It's a durn shame that the actual filming locations aren't listed here, as of July 2008. A title card at the beginning wants us to believe that this was filmed at the US Naval base in Japan in 1951 right after WW II, but for starters, we know this was filmed in 1960/1961. All the inside shots could be filmed on a set. The picture starts at a geisha performance, with the show and the girls being explained to the navy and to the viewer. Sailors led by Murray Prince (O'Connor) are assigned to help CPO Cyphers (Glenn Ford) for a military press project. Sharp viewers will recognize Joe Flynn as John McIntosh, rep for the U.S. press. He will be the Captain in McHale's Navy in 1962. Watch for Ted Knight (from Mary Tyler Moore) as Glick, the Admiral's assistant. Also, Miyoshi Umeki, one of the geisha girls, will be the housekeeper in Courtship of Eddie's Father in 1969. At a press corp meeting, the marines confront the navy, and the lies and mixups begin. While a little dated now, the exotic Japanese kimonos and house decorations, authentic or not, must have made for an interesting film at the time. Similar to "Walk Don't Run" which Cary Grant would make in 1966. Some clever bits about a spaghetti western done Japanese style. Keep an eye out for Harriet MacGibbon, the Admiral's wife - she was Mrs. Drysdale in Beverly Hillbillies. At 110 minutes, this goes on pretty long, but its an entertaining film.
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ksf-29 July 2008
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This is another of a large list of service comedies, WWI, WWII and Korea, that were tried by Hollywood producers. Apparently, the idea of being part of an emergency organization of order-givers and not being able to risk one's life actively caused men in uniform to think up fantastic schemes, dream big dreams and want to get back to civilian profit-earning. Case in point--the gentlemen in this happy and very-well-made comedic satire. George Marshall directed these breezy proceedings with his usual genial skill; George Duning provided nice music and Burnett Guffey the colorful and lovely cinematography. The juxtaposition of news-corps uniformed types and Japanese ladies in a place rented by the newsmen for various purposes worked unusually well. In this talented cast are Glenn Ford, Donald O'Connor, Miiko Taka, Miyoshi Umeki, Nancy Kovack, Howard St. John, Michi Kobi, funnyman Joe Flynn, Harlan Warde and talented James Shigeta. Irving Brecher wrote the well-paced screenplay from George Campbell's clever and dialogue-rich novel. Forget the storyline; this is a fine story based on real experiences, exampling the differences between the thinking of the US soldiers and those with whom they deal in another country--in this case, Japan; it is almost a companion piece to "Don't Go Near the Water", only much lower-keyed. It even has a theme--"Be true to yourself", and there are no real villains; only a timetable and romances and the usual GI slightly-illegal goings-on. A vastly underrated and well-remembered film. Watch it, slowly. Enjoy!
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bkoganbing7 August 2009The female oriental stars of Sayonara, Miko Taka and Miyoshi Umeki, team once again for a story dealing with the American occupation of Japan in Cry For Happy. At least the film is not as tragic for Miyoshi as Sayonara was. It's also not as good, but it's also a good deal lighter.
The American leads are Glenn Ford who was also in a film about the post war occupation in The Teahouse Of The August Moon and Donald O'Connor. Ford is a Navy CPO in charge of photographic unit and O'Connor is one of his new men, the others being James Shigeta and Chet Douglas. Through an incredible combination of circumstances the four of them wind up living in a geisha house that Taka runs. Ford during a moment of inter-service rival bragging, boasts publicly of sponsoring an orphanage and has to make good on that for Admiral Howard St. John and more important the Admiral's wife, Harriet MacGibbon. Believe it or not it all works out.
Cry For Happy is a little slow at times, but enough laughs are there for it to be enjoyable. Best scene in the film involves Miyoshi Umeki discouraging nosy reporter Joe Flynn from adopting one of the 'orphans' with her broken English. Red tape is red tape in any language and culture.
Next best scene is at the very end with Ford having to provide temporary headquarters for an influx of real orphans his new establishment is getting, but is not ready to receive yet. And we can't forget the film that was shot with Navy equipment lent on the sly by Ford to aspiring Japanese film producer Robert Kino. I guess you could call it a Sushi western. It gets audience approval, but not quite the way Kino was hoping for.
The team of George Marshall and Glenn Ford is not often discussed as a director/actor combination. But some very funny comedies were turned out be this pair. Cry For Happy will be enjoyed by Glenn Ford's still legion of fans. -
Although filmed 10 years after the end of the American occupation of Japan in 1952, this movie is set during that year. The U. S. has had a military defense presence in Japan under peace treaty terms since then. But through the occupation after the war and during the Korean War (called a "conflict" at the time), the military presence could be widely seen around Japan - especially in the Tokyo area. The specific locations aren't given, but Columbia Pictures filmed most or all of the movie in Japan. Indeed, besides the Tokyo Bay scenery, the city street scenes especially show life in Japan years after the wars.
