The Golden Age of Japanese Cinema: 1950s Post-War Prosperity - Research Paper

Introduction

After the Second World War in the 1950s, Japanese cinema received exceptional creativity and prosperity. That is to say, the Japanese film industry entered a post-war II peak in competitiveness with the American films in Japan before the substantial reduction of the domestic resources of the Japanese film producers. For instance, in the late 1950s, local films earned an upward of 70% of the box-office in Japan (Lee, 2004). Throughout the 1950s, Japan received a fluctuation in domestic film output (Lee, 2004). Previous studies of Hollywood runaway production after the Second World War have underscored the economic motives of Hollywood producers taking their cameras overseas and cultural importance of the completed films as reflecting a cosmopolitan worldview (Provencher, 2014). The outstanding question is how American films have overwhelmed the Japanese movies in Japan. This study addresses this question by looking at the production history and reception of four films namely; The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958), House of Bamboo (1955), Tokyo File 212 (1951) and The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954).

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Literature Review

After the First World War, the American film industry achieved global dominance. It became a primary promoter of the cultural expansion of America by portraying the American image to the rest of the world. Japan was one of the countries where Hollywood lost its market control to the local industry. Hollywood's business expansion overseas was accompanied by international dismay and weak industry-state relationships. Its enlightened cooperation vision was thwarted when American production companies hesitated to share information and the US government. The lack of cooperation also existed as the principal trade problem in the Japanese film business. Generally, American film companies failed to defend or enhance the position of the market by joining hands and collaborating with the US officials until they were forced to withdraw from Japan in 1941. Culturally, Hollywood was regarded as a primary change agent for promoting interdependence, modernization, and peace.

Domestic divisions accompanied the Japanese film industry and reception of American films. In contrast, Japanese movies dominated a large part of the internal market, and Hollywood faced increased criticisms as a tool of cultural imperialism. Such critics were embedded within the discourses of the nationalists that helped to describe the conflict between the US and Japan as a civilization clash. According to Provencher (2014), American films continued to gain strong popularity with the existence of official anti-Hollywood ideology that imagined American pictures as providing alternative models for modern Japanese life. However, the American films shot in Japan from the 1950s have taken a different direction since most of them portray the image of Japan during World War II.

Japanese audiences, critics, and Hollywood studios agreed that the 1950s runaway productions that the films resided in a self-contained continuum of emerging cooperation and aesthetic value. Japanese critics saw that these films exemplified a Hollywood-American vison that deserved sweeping judgments. Like Hollywood producers who declared themselves exceptional in public, Japanese critics considered some film works exceptions from the reductive norm. Based on the Japanese critical writings during these productions, there is no apparent Japanese standard for authenticity. However, there is a constant self-consciousness in Japanese reviews and printed discussions about watching the films. Knowing that these films targeted the residents, critics express various levels of alienation and acceptance acknowledging the films' entertainment value while unable to disregard their lack of realism.

Research Objective

The primary objective of this research was to examine the runaway production in Japan with an emphasis on the production history and reception of Hollywood films shot in Japan.

Methods

I used a secondary method to collect data for the study. In this case, I obtained information from journal articles, books, and electronic sources that focus on the subject. I also watched the films to be analyzed to understand the storyline and gain insight into what the movies portray. Search terms like ''runaway production'' was used to obtain information from google.

Findings

From the research, I found that Runaway productions in Japan are Hollywood films that were shot in Japan. According to the study, Hollywood producers may have traveled to Japan for two reasons. The first reason was to take advantage of the large audience already charmed of Hollywood product. The other purpose was to free studio money blocked by the government. The resulting films may also mirror some measure of Cold War American culture, exploring Japanese subjects as a means of valorizing American democracy. I also found out that four films, namely; The Barbarian and the Geisha, House of Bamboo, Tokyo File 212, and The Bridges at Toko-Ri, are examples of the Hollywood movies filmed in Japan in the 1950s.

''The Barbarian and the Geisha''

The Barbarian and the Geisha is a 1958 American biographical film drama produced by Eugene Frenke and directed by John Huston (Huston & Joseph, 2018). It recounts the story of an American diplomat, Townsend Harris, and his stay in Japan during the final years of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Named the first Consul General to the Japanese Empire in 1856 by President Franklin Pierce, Harris opened the first US Consulate at the Gyokusen-Ji Temple in Shimoda city (Huston & Joseph, 2018). This opening consolidated the mission by Commodore Perry, who spearheaded the first trade agreement between the US and Japan in 1853. In Harris' time, Japan was living through the final years of its period when it remained in worldwide isolation and complied with the strict regulations and customs formulated to promote stability (Huston & Joseph, 2018). Years after Harris left Japan; the Meji restoration began Japan's emergence as a developed country in the early 20th century through enormous changes and massive industrialization to its social and political structure.

