals in North America.

Legacy

Alongside the less successful Japanese War Bride and The Teahouse of the August Moon, Sayonara was argued by some scholars to have increased racial tolerance in the United States by openly discussing interracial marriages. Other scholars have argued that the movie is one in a long list stereotyping Asian American women as "lotus blossom, geisha girl, china doll, or Suzie Wong" by presenting Asian women as "passive, sexually compliant and easy to seduce" or as downright prostitutes.

Awards

Sayonara won multiple Academy Awards for

• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Red Buttons)
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Miyoshi Umeki)
• Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Ted Haworth & Robert Priestley)
• Best Sound (George Groves)

It was also nominated for

• Best Actor in a Leading Role (Marlon Brando)
• Best Cinematography (Ellsworth Fredericks)
• Best Director (Joshua Logan)
• Best Film Editing (Arthur P. Schmidt & Philip W. Anderson)
• Best Picture (William Goetz)
• Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Paul Osborn)