The movie is based on a 1961 novel of the same title by George Campbell. The film opens with a Geisha performance for the newly arrived Vice Admiral Junius Bennett, at the Yokosuka U. S. Naval Base. The Japanese Minister Kuni, through an interpreter, explains the ancient honorable profession of the Geishas.
"Cry for Happy," is a comedy romance that takes place when three Navy replacements of the photographic unit arrive. The U. S. Navy combat camera unit lab is in the basement of the Bank of Kobe. The new arrivals have been in the service awhile and all are chomping at the bit to film some action in Korea. But, if not that, they expect to enjoy the social life of the country, especially Geisha girls. The head of the Navy photo section is Chief Petty Officer Andy Cyphers (Glenn Ford). He has his own connections and operations going on, and has to straighten out the misconceptions of the new sailors about Geishas. Donald O'Connor plays Murray Prince, the second male lead. His character is a bit crass for the plot, but the other guys are all amenable to whatever CPO Cyphers has in mind. One of them is a Japanese-American, Suzuki, played by James Shigeta.
Through a Japanese contact and wannabe movie producer, Mr. Endo (played by Robert Kino), Cyphers finds lodging for the new arrivals "on the economy." That's a service term that refers to housing among civilian populations rather than on a military base in a foreign country. Stateside, it's what's known as living off base. Well, it turns out to be a Geisha house owned by Mr. Endo's cousin, who was supposedly away with her trainees for several weeks. But, the girls have all returned with mamasan Chiyoko. She won't tolerate any hanky-panky with her charges, so they all settle in - the girls in their quarters and the tars in theirs.
Then, at a joint armed forces press conference about the war and the various military branches serving in the area, the Navy gets a put-down for its news coverage and activities. To save face and get a leg up on the Marines and Air Force, Cyphers concocts a little white lie, making a sort of off-hand comment about his unit's work for a Japanese orphanage. Well, the story takes off from there with some very amusing, sometimes warm and just entertaining scenes. And, in the midst of this, romance develops for a couple of the sailors and Geisha girls, and things work out properly under Japanese customs.
This is a nice comedy with a respectful treatment of the Japanese, which one should expect anyway 15 years after WW II. The cast includes several Japanese actors, some of whom were well known and would appear in many Hollywood and Japanese films over the next couple of decades.
Here are some favorite lines form the film.
CPO Andy Cyphers, "You know, Mr. Endo, here, is Japan's most famous movie producer." Mr. Endo, "Ohhh, ...I not the most famous, just one of top two."
CPO Cyphers, looking at Suzuki's translation book, "Japanese for Beginners? You mean to say you're my interpreter?" Suzuki, "I'm sorry, chief, but I don't speak any Japanese." Cyphers, "You're kidding." Suzuki, "Well, my folks were born there, but they moved to California and the family only speaks English."
CPO Cyphers, "Oh, that's great. Now I need an interpreter for my interpreter." Suzuki, "Sorry, chief, but they didn't tell me I'd have to speak Japanese."
Press correspondent, "Terrific human interest story, eh McIntosh - sailors backing an orphanage?"
John McIntosh, "There's gotta be something phony about this. I've known Andy Cyphers for years, and he's never been mixed up with anything legitimate." Correspondent, "Oh, you wouldn't know a good story, McIntosh." McIntosh, "Well, I know Cyphers, and I'll believe it when I see the orphans."
Mr. Endo, about Murray Prince, "He has criminal mind." CPO Cyphers, "You're telling me."
Chiyoko, to her Geisha students in Japanese, when Suzuki poses as a petty officer, "If he's an American officer, Japan wouldn't have lost the war."
Chiyoko, "Yanks always in big hurry up - instant coffee, instant tea, instant girls."
Cyphers, "Actually, what we've done, uh, i..i..i..it hasn't been anything, really."
Mrs. Bennett, the admiral's wife, to Cyphers, "There, there, compose yourself, my dear." Turning to the press corps, she says, " He's just so full of it."
Chaplain, "Chief, only the true Samaritan could know the joy of good works."
Cyphers, "Uh, commander, sir. You know what I have just done? I have just thought of the greatest name for this project." Commander, "Name?" Cyphers, "Yes, sir, it's 'Operation Super Stork.'" Mumbling to Murray Prince, "Super Stork - didn't he catch it?'
Commander, "Cyphers, I may be very wrong about this, but I sense something unusual about this 'orphanage.' Now, for my report to the admiral - how many orphans do you say you have?"