The film incorporates Harris and a 17-year-old geisha called Okichi. According to the story, the Japanese authorities pressured Okichi to establish a relationship with Harris to make trade meetings continue smoothly (Huston & Joseph, 2018). After Harris' departure to America, Okichi was vulgarly called the ''Barbarian'' because the people disliked her. As a result, she developed drinking problems and committed suicide.

Production History

Research shows that director Anthony Mann initially owned the story in the film before he sold the rights to the twentieth century Fox (Huston & Joseph, 2018). The transfer occurred after Mann was unable to sign a big star to play the lead. The shootings of the exteriors took place in Kyoto, Japan, and the Todai-Ji shrine in Nara (Huston & Joseph, 2018). Interiors and other scenes were completed at Toho studios in Tokyo and 20th Century Fox studios in Los Angeles. Before release, the 20th Century Fox heavily re-edited the film before its release. Huston denounced this version and proposed his name to be eliminated from the credits (Huston & Joseph, 2018). His idea was to produce a particularly Japanese film based on photography, color, pacing, and narration. Still, he claimed that only a few edits representing his version were left intact in the theatrical release (Huston & Joseph, 2018).

Before the production of this film, Hutson arrived in Tokyo and expressed his collaborative intention: to make the Japanese picture in Japan, not an American description (Huston & Joseph, 2018). He vowed to use Japanese cameraman and art directors instead of Hollywood professionals to make the picture in Japan more authentic. Although the producer did not assign the Japanese crew members significant roles during the production, Huston's stance reflected a competitive view towards the previous American picture made in Japan based on their authenticity level: - a quality determined by their extent of collaboration with technicians from Japan (Provencher, 2014).

Huston's collaborative intentions pointed to two critical factors of Hollywood filmmaking in Japan in the 1950s (Provencher, 2014). The first factor is the practical necessity of Japanese collaboration at the production site. The second one was the rhetoric utility of authenticity in the publicity campaigns for the films. These factors relied on the participation and appreciation of Japanese filmmakers and audiences.

Reception

The film received both positive and negative reactions from the audience and the media. The Violent Saturday reviewed that, The Barbarian and the Geisha performed deplorably well at the box office (Huston & Joseph, 2018). Despite Huston's interference at the studio due to anger, the New York Times Bosley Crowther liked the cinematography of the film, terming it as a ''whole picture out of patience and pageantry. Blue-ray.com's Casey Broadwater observed that Wayne's restrained and uncomfortable ''other-ness'' in Japan is significant to the film (Huston & Joseph, 2018). He stated that Wayne's character as a diplomat was adorable. He gets things done through words and persuasion as opposed to physical activity. Some reviewers praised the film, saying that it moves with a quiet realism throughout the plot.

Some audience reviewed that the script was well written because it lacked all pomposity. Besides, it is a realistic portrayal of how the depicted events may have happened. Others were pleased with the cinematography. They commented that cinematography and description of mid-19th Century Japan before accelerated development towards industrialization was excellent. It was a visual treat and an informative insight into the ancient civilization in Japan. Most reviewers recommended this film for everyone, stating that it is worth watching.

(Provencher, 20014) noted that the film is impressive in its portrayal of the clash of traditions between two countries, which had been deadly enemies. One of the reviewers added that the glossy production values make the most of the exotic locations, but the plot is full of melodrama. Another reviewer criticized the film, terming it as the worst Asian movie compared to Sayanora, House of Bamboo, Teahouse of the August Moon, and Inn of the Sixth Happiness (Huston & Joseph, 2018). He angrily commented that Huston disowned the film after Wayne and the studio mangled and reshot anything about the vision of the director. In particular, he described the performances as bland with an out of place and a very dryly scripted romance that makes the film more boring.

''Tokyo File 212''

Tokyo File 212 is a 1951 spy film written by Dorrel Mc Gowan and Stuart Mc Gowan, directed by Dorell McGowan together with Stuart McGowan and produced by George P. Breakston (Kitamura, 2009). The film is a Japanese-American co-production that tells the story of an American intelligence agent (Peyton) sent to Japan to track down a suspected communist who was his former college mate (Provencher, 2014).

Production History

Breakston, who worked in the Signal Corps during the Second World War, visited Tokyo. After the end of the war, he decided to focus on films. During this period, he drafted Tokyo File 212 and approached the executives and producers of Hollywood studio with the script (Kitamura, 2009). In addition to writing the screenplay of the film, Dorrel and Stewart McGowan agreed to support the production and created the company Breakston-McGowan Productions Incorporation for this business. On July 21, 1950, American actors and members of the crew arrived in Japan for f...