My Geisha

My Geisha is a romantic comedy about a Hollywood actress who refuses to be left out of her husband's next project. Paul Robaix, a director, wants to prove he can succeed without Lucy Dell, the popular comedienne he has cast in many of his films, so he travels to Japan to make a version of Madame Butterfly with a Japanese actress in the lead. Lucy follows him secretly and, disguised as a geisha under the name Yoko Mori, wins the part from her own unsuspecting husband. Once filming begins, she must keep up the deception while dealing with an amorous leading man and a director who gradually senses something familiar about his new discovery.

Jack Cardiff directed the film, which came early in his career behind the camera, following The Story of William Tell and preceding The Liquidator and Dark of the Sun. Norman Krasna wrote the screenplay, and Steve Parker produced. Shirley MacLaine plays both Lucy and her geisha alter ego, with Yves Montand as Paul, Edward G. Robinson as producer Sam Lewis, and Robert Cummings, Yoko Tani and Tatsuo Saitō in supporting roles.

Released by Paramount in 1962, the film runs two hours and blends comedy with romance against a Japanese setting. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.5 from around 1,700 votes, and on TMDB it also sits at 6.5, based on a much smaller number of votes, indicating a modest but consistent response from viewers.