Recently seen movies #82

Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless to Confess (Japan, 1971) – 4/5

The final and best film in the series. Just like the previous three, it opens with a reform school intro. Rika and the girls are watching Abashiri Prison and cheering for Ken Takakura (this was a cleaver reference as most of the Delinquent Girl Boss films featured a heroic male character heavily influenced by Takakura). One year later they are all out but of course soon run into each other by chance. Rika finds work from a car repair shop run by Murakami (Junzaburo Ban). His daughter (Yumiko Katayama making her debut in the series) is in trouble with a yakuza gang lead by Nobuo Kaneko.

Mari, played by Yukie Kagawa, is back after one film break. Kagawa appears in all four films, but she played a different character in Ballad of Yokohama Hoods. Here her character is a poor wife, forced to work as a cheap nude model to make a living. She later finds better work from a hostess club thanks to her friends. The club scenes introduce us to even more familiar actors; Masumi Tachibana as a hostess and Tonpei Hidari, once again in comedy mode, as her boyfriend. The gang is finally completed when the Yôko Ichiji makes a rather random appearance and hooks up with rest of the girls.

Worthless to Confess doesn’t differ greatly from the other films in the series, but here the elements works to the fullest. The music is great, often tightly attached to club scenes presenting some charming 70’s fashion, and the storyline is probably the best in the series. Characters are good and especially the scenes between Oshida and Tsunehiko Watase (this time playing a slightly more rough edged character) have spark. Yumiko Katayama is a nice addition to the team, even if one of the motives behind her casting may have been that she was willing to provide the series with some extra nudity.

The film ends with a grande finale that should please any genre fan. The action, although not gory, is nicely choreographed and well captured on film. Some of the fighting is shot through a glass floor, a trick made famous by Seijun Suzuki in the late 60’s. But even better than the big sword fight is the preceding scene that builds up the tension. There is one weakness though, and admittedly a notable one. Another film in the series already featured a very similar ending before. Here, however, Yamaguchi hadles it so well that he’s actually capable of getting away with it.

Recently seen movies #81

Delinquent Girl Boss: Ballad of Yokohama Hoods (Japan, 1971) – 4/5

As the title suggests, and appart from the usual reform school intro, the third film takes place in Yokohama. The harbour town comes a fresh change from the usual Tokyo City views. Similarly to the other films in the series, Yokohama Hoods begins with Rika (Reiko Oshida) looking for work after being released by the the freedom stealing authorities that always seem to catch her sometime between the end of the previous film and the beginning of the next. And, as usual, she soon finds a new home under an ex-yakuza and tries honest living. But things are bound to go wrong.

Director Yamaguchi stumbled a bit with the second film, but now he returns the series to top form. The storyline is better written, there’s more music and characters are more interesting. Veteran baddie Asao Koike gives his usual solid villain performance, with some nice bits in the end, but it’s Yukie Kagawa who really steals the show. Unlike in the rest of the films here she plays Oshida’s opponent. And it’s a complete success. Kagawa, as a leader of a girl biker gang, dressed in black leather and always carrying a whip with her, is quite a sight.

Reiko Oshida is her usual self in the lead role; charming in other words. There are no strong male characters in the film (both Tsunehiko Watase and Tatsuo Umemiya are having their week off) although Hayato Tani and Tonpei Hidari return in suporting roles. A bit amusingly Hidari (the film’s comic relief) has been coupled with pinky violence bad mama Yoko Mihara, who somehow manages to keep her clothes on throughout the film (although her dress is constantly one inch from falling down). Speaking of which, there’s no nudity in the film; the concept is strong enough to work without added eye candy.

Ballad of Yokohama Hoods reminds a bit of Nikkatsu’s late 1970 Stray Cat Rock entry Machine Animal (released just 4 months prior to this film). Both films share the seaside setting, biker gangs, musical performances, and also themes of foreign people in Japan. Just like Meiko Kaji’s gang in Machine Animal, Oshida with her friends here ends up helping a US army deserter. The similarities however are not overly striking and by no means hurt the film. The Stray Cat Rock films were also slightly more serious in dealing with these issues, while Yokohama Hoods aims purely at entertainment values and doesn’t attempt to make any social points.

Yokohama Hoods holds up throughout, but the real bomb comes right at the end. The big action finale, packed with motorcycles, machine guns and samurai swords, is the most satisfying ending in the series. Worthless to Confess comes as a close second, although all things considered it’s a slightly better movie. Another area where Yokohama Hoods has the edge over Worthless to Confess is the theme song; it’s by Reiko Oshida herself. It may not be one of her best songs, but it’s always nice to have the leading lady perform the theme, especially when it’s someone like Oshida who can actually sing.

