Where to Watch
Region
TCM
Stream included
HD
Included
YouTube Free
Stream with ads
HD
Included
Hoopla
Watch free
Included
YouTube TV
Stream included
HD
Included
Tubi TV
Stream with ads
Included
Prices last updated September 5, 2026. Pricing and availability may vary by region.
powered by JustWatch
About
Air Force Major Lloyd Gruver is reassigned to a Japanese air base and is confronted with US racial prejudice against the Japanese people. The issue is compounded because a number of the soldiers become romantically involved with Japanese women, in defiance of US military policy. Ordinarily, a by-the-book officer, Gruver must take a position when a buddy of his, an enlisted man, Joe Kelly, falls in love with a Japanese woman, Katsumi, and marries her. Gruver risks his position by serving as best man at the wedding ceremony.
Theatrical
Dec 25, 1957
DVD / Blu-ray
Sep 18, 2001
Director
Writer
Producer
Music
Studio
Pennebaker Productions, William Goetz Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures
Quotes
See all →Defiant Desire in Michener's Story
Taglines
THEY LIVE JAMES A. MICHENER'S STORY OF DEFIANT DESIRE.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Forbidden Love in Adverse Circumstances
Taglines
- And then she said, "I am not allowed to love. But I will love you if that is your desire . . .
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Cast
Full credits →M
Marlon Brando
Major Lloyd Gruver
P
Patricia Owens
Eileen Webster
J
James Garner
Capt. Mike Bailey
M
Martha Scott
Mrs. Webster
M
Miiko Taka
Hana-ogi
M
Miyoshi Umeki
Katsumi
R
Red Buttons
Joe Kelly
K
Kent Smith
Gen. Webster
D
Douglass Watson
Col. Craford
R
Reiko Kuba
Fumiko-san
S
Soo Yong
Terukosan
R
Ricardo Montalban
Nakamura
D
Dennis Hopper
MP in Kelly's House / MP at Tokyo Airport (voice) (uncredited)
P
Peter Brown
Second Military Police (voice) (uncredited)
K
Kenner G. Kemp
General at Tokyo Airport (uncredited)
W
William Meader
General at Tokyo Airport (uncredited)
R
Ralph Moratz
Soldier in Washroom (uncredited)
R
Rollin Moriyama
Reporter (uncredited)
Y
Yvonne Peattie
Lady Vice-Consul (uncredited)
B
Bill Saito
Photographer (uncredited)
