A Majority of One is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Rosalind Russell and Alec Guinness. It was adapted from the play of the same name by Leonard Spigelgass, which was a Broadway hit in the 1959-1960 season, starring Gertrude Berg and Cedric Hardwicke.
Premise
Bertha Jacoby (Rosalind Russell), a Jewish widow, is convinced by her daughter Alice Black (Madlyn Rhue) to move from Brooklyn, New York to Tokyo in order for Bertha to be closer to her along with her husband Jerry Black (Ray Danton), now stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. Her feelings about the Japanese with regards to her son's death in World War II start to change on board the ship to Tokyo, where she meets Koichi Asano, a Japanese Buddhist and businessman (Alec Guinness), who also lost a spouse and two children in the war. The two share a bond over lives, their families, and their faiths, which develops into a romance. When she announces to her family of Asano's courtship, her daughter and son-in-law object to the idea of an interracial marriage.
Cast
Rosalind Russell as Bertha Jacoby
Alec Guinness as Koichi Asano
Ray Danton as Jerry Black
Madlyn Rhue as Alice Black
Mae Questel (credited as Mae Questal) as Essie Rubin
Marc Marno as Eddie
Gary Vinson as Mr. McMillan
Sharon Hugueny as Bride
Frank Wilcox as Noah Putnam
Francis De Sales as American embassy representative
Yuki Shimoda as Mr. Asano's Secretary
Harriet MacGibbon as Lily Putnam
Alan Mowbray as Captain Norcross (This was Mowbray's final film role.) George Takei as Mr. Asano's majordomo Maria Tsien as Mr. Asano's Maid (uncredited)
Production
Guinness went to Japan days prior to production started to study the culture, the people and their customs. He went under heavy makeup to play the role. Russell had misgivings about the role due to her believing that Berg deserved the part (though studio head Jack Warner refused due to doubts over Berg's viability), but she decided to portray the role after hearing that she could co-star with Guinness. The two called each other and agreed mutually to do it. Both actors were Catholic, different from what they portrayed in the film.
Reception
When it premiered at the Radio City Music Hall, A. H. Weiler, film critic for The New York Times, called the film a "truly heartwarming and entertaining affair," and opined that it was a "truthful, satisfying work largely because the combination of funny and apt dialogue and the dedicated cast give it dignity," largely due to Russell's convincing performance as a "self-sufficient Brooklyn dowager," although he thought that "Mr. Guinness still appears to be closer to London than to Tokyo."
A review in the trade magazine Variety declared "Leonard Spigelgass’ brew of schmaltz and sukiyaki is an outstanding film...Russell’s Yiddish hex-cent, though at times it sounds like what it is – a Christian imitating a Jew – is close enough to the genuine article. Guinness becomes Japanese through physical suggestion and masterful elocution."
However, in his 1994 autobiography, George Takei, a Japanese-American actor who later found fame playing Mr. Sulu in the original Star Trek, recalls that while playing a minor role in A Majority of One, he was "shocked" at the "grotesquely offensive" latex make-up applied to Guinness's eyes, and by the "incomprehensible gibberish" of his Japanese lines, producing a disappointing and "disastrous" performance.
In February 2016, Andrea Passafiume, reviewing the film for Turner Classic Movies, wrote: "A Majority of One is a true hidden gem with warmth, humor and a message of tolerance and compassion that remains just as relevant today as it was in 1961."
Awards and nominations
See also
List of American films of 1961
Whitewashing in film
References
External links
1961 films
1961 comedy films
1960s English-language films
American films based on plays
Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe winning performance Warner Bros. films Best Musical or Comedy Picture Golden Globe winners Jews and Judaism in fiction Films set in Tokyo American comedy films Films about interracial romance Japan in non-Japanese culture 1960s American films