Recently seen movies #80

Delinquent Girl Boss: Tokyo Drifters (Japan, 1970) – 3/5

The second part in the series feels a bit like a quick cash in on the success of the original… although that’s not to say it’s a bad movie. It’s quite an enjoyable film actually, if you’re a genre fan that is. The main problem is that it’s missing a proper storyline. Between the awesome reform school opening and stylish action finale there isn’t a whole lot happening. Director Yamaguchi relies a bit too much on humour and general ’hanging out with the characters’. Almost all darker content has been dropped from the film, and the exploitation elements, that were already brief in the previous film, have been further toned down; the violence is mostly bloodless, and there is only brief nudity, always in comical context.

The film would also benefit from having more music, although there’s a couple of more memorable tunes and one decent on screen performance. Thankfully the cast compensates enough to bring the weaker parts to the positive side. Reiko Oshida is endlessly adorable, a real delight among Toei’s other, sluttier female action stars. Most of the supporting actors are familiar from the first film, but there’s also a couple of first timers like Akira Oizumi in a very small but funny supporting role. Tsunehiko Watase deserves a mention as well. His character is a obvious Ken Takakura clone, but he pulls it off so well that it’s a pleasure to watch him on screen.

Recently seen movies #79

Delinquent Girl Boss: Blossoming Night Dreams (Japan, 1970) – 4/5

The Delinquent Girl Boss series was most likely intended as Toei’s answer to Nikkatsu’s popular Stray Cat Rock movies (1970-1971). The girl gang films were pop, but not yet too down and dirty. Music, fashion and energetic performances by the female leads mattered more than sex and nudity. Action was not forgotten either. The four film series was helmed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, who later gained worldwide popularity with his karate flicks (Karate Bull Fighter, Which is Stronger: Karate or the Tiger etc) and female oriented action films like The Sister Street Fighter and Wandering Ginza Butterfly.

Blossoming Night Dreams is about a young delinquent girl (Reiko Oshida) who’s tired of being mistreated due to her criminal past. She quits her job in a laundry shop and starts working as a waitress in a Shinjuku bar. It turns out all the girls working there, including the owner (Junko Miyazono), a have their roots in Akagi girls reform school. They’re now trying honest living, but a greedy yakuza boss (Nobuo Kaneko with the silliest moustache) is after the bar and making thing difficult. More problems are caused by a local girl gang who think they own the streets as they have the yakuza backing them up.

Although the opening makes you expect something slightly more exploitative the film is generally very bright and easy going. This despite there being a few darker turns like an off screen rape and drug addiction theme. These scenes however are clearly in the minority. The amount of humour rather high, even if it’s not always of the most intelligent type. The club scenes work well, too, and there’s a nice music performance by singer Keiko Fuji. The film’s last third is a bit weaker than what comes before but it doesn’t take away much from the overall enjoyment.

Action scenes are included but there aren’t too many of them. There’s a knife fight between Oshida and the leader of the other gang (you can find a similar scene in most girl gang films, including Stray Cat Rock). Some smaller brawls come along the way but the biggest fight is saved till the end. It’s not really bad but clearly first time director Yamaguchi was not yet at the top of his game. The scene benefits from the charismatic performers, but the action choreography itself is nothing to get excited about. All of the Delinquent Girl Boss sequels feature notably better ending fights.

One of the factors behind the success of the series was its leading lady, Reiko Oshida. She was already a familiar face to Toei fans due to her suppoting roles in films such as Quick Draw Okatsu and a couple of Furyo bancho instalments (a series that also influenced on the Delinquent Girl Boss films). Her acting style was a combination of overflowing energy and positive delinquent girl attitude. Plus she was both pretty and had a voice nice enough make it as a singer. Unlike many of her colleagues she didn’t have to take her clothes off to attract viewers.

Like Oshida, many of the supporting actors went to star in all or most of the sequels. Masumi Tachibana and Tonpei Hidari usually appeared as a couple, with Hidari’s lovable loser character always getting bullied by the girls. Yukie Kagawa, probably familiar to most viewers from Teruo Ishii films, had a couple of different roles but she plays Mari in most of the movies. Hayato Tani appears as Oshida’s childhood friend in parts one and three. Junko Miyazano and Tatsuo Umemiya, both giving solid performances here, didn’t return to the series after this film.

