Why did first Hollywood film with a mostly Asian cast flop? The tale of 1961 musical Flower Drum Song

The 1961 Rodgers and Hammerstein adaptation follows ‘picture bride’ Mei Li (played by Miyoshi Umeki) who is brought to the US to marry a nightclub owner

Japanese actors played Chinese characters, and there were plenty of terrible gags, although the film was a rare view of upstanding Chinese citizens in the US

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Flower Drum Song was the first Hollywood film with a mostly Asian cast. From left: Kam Tong, Miyoshi Umeki, James Shigeta, Nancy Kwan and Victor Sen Yung in a lobby card for Flower Drum Song. Photo: Getty Images

Matt Glasby

Published: 4:15am, 15 Apr 2024

When it was released, in 1961, Flower Drum Song set two remarkable – and remarkably depressing – records.

On the one hand, it was the first Hollywood film to feature a majority Asian cast in a contemporary setting. On the other, it was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical adaptation to underperform at the box office.

Cynics might wonder if the two could possibly be related.

Based on the 1957 novel by Chin Yang Lee and directed by Henry Koster, the film deals with timely issues of immigration and integration in San Francisco’s Chinese-American community, even though a lot of its stars are plainly Japanese.

Arriving illegally on a boat from Hong Kong with her father, Dr Han Li (Kam Tong), the innocent Mei Li (Miyoshi Umeki) is a “picture bride” brought over for an arranged marriage with roguish nightclub owner Sammy Fong (Jack Soo), whose girlfriend Linda Low (Nancy Kwan) has other ideas.