Tuesday, May 3, 2011

May 1 Glenn Ford

Happy Birthday Danielle Darrieux and Glenn Ford.

TCM showed Tea House Of The August Moon on Glenn Ford’s birthday. Glenn Ford plays Captain Grisby a man who was requested to request a transfer during the American occupation of Asia after WWII. He was requested to ask for a transfer from psychological warfare after his campaign of propaganda to undermine the enemies moral, undermined the staffs moral instead. Before that he had been asked to transfer from payroll where he had overpaid a total of half a million dollars in wages.

He is sent to instill democracy into Tobiki. He goes and creates a cabinet of leaders. It is decided to take the wood that is meant to build a school to make a tea house. There is a local drink of brandy which is created by sweet potatoes that they decide to manufacture and sell to raise money. The company is called Tobiki Brewing Co.

My favorite part is once the tea house is completed there is native dancing. The costume, the grace, the fan and the music just seem magical. Then Glenn and Edward Arnold sing and get the natives to clap during Deep In The Heart of Texas. The area commander comes and finds out what happened. He orders the tea house taken down and the stills broken. When he finds out that each person gets a share “that’s communism”. He orders Glenn to leave. Glenn tells Lotus Blossom good bye through interpreter Marlon Brando. The commander gets a call and a senator in the area wants to see the company as an example of American ingenuity. The natives put the tea house back together.

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