Trivia / The Teahouse of the August Moon

• Fake Nationality: Marlon Brando as the Okinawan Sakini.
• Hostility on the Set: Marlon Brando recalled in his autobiography that he didn't get on with Glenn Ford. He also reportedly didn't get on with director Daniel Mann.
• Method Acting: Marlon Brando spent two months studying local culture, speech, and gestures (he even went so far as to learn Japanese) and, for the actual shooting, spent two hours daily having make-up applied to make him appear Asian. In fact, he was so careful that some viewers couldn't tell it was him and asked for their money back saying Brando wasn't in this picture.
• The Other Marty: Production began with Louis Calhern playing Col. Purdy, but Calhern died after more than a month of filming. His scenes were reshot with Paul Ford.
• Playing Against Type: Marlon Brando in a rare comedic role.
• Promoted Fanboy: Marlon Brando loved the play so much he saw it three times.
• Role Reprise: Paul Ford as Purdy. He had played the role on Broadway over 3,000 times before replacing the original actor Louis Calhern, who unfortunately passed away before filming.
• What Could Have Been: MGM originally wanted Gene Kelly to play Sakini.

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