Flower Drum Song (film)
Flower Drum Song is a 1961 American musical film directed by Henry Koster, adapted from the 1958 Broadway musical Flower Drum Song, written by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II, in turn based on the 1957 novel of the same name by the Chinese American author Chin Yang Lee. The film stars Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo, Benson Fong and Juanita Hall. It was nominated for five Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
| Flower Drum Song | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Henry Koster |
| Screenplay by | Joseph Fields |
| Based on | Flower Drum Song (1958 musical) by Oscar Hammerstein II Joseph Fields The Flower Drum Song (1957 novel) by C. Y. Lee |
| Produced by | Ross Hunter Joseph Fields |
| Starring | Nancy Kwan James Shigeta Miyoshi Umeki Jack Soo Benson Fong Juanita Hall |
| Cinematography | Russell Metty |
| Edited by | Milton Carruth |
| Music by | Richard Rodgers Alfred Newman Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) |
Production company | Hunter-Fields Productions |
| Distributed by | Universal-International |
Release date |
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Running time | 132 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4 million |
| Box office | $5 million (US/ Canada rentals) |
Flower Drum Song became the first major Hollywood feature film to have a majority Asian-American cast in a contemporary Asian-American story. It would be the last film to do so for more than 30 years, until The Joy Luck Club (1993). In 2008, Flower Drum Song was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".