Flower Drum Song (1961)
(Henry Koster, US 1961, 133 min., 35mm)
Senior Matinee—Free for 55+. 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.