Recently seen movies #78

Stray Cat Rock: Beat ’71 (Japan, 1971) – 4/5

Toshiya Fujita brings the Stray Cat Rock series to a highly enjoyable end. Like his previous instalment, Wild Jumbo, Beat ’71 is an easy going youth drama that does not follow Yasuharu Hasebe’s wild gang film path. Instead Fujita deals with social issues. The film follows a hippie community lead by Yoshitaro (Yoshio Harada). They decide to leave their trailer in Shinjuku and travel to countryside by bicycle to save their friend Furiko (Meiko Kaji) who has been falsely accused for murder. The real killer – although it was mainly self defense – is Furiko’s boyfried Takaaki (Takeo Chii) who is being controlled by his politician father. Takaaki would rather live free as a hippie, but his father is forcing him to become a businessman. When Furiko’s friends arrive the small town the concervative villagers try to run them away. They only get sympathy from a traveling rock band (The Mops). The conflict eventually takes them to an old mine that has been turned into a Wild West theme park. A fitting and symbolic conclusion to a sries of films that was one of Nikkatsu’s last iconic products before their financial crash and transition from youthful action films to pink cinema.

Recently seen movies #77

Stray Cat Rock: Machine Animal (Japan, 1970) – 4/5

The fourth and best Stray Cat Rock film deals with drugs and freedom. Two Japanese men help a Vietnam war runaway to flee from Japan. Their plan is to sell LSD pills to finance their trip to Sweden, but as word spreads different gangs become interested in gaining possession of the drugs, preferably without paying. Director Hasebe’s previous film Sex Hunter strongly criticized racism in Japan. Machine Animal also deals with foreign people in Japan, but this time the approach is almost entirely positive. When the American runaway (played by Japanese actor Toshiya Yamano) arrives Yokohama he’s immediately welcomed and taken to bowling alley to have fun. Even the villains treat him as human being rather than gaijin garbage. This same positive spirit applies to the entire film. The soundtrack is perhaps the best in the series – or at least most even. Zoo Nee Voo’s Hitori no kanashimi – on which Ozaki Kiyohiko’s beloved classic Until We Meet Again (Mata au hi made) was based on – is featured in one of the film’s numerous, psychedelic club scenes. The main star Meiko Kaji also gets to do a little bit of singing, but her main task is to look endlessly cool (or silly, depending on your taste) wearing a white dress and black hat. The supporting roles star Bunjaku Han as the Dragon Gang leader, Eiji Go as evil motorcycle villain, and Tatsuya Fuji as a quiet, spectacled good guy – an exact opposite from his vicious bad guy role in Sex Hunter. Rival studio Toei followed Nikkatsu’s example some months later; their Delinquent Girl Boss: Ballad of Yokohama Hoods (1971) borrows heavily from Machine Animal. Although Toei ultimately won the girl gang battle, they were still a step behind Nikkatsu in 1970 when it came to youthful action films.

Recently seen movies #76

Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter (Japan, 1970) – 4/5

Girl gang swing is back – to some extent at least – in the third Stray Cat Rock film which is considered the best in the series by many. After Toshiya Fujita’s youth oriented Wild Jumbo Yasuharu Hasebe returns the series closer to its origins. The title – Sex Hunter – is of course a marketing gimmic by the Nikkatsu Studios – there are no sex hunters in the film. Instead the storyline is about half-breed Japanese man (Rikiya Yasuoka before he gained weight) caught up between a violent racist gang (Tatsuya Fuji back in a villain role) and a group of tough girls (led by Meiko Kaji). It was quite rare to have such strong and critical racism theme in a Japanese mainstream film in the early 70’s. Furthermore, a large portion of the music heard in Sex Hunter is performed by the girl band Golden Half, which consisted of five members who all had American father and Japanese mother. The music and club scenes create good contrast for the heavier content. For Meiko Kaji Sex Hunter was the first Stray Cat Rock movie in which she played the central character. Kaji’s performance is not among her best, but the character is surprisingly unsympathetic, making it more interesting, or at least original, than many other sukeban heroines. Bunjaku Han, who appears in all other films in the series, is sadly absent from the cast.

