The Mikado is a 1939 British musical comedy film based on Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera of the same name. 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.
The Mikado | |
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Cover art for the Criterion release | |
Directed by | Victor Schertzinger |
Produced by | Geoffrey Toye |
Written by | W.S. Gilbert |
Based on | The Mikado by W.S. Gilbert Arthur Sullivan |
Starring | Kenny Baker Martyn Green Sydney Granville John Barclay |
Music by | Arthur Sullivan |
Cinematography | William V. Skall |
Edited by | Philip Charlot Gene Milford |
Distributed by | General Film Distributors LTD |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Screenplay
- 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
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 (and the musicians depicted in the film) consisted of 40 members of the London Symphony Orchestra.
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.
- The Mikado (1967 film)