The Cool Mikado (1962)

Cast (partial) Judge Herbert Mikado Stubby Kaye Hank Mikado Kevin Scott Ko-Ko Frankie Howerd Yum-Yum Jill Mai Meredith Pitti-Sing Yvonne Shima Peep-Bo Tsai Chin Katie Shaw Jacqueline Jones Nanki-Poo Lionel Blair Musical Arrangement: Martin Slavin Featuring: The John Barry Seven Producer: Harold Baim Director: Michael Winner

Parlophone PMCM 119

I have never seen this 1962 film. It seems to have been re-issued on home video in 1988 or so, but it is no longer in print (in the U.S., at least). The Mander & Mitchenson picture history quotes advance publicity for the film as follows:

Into a totally new and modern story are woven Sullivan's beautiful melodies, after having them artistically up-dated for 1962-style enjoyment, by Martin Slavin. Gilbert's ever-sharp lyrics remain unchanged except for one small spot where topicality dictated a brief rewrite.

In a similar vein, the cover of the U.K. home video release describes the film this way:

It's the swinging sixties. Frankie Howerd and Tommy Cooper ham it up in this campy, comical, irreverent romp which encapsulates the true spirit of the 1960's.

Chris Webster, who describes the film as "dreadful," points out that Tommy Cooper, despite getting co-star billing, is in fact in only one short scene as Pooh-Bah the solicitor. As Chris puts it, "this is just a few minutes of Tommy doing some gags and tricks from his act. It bears no relevance to the film."

The essence of the new plot is as follows: Hank Mikado, son of Judge Herbert Mikado, has refused his father's order to marry Katie Shaw, an American Vamp. Hank joins the army and is posted to Japan where he meets and falls in love with Yum-Yum, a Tokyo art student. But, Yum-Yum is engaged to Ko-Ko, an American gangster now operating in Tokyo whose brother was sent to prison by Judge Mikado. Pitti-Sing and Peep-Bo here are tea-house girls and chaperones to Yum-Yum. There is no Pooh-Bah or Pish-Tush in the story. Nanki-Poo (played by Lionel Blair accompanied by his dance troupe) acts as a 'deus-ex-machina' in manipulating the action.

J. Donald Smith says that this "is a terrible movie but with some decent jazz send-ups." Geoffrey Dixon says that "this must be one of the worst films ever made. Not only is it a travesty of G&S. but it is also a travesty of the film-maker's art. Good as Frankie Howerd was in his own sphere, he was hopeless when faced with Gilbert & Sullivan. Witness his Learned Judge and his Sir Joseph [i.e., in the Walker Trial and Pinafore]"

Here is Don Smith's full review:

This is a bad movie. Of course there are bad movies and bad movies. This one has an interesting concept but ultimately does not deliver, except for some excellent send-ups of the familiar G&S songs. Unlike its step-siblings (The Hot Mikado, The Black Mikado, etc.), The Cool Mikado uses only the story-line of The Mikado, as well as some of the songs and music, but not most of the dialogue.

Must be seen to appreciated: "Three Little Maids" cha-cha, "Flowers That Bloom in the Spring" jitterbug, and above all the "Tit-Willow" twist. Ko-Ko is introduced in "Behold the Lord High Executioner" by a chorus of gangsters straight out of Guys and Dolls. Stubby Kaye is a wise-cracking Judge Mikado of the Groucho Marx type and sings a rewritten "More Humane Mikado" in his best Brooklyn accent.

Katisha (Katie Shaw) is a vamp in the best Hollywood tradition. She does not sing but is accompanied by a sultry "Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast" whenever she appears. Yum-Yum sings "The Sun Whose Rays" while wearing a bikini at a hotel swimming pool. Between the two there is more exposed flesh in this film than appeared on the stage of the Savoy in the 104 year history of the D'Oyly Carte Opera. It is that kind of movie.

El Records ACME34CD

There was an LP release of the sound track, but it is very rare. Two U.K. antiquarian dealers told Chris Webster that it would be priced today at about GBP 60.00. Chris says that the film itself is "very bad," something that even the director (Michael Winner) is supposed to have acknowledged. However, there are enough Frankie Howerd, Tommy Cooper, Michael Winner, and John Barry fans to make the sound track a collectors' items.

In 2002 the small independent label El Records released the sound track on CD. The recording must be appreciated — if it be appreciated at all — on its own terms, and not as a recording of The Mikado. The orchestrations by John Barry are souped up, although still recognizable. The singers deliver their lines with American accents, in a style that might have been popular in 1962. The transfer to CD is very well done, and in fact I would never have guessed this was a 1962 recording, at least sonically speaking!

I don't know if it will be available in stores. You can order here for GBP 9.95, slightly more for non-U.K. addresses.