A rare Hollywood big budget film from the 60's with an all Asian cast, Rodgers and Hammerstein's FLOWER DRUM SONG is a fun family diversion that's dated but enjoyable.
A stowaway named Mei Li and her father come to San Francisco for her arranged marriage with playboy nightclub owner Sammy Fong.
Sammy is madly in love with his star singing act Linda Low and a culture clash of young American Asians and old world tradition ensues.
Jack Soo brings a lot of laughs to the role of Sammy and Nancy Kwan and James Shigeta are terrific in their roles as Linda and Wang Ta.
Rodgers and Hammerstein have created some of the stage and screen's greatest musicals (The Sound of Music, South Pacific) and while this is one of their less serious efforts, its well produced, well staged and enjoyable for the whole family.
Some of the stereotypes from 50+ years ago don't translate well, but its harmless and respectful overall.
We saw an updated and re-imagined version of the musical on Broadway about 10 years ago and it was a much more serious look at generational and culture clashes. The film is meant to be pure escapist fun and it succeeds nicely.
If you are a fan of old fashioned musicals and comedy, Flower Drum Song blooms into a B.
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