Japanese War Bride

91 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Japanese War Bride (also known as East is East) is a 1952 American drama film directed by King Vidor. The film featured the American debut of Shirley Yamaguchi in the title role. In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.^[1]

Plot

A wounded Korean War veteran, Jim Sterling, returns to his California home with his Japanese wife. The couple had met and fallen in love in a Japanese hospital where Tae Shimizu was working as a nurse. Back in America, the couple face racism and bigotry from their neighbors and family, particularly their sister-in-law, Fran.

Cast

• Shirley Yamaguchi – Tae Shimizu, a nurse, wife to Jim Sterling
• Don Taylor – Captain Jim Sterling, GI in the Korean War
• Cameron Mitchell – Art Sterling, Jim's older brother
• Marie Windsor – Fran Sterling, Art's wife
• James Bell – Ed Sterling, Jim's father
• Louise Lorimer – Harriet Sterling, Jim's mother
• Philip Ahn – Eitaro Shimizu, Tae's grandfather
• Lane Nakano – Shiro Hasagawa, the Sterlings' Japanese-American neighbor
• May Takasugi – Emma Hasagawa, Shiro's wife
• Sybil Merritt – Emily Shafer, a local girl
• Orley Lindgren – Ted Sterling, Jim's younger brother
• George Wallace – Woody Blacker, a friend of Jim Sterling
• Kathleen Mulqueen – Mrs. Milly Shafer, a friend of Harriet Sterling

Impact and legacy

The widespread publicity surrounding the film's launch made Japanese wives increasingly visible in the United States. Along with The Teahouse of the August Moon and the more successful film Sayonara, Japanese War Bride was argued by some scholars to have increased racial tolerance in the United States by openly discussing interracial marriages.^[2]

References

Sources

• "Story of a Japanese War Bride", The New York Times, January 30, 1952.

External links

• Japanese War Bride at IMDb
• Japanese War Bride at AllMovie
• Japanese War Bride at Turner Classic Movies