Joe Butterfly
Encyclopedia
Joe Butterfly is a comedy film
directed by Jesse Hibbs
and starring Audie Murphy
, George Nader
, Keenan Wynn
, and Burgess Meredith
in the title role. The movie follows the staff of Yank magazine, who are among the first American troops in Tokyo
after Japan
's surrender. They are given the difficult task of producing an issue of the magazine in three days. Short on ideas and having to meet the deadline, they enter Japan's black market and come across con artist
Joe Butterfly. Butterfly shows them the high life letting them live in a mansion complete with beautiful girls.
The film is Audie Murphy's only outright comedy, which suffered by comparisons to Teahouse of the August Moon.
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
directed by Jesse Hibbs
Jesse Hibbs
Jesse John Hibbs was an American film and television director and assistant director. He was previously an All-American offensive tackle for the University of Southern California football team in 1927 and 1928....
and starring Audie Murphy
Audie Murphy
Audie Leon Murphy was a highly decorated and famous soldier. Through LIFE magazine's July 16, 1945 issue , he became one the most famous soldiers of World War II and widely regarded as the most decorated American soldier of the war...
, George Nader
George Nader
George Nader was an American film and television actor of Lebanese descent. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 through 1974, including Phone Call from a Stranger , Congo Crossing , and The Female Animal...
, Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
, and Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
in the title role. The movie follows the staff of Yank magazine, who are among the first American troops in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
after Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's surrender. They are given the difficult task of producing an issue of the magazine in three days. Short on ideas and having to meet the deadline, they enter Japan's black market and come across con artist
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
Joe Butterfly. Butterfly shows them the high life letting them live in a mansion complete with beautiful girls.
The film is Audie Murphy's only outright comedy, which suffered by comparisons to Teahouse of the August Moon.
Cast
- Audie MurphyAudie MurphyAudie Leon Murphy was a highly decorated and famous soldier. Through LIFE magazine's July 16, 1945 issue , he became one the most famous soldiers of World War II and widely regarded as the most decorated American soldier of the war...
.... Private John Woodley - George NaderGeorge NaderGeorge Nader was an American film and television actor of Lebanese descent. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 through 1974, including Phone Call from a Stranger , Congo Crossing , and The Female Animal...
.... Sergeant Ed Kennedy - Keenan WynnKeenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
.... Henry Hathaway - Keiko Shima .... Chieko
- Fred ClarkFred ClarkFrederick Leonard Clark was an American film character actor.-Career:Born in Lincoln, California, Clark made his film debut in 1947 in The Unsuspected. His 20-year film career included almost 70 films, and numerous television appearances...
.... Colonel E. E. Fuller - John AgarJohn AgarJohn George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death...
.... Sergeant Dick Mason - Charles McGrawCharles McGrawCharles Butters , best known by his stage name Charles McGraw, was an American actor, who made his first film in 1942, albeit in a small, uncredited role. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa.-Career:...
.... Sergeant Jim McNulty - Shinpei Shimazaki .... Little boy
- Reiko Higa .... False Tokyo Rose
- Tatsuo Saito .... Father
- Chizu Shimazaki .... Mother
- Herbert AndersonHerbert AndersonHerbert Anderson was an American character actor from Oakland, California, probably best remembered for his part as Henry Mitchell in the classic television sitcom Dennis The Menace.-Career:...
.... Major Ferguson - Eddie FirestoneEddie FirestoneEddie Firestone was a United States radio, television, and film actor.An early success was in the title role of radio's That Brewster Boy, which he left in 1943, during World War II, to join the U.S. Marine Corps...
.... Sergeant Oscar Hulick - Frank Chase .... Chief Yeoman Saul Bernheim
- Harold GoodwinHarold GoodwinHarold Goodwin was an American film actor who performed in over 225 films.Born in Peoria, Illinois, Goodwin began his film career while still in his teens in the 1915 film short Mike's Elopement. One of his most popular roles of the silent era was that of Jeff Brown in the 1927 Buster Keaton...
.... Colonel Hopper - Willard Willingham .... Soldier
- Burgess MeredithBurgess MeredithOliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
.... Joe Butterfly