Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 7:30 p.m., Dryden Theatre
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(Henry Koster, US 1961, 133 min., 35mm)
Nancy Kwan, fresh from her success in The World of Suzie Wong, steps into this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about arranged marriages in San Francisco. Mei Li (Miyoshi Umeki) is a picture bride from China, who has been chosen to marry Sammy Fong (Jack Soo), a nightclub owner who only has eyes for singer Linda Low (Kwan). Sammy instead tries to unload Mei Li on the Wang family, who have been seeking a bride for their eldest son, Wang Ta (James Shigeta), whom Linda is pursuing because of the family’s money. The first major Hollywood film to feature a primarily Asian cast in a contemporary Asian-American story, it would be the last for another three decades, until The Joy Luck Club in 1993.