Recently seen movies #75

Stray Cat Rock: Wild Jumbo (Japan, 1970) – 3,5/5

The five film Stray Cat Rock series was completed within 6 months. This was made possible by using two directors, Yasuharu Hasebe and Toshiya Fujita, who were both working at the same time. The cast and crew was basically running between the sets. What makes this all the more interesting is that Fujita and Hasebe were making very different kind of films. The original movie, directed by Hasebe, was a girl gang film gone disco mode. Fujita’s follow up Wild Jumbo is an enjoyable youth film with minor crime movie elements introduced during the second half. Three important actors from the first movie return; Meiko Kaji, Tatsuya Fuji, and Bunjaku Han. They are all equal characters, although Kaji’s jeans and white bikini top combination tends to be a scene stealer. Fuji plays his role in similar fashion as in the first film – including the mad laughter – but he’s now a good guy instead of a villain. Akiko Wada is gone, thankfully, apart from some stock footage and songs from Girl Boss which are clearly the film’s weakest point. Most of the movie consists of 6 friends – or gang members to be exact although they are hardly involved in any kind of criminal activity – slacking around and riding a green jeep. Finally one of the members (Takeo Chii) comes up with a shortcut to richness.

Recently seen movies #74

Stray Cat Rock: Girl Boss (Japan, 1970) – 4/5

Nikkatsu studios faced serious financial problems and drifted to roman porno in late 1971, but for the preceding years they kept churning out some of the hippiest crime and gangster films in the world. Male super stars like Akira Kobayashi and Jo Shishido had dominated the box office, but now it was time for a more feminine approach. The five part Stray Cat Rock series set the trend for delinquent girl action films. Other studios, especially Toei with their sexed up pinky violence films, would follow Nikkatsu’s example.

Unlike many of the exploitative girl gang films of the 70’s, Stray Cat Rock does not lean on sex and sleaze. Girl Boss contains no graphic sex or nudity whatsoever. Instead the mix is as follows; tough as nails delinquent girls, fast action, fashion, motorbikes and almost non-stop good music, including on screen performances by bands such as The Mops and Andre Candre. A celluloid recording of the early 70’s rock n’ roll feel in Japan in other words.

The storyline kicks off when a new girl (Akiko Wada) rides into the town. She immediately gets in bad terms with the Seiyu gang, and makes friends with a local girl group lead by Meiko Kaji. Things get more complicated when Meiko’s boyfriend (Koji Wada) decides he wants to join the Seiyu gang. He’s given simple terms; to talk over his friend, a boxer played by Ken Sanders, to lose a boxing match. If everything goes well, he will receive a full membership and the gang will make loads money with bets. If not, he will lose his life.

Although often recalled as Meiko Kaji movies, she is not the lead actress but a supporting player in the first film. The real heroine is ’pop star turned actress’ Akiko Wada, who plays her role in the similar fashion as Reiko Oshida in her Toei movies. She’s not quite on par, but good enough to carry the film. Her songs are not quite on par with the rest of the soundtrack, though. Kaji and the other girls – often wearing sunglasses size of a football – give good support. Tatsuya Fuji, the future star of In The Realm of Senses, gives a good villain performance simply by looking arrogant and laughing like a madman.

Another important cast member that needs to be mentioned is the vehicles. These girls don’t walk, they ride a motorcycle. From the opening scenes to the last frames motorcycles are found in almost every outdoor scene. There’s enough ”girls on bikes” shots to make a promotional photobook. Also worth mentioning is the red Daihatsu Beach Buggy that Tatsuya Fuji’s character is crazy about. A classic scene shows Fuji chasing our heroines Wada and Kaji through the underground passages of the Shinjuku Station. Try getting a permission to shoot such a scene today!!!

Girl Boss was directed by Yasuharu Hasebe, who had already been delivering Nikkatsu with several stylish action films in the late 60’s. Later in the 70’s he became know for his violent pink roughies, but Stray Cat Rock remains his most remarkable achievement. Although Girl Boss isn’t as wild and technically cutting edge as some of the later films in the genre, it’s a quite a thrilling piece of pop cinema. Hasebe later returned to helm two more instalments, parts 3 and 4, with the remain two going to Toshiya Fujita (Lady Snowblood).

Recently seen movies #73

Wives of the Yakuza (Japan, 1986) – 2/5

Hideo Gosha marries his ”women cinema” with modern yakuza film in a movie based on Shoko Ieda’s novel. Unfortunately this is a rather lazy effort from the director. The basic idea is not bad, though. The film follows yakuza wives, most of them now heads of their families as the husband is either dead or in jail. Two sisters – a leader of the most powerful crime organization in the area (Shima Iwashita), and a ”normal girl” living with his father and trying to stay clean (Rino Katase) – are in the spotlight. Instead of going into action mode Gosha gives a somewhat realistic view of their normal life; relationships, sunny beaches, karaoke… and clan wars. But the characters are ultimately not very interesting, and nor is the storyline. The concept was nevertheless a success, and numerous sequels followed.