Sayonara

Sayonara is a 1957 American romantic drama film directed by Joshua Logan, and starring Marlon Brando, Patricia Owens, James Garner, Martha Scott, Miyoshi Umeki, Red Buttons, Miiko Taka and Ricardo Montalbán. It tells the story of an American Air Force pilot during the Korean War who falls in love with a famous Japanese dancer. The screenplay was adapted by Paul Osborn from James A. Michener's 1954 novel of the same title. Unlike many 1950s romantic dramas, Sayonara deals squarely with racism and prejudice. The picture was released by Warner Bros. on December 25, 1957, to critical acclaim and commercial success. At the 30th Academy Awards the film was nominated in nine categories and won four, including Best Supporting Actor for Buttons and Best Supporting Actress for Umeki. The latter award made Umeki the first East Asia-born woman to win an Oscar.

Infobox

Directed by

Joshua Logan

Screenplay by

Paul Osborn

Based on

Sayonara1954 novelby James Michener

Produced by

William Goetz

Starring

mw- Marlon Brando Patricia Owens Red Buttons Ricardo Montalbán Martha Scott Miyoshi Umeki James Garner Miiko Taka

Cinematography

Ellsworth Fredricks

Edited by

Arthur P. Schmidt Philip W. Anderson

Music by

Franz Waxman

Productioncompanies

Pennebaker ProductionsWilliam Goetz Productions

Distributed by

Warner Bros. Pictures

Release dates

December 5, 1957 (1957-12-05) (New York premiere) December 25, 1957 (1957-12-25) (US)

Running time

147 minutes

Country

United States

Languages

EnglishJapanese

Box office

$26.3 million

Tables

· Accolades

Academy Awards

Award

Academy Awards

Category

Best Picture

Nominee(s)

William Goetz

Result

Nominated

Best Director

Award

Best Director

Category

Joshua Logan

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Actor

Award

Best Actor

Category

Marlon Brando

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Supporting Actor

Award

Best Supporting Actor

Category

Red Buttons

Nominee(s)

Won

Best Supporting Actress

Award

Best Supporting Actress

Category

Miyoshi Umeki

Nominee(s)

Won

Best Adapted Screenplay

Award

Best Adapted Screenplay

Category

Paul Osborn

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Art Direction

Award

Best Art Direction

Category

Ted Haworth, Robert Priestley

Nominee(s)

Won

Best Cinematography

Award

Best Cinematography

Category

Ellsworth Fredricks

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Film Editing

Award

Best Film Editing

Category

Arthur P. Schmidt, Philip W. Anderson

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Sound

Award

Best Sound

Category

George Groves

Nominee(s)

Won

British Academy Film Awards

Award

British Academy Film Awards

Category

Most Promising Newcomer to Film

Nominee(s)

Red Buttons

Result

Nominated

David di Donatello Awards

Award

David di Donatello Awards

Category

Best Foreign Actor

Nominee(s)

Marlon Brando

Result

Won

Directors Guild of America Awards

Award

Directors Guild of America Awards

Category

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures

Nominee(s)

Joshua Logan

Result

Nominated

Golden Globe Awards

Award

Golden Globe Awards

Category

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Award

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Category

Marlon Brando

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture

Award

Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture

Category

Red Buttons

Nominee(s)

Won

Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture

Award

Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture

Category

Miyoshi Umeki

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Director – Motion Picture

Award

Best Director – Motion Picture

Category

Joshua Logan

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Most Promising Newcomer – Male

Award

Most Promising Newcomer – Male

Category

James Garner

Nominee(s)

Won

Laurel Awards

Award

Laurel Awards

Category

Top Drama

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Top Male Supporting Performance

Award

Top Male Supporting Performance

Category

Red Buttons

Nominee(s)

Won

Ricardo Montalbán

Award

Ricardo Montalbán

Category

Nominated

Top Music Composer

Award

Top Music Composer

Category

Franz Waxman

Nominee(s)

Nominated

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

Award

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

Category

Best Film

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Best Actor

Award

Best Actor

Category

Marlon Brando

Nominee(s)

Nominated

Writers Guild of America Awards

Award

Writers Guild of America Awards

Category

Best Written American Drama

Nominee(s)

Paul Osborn

Result

Nominated

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
Academy Awards	Best Picture	William Goetz	Nominated
	Best Director	Joshua Logan	Nominated
	Best Actor	Marlon Brando	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actor	Red Buttons	Won
	Best Supporting Actress	Miyoshi Umeki	Won
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Paul Osborn	Nominated
	Best Art Direction	Ted Haworth, Robert Priestley	Won
	Best Cinematography	Ellsworth Fredricks	Nominated
	Best Film Editing	Arthur P. Schmidt, Philip W. Anderson	Nominated
	Best Sound	George Groves	Won
British Academy Film Awards	Most Promising Newcomer to Film	Red Buttons	Nominated
David di Donatello Awards	Best Foreign Actor	Marlon Brando	Won
Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures	Joshua Logan	Nominated
Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Drama		Nominated
	Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama	Marlon Brando	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture	Red Buttons	Won
	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	Miyoshi Umeki	Nominated
	Best Director – Motion Picture	Joshua Logan	Nominated
	Most Promising Newcomer – Male	James Garner	Won
Laurel Awards	Top Drama		Nominated
	Top Male Supporting Performance	Red Buttons	Won
	Top Male Supporting Performance	Ricardo Montalbán	Nominated
	Top Music Composer	Franz Waxman	Nominated
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Film		Nominated
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Actor	Marlon Brando	Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Written American Drama	Paul Osborn	Nominated

References

Tied with Charles Laughton for Witness for the Prosecution.
The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/13/AR2006071301821.html
The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/archive/1957/11/09/1957_11_09_053_TNY_CARDS_000252812?currentPage=1
Los Angeles Times
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95071956/
Movie stars, real people and me
https://archive.org/details/00josh/page/5/mode/1up?q=picnic+
Portraits and Observations
"Esteemed Actor Ricardo Montalban Dies"
https://www.emmys.com/news/esteemed-actor-ricardo-montalban-dies
The Garner Files: A Memoir
Rotten Tomatoes
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sayonara
Variety
https://archive.org/stream/variety209-1958-01/page/n509/mode/2up
"All Time Domestic Champs", Variety, 6 January 1960 p 34
Variety
http://www.archive.org/stream/variety212-1958-10#page/n158/mode/1up
Kinematograph Weekly
https://archive.org/details/sim_kinematograph-weekly_1958-12-18_500_2679/page/8/mode/1up
oscars.org
http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1958
The New York Times
https://web.archive.org/web/20100906060727/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/43047/Sayonara/awards
"AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions Nominees"
http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/passions400.pdf
"AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores"
http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/scores25.pdf
Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-sep-07-ca-cheng7-story.html
Occupying Power: Sex Workers and Servicemen in Postwar Japan
https://books.google.com/books?id=Dj7NgDJnno4C&pg=PA65
Encyclopedia of Asian American Issues Today
https://books.google.com/books?id=R_t3yQiWKQEC&pg=PA644