The Mikado (1939 film)
The Mikado | |
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![]() Cover art for the Criterion release | |
Directed by | Victor Schertzinger |
Written by | Geoffrey Toye (adaptation) |
Based on | |
Produced by | Geoffrey Toye |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Bernard Knowles, William V. Skall |
Edited by |
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Music by | Arthur Sullivan |
Production company | G and S Films (uncredited) |
Distributed by | |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes[1] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Mikado is a 1939 British musical comedy film based on Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera The Mikado. Shot in Technicolor, the film stars Martyn Green as Ko-Ko, Sydney Granville as Pooh-Bah, the American singer Kenny Baker as Nanki-Poo and Jean Colin as Yum-Yum. Many of the other leads and choristers were or had been members of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.[2]
Plot[]
![]() | This article needs a plot summary. (March 2019) |
Cast[]
- Kenny Baker as Nanki-Poo
- Martyn Green as Ko-Ko
- Sydney Granville as Pooh-Bah
- John Barclay as the Mikado[2]
- Gregory Stroud as Pish-Tush[2]
- Jean Colin as Yum-Yum
- Constance Willis as Katisha
- Elizabeth Nickell-Lean (credited as Elizabeth Paynter) as Pitti-Sing[2]
- Kathleen Naylor as Peep-Bo
- Chorus of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
Production[]
The music was conducted by Geoffrey Toye, a former D'Oyly Carte music director, who was also the producer and was credited with the adaptation, which involved a number of cuts, additions and re-ordered scenes. Victor Schertzinger directed, and William V. Skall received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.[3][4] Art direction and costume designs were by Marcel Vertès.[5] The orchestra (and the musicians depicted in the film) consisted of 40 members of the London Symphony Orchestra.[2]
Release[]
The Mikado premiered in London on 12 January 1939 before opening in the United States on 1 May. A decade later, on 23 July 1949, the film was re-released in New York City.[citation needed]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "THE MIKADO (U)". General Film Distributors. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Lejeune, C. A. "Films of the Week: Gentlemen of Japan", The Observer, 3 July 1938, p. 14. Barclay had played the title role in America, Stroud had been a D'Oyly Carte performer in Britain in 1926 and had extensive Gilbert and Sullivan experience in Australia, and Paynter had performed Pitti-Sing and other mezzo-soprano roles for five years with D'Oyly Carte under the name . Nearly all the chorus were current or former performers with D'Oyly Carte.
- ^ Cinegram of the 1939 Mikado film containing photos, cast biographies and other information[dead link]
- ^ Shepherd, Marc. "The Technicolor Mikado Film (1939)", Archived 4 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography (2001), accessed 12 August 2012
- ^ Galbraith IV, Stuart. "The Mikado (Blu-ray)". DVDTalk, 27 March 2011
External links[]
- The Mikado at IMDb
- The Mikado at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Mikado: Celluloid Savoy, an essay by Geoffrey O’Brien at the Criterion Collection
- 1939 films
- English-language films
- 1939 musical comedy films
- British films
- British musical comedy films
- Films based on works by Gilbert and Sullivan
- Films set in Japan
- Films based on operas
- Films shot at Pinewood Studios
- Universal Pictures films
- Films directed by Victor Schertzinger