The Mikado (1939 film)
The Mikado is a 1939 British musical comedy film based on Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera The Mikado. Shot in Technicolor, the film stars Martyn Green as Ko-Ko, Sydney Granville as Pooh-Bah, the American singer Kenny Baker as Nanki-Poo and Jean Colin as Yum-Yum. Many of the other leads and choristers were or had been members of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.Plot
Cast
- Kenny Baker as Nanki-Poo
- Martyn Green as Ko-Ko
- Sydney Granville as Pooh-Bah
- John Barclay as the Mikado
- Gregory Stroud as Pish-Tush
- Jean Colin as Yum-Yum
- Constance Willis as Katisha
- Elizabeth Paynter as Pitti-Sing
- Kathleen Naylor as Peep-Bo
- Chorus of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
Production
The music was conducted by Geoffrey Toye, a former D'Oyly Carte music director, who was also the producer and was credited with the adaptation, which involved a number of cuts, additions and re-ordered scenes. Victor Schertzinger directed, and William V. Skall received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. Art direction and costume designs were by Marcel Vertès. The orchestra consisted of 40 members of the London Symphony Orchestra.Release
The Mikado premiered in London on 12 January 1939 before opening in the United States on 1 May. A decade later, on 23 July 1949, the film was re-released in New York City.
