''Escapade in Japan'' is a 1957 American family

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

. It was directed by

Arthur Lubin Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, ''Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the ''Francis the Talking Mule'' series and created the talking-horse TV se ...

and starred

Teresa Wright Muriel Teresa Wright (October 27, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was an American actress. She was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress: in 1941 for her debut work in ''The Little Foxes'', and in 1942 for ''Mrs. Miniver'', ...

, Cameron Mitchell,

Jon Provost Jonathan Bion Provost (born March 12, 1950) is an American actor, best known for his role as young Timmy Martin in the CBS series '' Lassie''. Life and career Provost was born in Los Angeles. At the age of four, Provost was cast in the film ...

(who, that same year, began his 7-year tenure as Timmy Martin on the TV show Lassie) and Roger Nakagawa. It also featured an early (and uncredited) appearance of

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

as a pilot.

Plot

After his plane goes down, an American boy is rescued from the sea by a Japanese fisherman and his family. When police arrive in the village, the fisherman's son fears that they have done something wrong. He and the American boy go on the run. They meet interesting people and have many adventures, travelling across the country and eluding the police, who are searching for the American boy.

Cast

as Mary Saunders * Cameron Mitchell as Richard Saunders *

as Tony Saunders * Roger Nakagawa as Asahiko Tanaka *

Philip Ober Philip Nott Ober (March 23, 1902 – September 13, 1982) was an American screen and stage actor. He later retired from acting to work as a diplomat. Ober is best remembered for his roles in the films ''From Here to Eternity'' (1953) and ''North ...

as Col. Hargrave *

Kuniko Miyake was a Japanese actress. She appeared in nearly 200 films between 1934 and 1991. Career After graduating from Kuki High School, Miyake joined the Shochiku film studios in 1934 and made her film debut the same year with ''Yume no sasayaki''. She ...

as Michiko Tanaka *

Susumu Fujita Susumu Fujita () (8 January 1912 – 23 March 1991) was a Japanese film and television actor. He played the lead role in Akira Kurosawa's first feature, ''Sanshiro Sugata'', and appeared in other Kurosawa films including ''The Men Who Tread On ...

as Kei Tanaka *

Katsuhiko Haida Katsuhiko Haida was a Japanese film actor and music composer. He played an important role in the 1951 film ''Tokyo File 212''. He also appeared in ''The Burning Sky'', and ''Escapade From Japan''. His brother is Yukihiko Haida, and they formed th ...

as Capt. Hibino *

Tatsuo Saito Tatsuo (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese actor *, Japanese engineer *Tatsuo Fukuda (福田達夫, born 1967), Japanese politician *, Japanese swi ...

as Mr. Fushimi * Hideko Koshikawa as Dekko * Urego Egawa as Chief of Kyoto police *

Frank Tokunaga Frank B. Tokunaga was a Japanese actor, director, and screenwriter who worked in Japan and Hollywood. Biography Career Frank began his career in show business in 1912 while managing a troupe of Japanese acrobats for Barnum & Bailey, and later wor ...

as Farmer *

as pilot

Production

The film was announced in May 1956 by RKO, who were expanding their operations. In June, RKO president

William Dozier William McElroy Dozier (; February 13, 1908 – April 23, 1991) was an American film and television producer, writer and actor. He is best known for two television series, ''Batman'' and ''The Green Hornet''. Early life Dozier was born in Omaha, ...

assigned the project to

to produce and direct. Lubin had just signed a contract with the studio following '' The First Travelling Saleslady''. He left for Tokyo and filming began 1 October. Roger Nagawara was discovered in the American School in Japan. Jonn Provost was cast as the American boy. RKO executive Arthur Siteman died of a heart attack while making the film in Japan.

Reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' described it as "a delightful tour through Japan." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said it was "simple but delightful."Boys Run Away With 'Escapade in Japan' New York Times 24 Dec 1957: 11.

References

External links

*
Escapade in Japan
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...