Flower Drum Song

The smash Rodgers-Hammerstein Broadway hit was only adequately adapted in this overblown production; perhaps the cloying sweetness of the story played better within the confines of a stage. Umeki arrives from Hong Kong in San Francisco, where it has been arranged for her to marry nightclub proprietor Soo. Soo, a rake, already has a longstanding relationship with Kwan, a singer at his club, but he has avoided marrying her. After Umeki meets and falls in love with Shigeta, the handsomest young man in Chinatown, the rest of the picture is devoted to sorting the lovers. It ends with a double wedding. There aren't too many memorable tunes in the score, but the picture's...