The Barbarian and the Geisha

"The geisha girl they sent to love and to destroy the barbarian from the west!"

1958 1h 45m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 46

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Townsend Harris is sent by President Pierce to Japan to serve as the first U.S. Consul-General to that country. Harris discovers enormous hostility to foreigners, as well as the love of a young geisha.

“The geisha girl they sent to love and to destroy the barbarian from the west!”

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Cast

John Wayne
Townsend Harris
Eiko Ando
Okichi
Sam Jaffe
Henry Heusken
So Yamamura
Governor Tamura
Ryuzo Demura
Thug (uncredited)
Takeshi Kumagai
(uncredited)
Fuyukichi Maki
(uncredited)
Kodayu Ichikawa
(uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Huston
Writers: Charles Grayson, Ellis St. Joseph
Languages: English, Japanese
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

68 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Japanese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Huston, shot by Charles G. Clarke. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hugo Friedhofer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stuart Gilmore shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Wayne and Eiko Ando and Sam Jaffe carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The geisha girl they sent to love and to destroy the barbarian from the west!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Huston directs. Charles G. Clarke behind the camera. Hugo Friedhofer scores. Stuart Gilmore cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

168 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Japanese.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by John Huston, shot by Charles G. Clarke. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Hugo Friedhofer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Stuart Gilmore shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7John Wayne and Eiko Ando and Sam Jaffe carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The geisha girl they sent to love and to destroy the barbarian from the west!".
9IMDB entry: tt0051398 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 46 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.