Bob Okazaki Movies
- 1979
Hawkeye (Alan Alda) is forced into a difficult decision: Should he immediately tend to a wounded American patient, or try to save the life of a more seriously injured North Korean prisoner? Hawkeye's actions arouse the Commie-baiting suspicions of xenophobic CIA agent Colonel Flagg (Edward Winter), and stirs up resentment from the best friend of the wounded American GI. The best moment occurs when mild-mannered Radar (Gary Burghoff) stands up to the obnoxious Flagg (coincidentally, this episode represents the final series appearance of Edward Winter). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
As a result of Klinger's Thanksgiving dinner, the 4077th is laid low with food poisoning. The only healthy staffers are Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and B.J. (Mike Farrell), who volunteer to pick up some much-needed antibiotics. On their way back to camp, the two doctors become hopelessly lost in what appears to be enemy territory--and find themselves face to face with an oddball from "the other side." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
James Shigeta guest stars as Toshhio Watari (James Shigeta), a famous Japanese kabuki dancer now confined to a wheelchair as the result of an accident. When several attempts are made on Tosshio's life for no apparent reason, his son Tsutomu (played by former Star Trek) regular George Takei) summons the aid of his dad's old friend--and fellow paraplegic--Robert Ironside (Raymond Burr). Most of this episode was filmed on location in Tokyo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Harley Garnett (Michael Burns), a wealthy but seriously disturbed young man, murders socialite Karen Blakely (Brooke Mills) when she spurns his advances. Garnett commits his crime on government land, bringing the FBI into the investigation. Noticing that the murder follows the same M.O. as one committed several years earler, Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) begins to wonder if Everett Giles, currently serving a life sentence for the previous crime, is guilty after all. Cast as the sullen, embittered Giles is a young Harrison Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Darrin begins to worry when Samantha casually hints that she's beaten the U.S. astronauts to the moon. His worries intensify when he mistakes a bag of Japanese tea for a cache of moon dust. In a delightfully surreal dream sequence, Darrin imagines that he and Sam have been dragged before a kangaroo court conducted by angry NASA officers. Written by James Henerson, "Sam in the Moon" was originally telecast on January 5, 1967, well over two years before that "one small step for man." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
Cary Grant made his last film appearance before retiring from the screen in this agreeable piece of fluff based on the 1943 comedy The More the Merrier, which dealt with the romantic complications inherent in the housing shortage in Washington D.C. during World War II. In Walk, Don't Run, the story is updated to a housing shortage in Tokyo during the Olympic Games of 1964. British industrialist Sir William Rutland (Cary Grant) arrives in Tokyo two days before the start of the games and cannot find any suitable accommodations. As a result, he answers an ad for an "apartment to share" and convinces the occupant, Christine Easton (Samantha Eggar), to rent a room to him. The next day he meets the handsome Steve Davis (Jim Hutton), a member of the United States Olympic walking team. Steve also needs a room and convinces Christine to take him on as a second tenant. After meeting Christine's pompous fiancé, Julius D. Haversack (John Standing), Rutland begins to ply his matchmaking skills in an effort to get Christine and Steve to fall in love with each other. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, (more)
- 1965
Perry (Raymond Burr) and Paul (William Hopper) arrive in beautiful Hawaii to investigate the viability of a land deal between Jarvis Logan (John Van Dreelen) and the Pan-Pacific Hotel chain. Logan wants to purchase Kameamea Point, which cuts into his property straight down the middle, but the deal goes sour when the owner of the Point, Anona Gilbert (Wende Wagner), is jilted by mercenary beachcomber Douglas Kelland (Michael Dante). When Kelland is speared to death (yes, speared to death!) Anona is accused of the crime, forcing Perry to forget about the pleasures of the Islands and focus exclusively on business. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Certain film historians are perpetually amazed that the doggedly unappetizing Laurence Harvey became a major film star. In Girl Named Tamiko, Harvey is once more the embittered heel, this time playing a Eurasian photographer who pretends to be in love with numerous American ladies. His only true interest is obtaining American citizenship, something most of his erstwhile amours find out all too late. Harvey's latest prospect is Martha Hyer; his true love, however, is innocent Japanese girl France Nuyen, the Tamiko of the title. Stuck with a cold fish for a leading man, producers Hal Wallis and Paul Newman and director John Sturges work overtime to get the audience to "pull" for the luckless Ms. Nuyen. A Girl Named Tamiko was one of several early-1960s Paramount films shot on location in the Orient--though certainly not the best of the group. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Harvey, France Nuyen, (more)
- 1962
