Yabai koto nara zeni ni naru

When one billion yen goes AWOL, "Joe the Ace" (Jo Shishido) spies an opportunity to get rich quick, but things soon go wrong as it turns out he isn't the only one who'll stop at nothing to get his hands on the missing cash.

This comes off at first like a spy thriller, maybe a sort of Japanese take on James Bond. But we soon find out it is a silly comedy with counterfeit currency and all sorts of almost slapstick moments. What the heck? This certainly expands my view of what Nikkatsu is all about, since I had them pigeon-holed as the "gangster film" company.

I am still learning about these films, though. I should know the name Jo Shishido, but I know I will probably soon forget it. As a lover of cult film, I must confess that 1950s Japanese cinema is a huge hole in my knowledge.

I love Jo's movies. Danger Pays is a change of pace, a rare comedy with Jo playing a snappy con man trying to get his hands on a counterfeiting scheme. It's hilarious and Jo has flair for comedy. Well shot and edited with underworld characters and ditzy women right out of a comic strip.

What a deception this movie which I believed at first to be a fierce and violent crime flick from Japan, in the kind of films made by the likes of Kinji Fukasaku. Yes, what a mess this tale of counterfeiters that remains more a comedy than anything else. The copy was top quality, no question about that. But the story is horrible, the characters terrible, only a gunfight scene in an elevator shaft is nearly worth. Nearly. This director is the same who made the feature commented just before. This guy is definitely not Kinji Fukasaku.

Forget it folks. Anyway it seems to be very hard to get it. The best would be it to remain this way.