Commander, "You haven't heard the end of this. You're heading for stripes." Cyphers, "On the sleeve?" -
Okie_Engineer22 May 2004The movie within the movie has some trivial importance; the newsreel segment was filmed on location aboard the USS Los Angeles (CA-135), a heavy cruiser once homeported in Long Beach, California. Many ship's company appeared as extras, including the CO at the time, CAPT Richard Dornan.
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HotToastyRag5 January 2019Rarely, if ever, have I seen a movie with as many, and as naughty, sexual innuendos as Cry for Happy. In the few years following the demise of the Hays Code, Hollywood specialized in making sex comedies featuring jokes, words, and entire situations they were forbidden to feature in the 1950s. Cry for Happy is a comedy about US sailors in Japan who stay in a geisha house, and can't "get" any geishas. That verb is used frequently, as are countless euphamisms and blatant phrases. Donald O'Connor is described as "frustrated". Glenn Ford tells Miiko Taka, "He's been warming up for eight innings, and he's not even gonna get to pitch," when she tells him her girls are innocent and won't sleep with his sailors. At one point, Chet Douglas suggests thinking of something very cold, like an iceberg, when trying to go to sleep. Donald says, "I tried that. It melts."
Mixed into the hilarious raunchy one-liners is a rather silly plot involving a fake orphanage and a botched attempt at Japanese filmmaking. There are a few politically incorrect jokes thrown in, but for the time period, it's not that bad. James Shigeta is expected to speak Japanese, and it's supposed to be a laugh line when he whips out a Japanese for Beginners pocketbook.
The girls, Miiko Taka, Miyoshi Umeki, Michi Kobi, and Tsuruko Kobayashi, are adorable and endearing. Not once does the audience doubt their innocence and sweetness. The boys are another matter, but even though they're despicably bawdy, the audience hopes there's time enough in the movie for them to shape up, fall in love, and treat their geishas with respect. And with nearly two hours of humor and romance, there just might be time. -
edwagreen16 August 2009This is really an inane film that seemed to get somewhat better as it went on.
Miyoshi Umeki proved once again that she was no actress and confirmed my belief that her supporting Oscar for "Sayonara" was absolutely ridiculous. This being said, Umeki finally broke out of those sad doldrums that she displayed on screen. Even in this comedy, she looked at times like she did as Mrs. Joe Kelly, wife of Red Buttons, in that miserable 1957 film. There is one scene in "Cry for Happy" where she pretends to be a nurse interviewing a reporter who is interested in adopting a child. That scene was quite humorous, but we see little else going for her.
The film itself deals with three gobs in Japan who stay at a geisha house and then claim that the latter place is an orphanage. The fun breaks out once children are brought in to make the place look legitimate.
Donald O'Connor joins Glenn Ford as one of the sailors. The film goes to show you that without dancing, O'Connor is lost. -
When I saw the title "Cry for Happy" and knew this was a Glenn Ford film set in Japan, I braced myself. I thought, perhaps, it was a mess like "Teahouse of the August Moon"...a popular Ford film with Marlon Brando doing a godawful impersonation (more a parody) of a Japanese guy! Fortunately, it was not like the earlier film and was actually reasonably sensitive in its portrayals of Japanese women and culture.
Chief Petty Officer Cyphers (an odd name....played by Glenn Ford) is in charge of a group of sailors at a photographic unit stationed in Japan in 1952. The country is still occupied by the Americans following the war and Cyphers and his men are real schemers. They come up with a scheme to get themselves bivoaced in a Geisha house...not realizing Geishas are NOT nor have ever been prostitutes (a common but sad misconception among American troops stationed there). While they are able to somehow convince the women to house them, MANY complications arise...most notably when folks think the place is an orphanage! See what's next.
The acting by the Japanese people in the film is decent and the plot far more sensitive than I expected. Now it's not like it's a super-politically correct film...but at least they made an attempt to make something good here.
Overall, a cute and enjoyable film....one that really is worth seeing, especially since things work out so well at the end. -
corinneathome-989-8844658 June 2018I don't think this was made to be a history commentary. Sometimes a film is made to help people heal from the horrors of past traumas. Glen Ford had an amazing gift that few people realized. He had the ability to make you fall in love, to really make you cry, to be furious, to laugh your heart out and to make us look at ourselves. Another of these films but in my estimation a 10, is Tea House Of The August Moon. One no one should miss. This little film here may be fluf, but compared to today's trash, this gets my vote every time. For families, guys who want a good clean! laugh, and just any bunch of people, it is safe, you could have a good time.
clean !augh and for laugh, -
FanMember21 October 2019My 90 year old mother asked me if I had this in my oldies collection. Spent hours online trying to find the DVD for a Christmas present. Nada. Now I want it for me too. It's not even on Prime or Vidu. What's going on?