In this mystery, a divorced man begins looking for his ex-wife who married his former business partner. Hal Weston's search leads him to LA where he enlists the aid of Li Sheng and the sneaky Osgood. He is told that his partner died. Investigating further, he discovers that he did not die. Actually he murdered the ex-wife and then had Li Sheng's father, a surgeon, fake his death certificate. He then buries the woman in his coffin and proceeds to use his mistress to collect on his life insurance policy by having her pose as the widow. Osgood then learns that the crook had the doctor change his appearance so he looked just like Osgood. He figures that he is next on the business partner's hit list and so kills him first. In the end, Weston kills Osgood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Paladin's friend Takura (Teru Shimada) informs the gunslinger that there is a plan afoot to conquer the United States.The plan has been cooked up by a Japanese high priest (James Hong) and a ferocious Samurai warrior (Fuji), who intend to set up an insidious Japanese spy ring throughout the West Coast. Can Paladin (Richard Boone) foil these plans in a peaceful manner, or will he be forced to square off against the savage Samurai? (Three guesses!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
The actors do the best they can with this undistinguished wartime melodrama about a group of women caught in New Guinea just when the Japanese are taking over Indonesia and its contiguous islands in 1942. The women range from an ornithologist, to a nurse, to a thief, and a waitress, all captured and put into a Japanese prison camp. But the women manage to escape, though not all survive, and later on they encounter a double-dealing plantation owner (Cesar Romero) who unknown to them, is collaborating with the Japanese and plans on sending them back to their captors. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Owens, Denise Darcel, (more)
- 1961
Predictable and demeaned by low-brow humor, this comedy-drama by George Marshall revolves around the amorous entanglements of four G.I. photographers on leave in Japan from their last mission in the Korean War. The men, headed by officer Andy Cyphers (Glenn Ford) check into a house with four resident geishas and immediately misunderstand what a geisha does for a living. Once they get straightened out about the musical, cultural, and educational background of geishas -- and after spending some time with the four women, the men begin to pair off. More misunderstandings are in store but it definitely looks like at least two of the men will not go back to the U.S. alone. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Ford, Donald O'Connor, (more)
This standard wartime drama is divided into three chronological segments and is based on the experiences of the real Guy Gabaldon (played as an adult by Jeffrey Hunter, and as a boy by Richard Eyer). In the first segment, Guy is a homeless waif without many prospects when he is adopted by a Japanese-American family. He grows up just in time to be drafted into battle in World War II -- the bombing of Pearl Harbor has a particularly devastating effect on his family and their friends. After a wild last fling with two buddies (David Janssen and Vic Damone) and some women, Guy heads off to war where he distinguishes himself because of his fluency in Japanese. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, (more)
- 1957
Jungle Heat is set in pre-WWII Hawaii. A group of pro-Japanese fifth columnists infiltrate the islands, intended to demoralize the populace long before the Pearl Harbor attacks. Specializing in sabotage, the spies target the pineapple and sugar plantations, not to mention the big-city industries. American doctor Jim Ransom catches on to what's happening (though it seems to take him forever), and, together with National Guard officer Richard Grey, foils the villains. It is worth noting that the principal villain in Jungle Heat is not Japanese, but an occidental traitor played (or overplayed) by James Westerfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lex Barker, Mari Blanchard, (more)
- 1956
Director Edward Bernds proved that he was capable of handling a different sort of comedy than the "Bowery Boys" and "Three Stooges" brand in Navy Wife. The film is set in postwar Japan, where Peg Blain (Joan Bennett) and her daughter Debby (Judy Nugent) join Peg's commanding-officer husband Jack (Gary Merrill). Impressed by the independence and self-reliance of Peg and Debby, the local Japanese wives begin demanding the same rights and privileges as their American counterparts. Things come to a head--and a resolution--at a military Christmas party. If the reader is wondering what Joan Bennett is doing in a low-budget Allied Artists film, it is because the producer was Bennett's then-husband Walter Wanger. Navy Wife was based on Mother Sir, a novel by Tats Blain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Bennett, Gary Merrill, (more)
- 1942
Secret Agent of Japan sometimes looks like a B-grade "answer" to Warner Bros.' Casablanca, except that the answer was released several months before the question. The principal character is Roy Bonnell (Preston Foster), the cynical American owner of Shanghai nightclub. On the lam from a criminal charge in the US, Bonnell prefers to keep a low profile, especially in political matters. His long-dormant patriotism is revived when he finds out that Japanese spies are buying up property in Shanghai and are mistreating the local citizens. Teaming up with glamorous British secret agent Kay Murdock (Lynn Bari), Bonnell turns spy himself, secretly reporting Axis activities to the British government-even though he's putting his own life on the line by doing so. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preston S. Foster, Lynn Bari, (more)
