Il colpo segreto del kendo

The great Tomisaburo Wakayama is one of my favorite actors ever for his role of Ogami Itto in the brilliant "Kozure Ôkami" (aka. "Lone Wolf And Cub") films, in which he starred between 1972 and 1974, and which rank among my favorite films of all-time. Director Shigehiro Ozawa is mainly known for his two great "Sasujin Ken" (aka. "Street Fighter") films from 1972 and 1974 starring Sonny Chiba. Therefore the pairing of Wakayama as leading man and Ozawa as director is a promising one for me, and for every other fan of Japanese Exploitation/Chambara cinema. And whilst "Shokin Kasegi" aka "Killer's Mission" of 1969 is by no means as brilliant as the "Lone Wolf And Cub" or the "Street Fighter" films it sure is an action-packed and vastly entertaining flick that every cult-cinema lover should enjoy. A great, sometimes slapstick-ish, sometimes sarcastic sense of humor, nice settings and fair amount of stylish bloodshed make this film highly enjoyable, and the great Tomisaburo Wakayama is the best leading man imaginable. Wakayama plays Shikiro Ichibei, an expert swordsman who likes to use ingenious secret weapons and gimmicks on his missions. Ichibei is assigned by Shogun Tokugawa to prevent the sale of a Dutch ships-load of rifles to the hostile Shogun Satsuma. On his mission he meets a (comically cowardly) Ronin who becomes his assistant, as well as a female spy (Yumiko Nogawa) and a female warrior (the ravishing Tomoko Mayama)...

The film is stylishly shot in beautiful landscapes around Kagoshima (in southern Japan), with some nice pictures of the Sakurajima volcano near Kagoshima. The choreography and swordplay are very nicely done, with several sequences of stylish, blood-soaked carnage. Tomisaburo Wakayama fits greatly in the role for which he wears a mustache, which looks cool (even though not nearly as cool as the Samurai-look in the "Lone Wolf and Cub" films). It is Wakayama who really makes this film such great fun, the guy simply was an icon whose cult-status is more than deserved. Yumiko Nogawa ("Zatoichi and the Fugitives") and Tomoko Mayama make a very nice female cast. I was especially delighted to see the stunningly beautiful Tomoko Mayama, whom Japanese cinema fans should know for her roles in two masterpieces: In 1972, she played a prostitute with a heart of gold in the first of the "Lone Wolf And Cub" films, "Kozure Ôkami: Kowokashi udekashi tsukamatsuru" ("Lone Wolf And Cub: Sword of Vengeance") aside Tomisaburo Wakayama. In 1973 she played a jealous girlfriend in the third (and greatest) of the brilliant "Joshuu Sasori"/"Female Prisoner Scorpion"-flicks starring Meiko Kaji, "Joshuu Sasori: Kemono-Beya" ("Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable"). After repeatedly seeing her in these two personal favorites of mine, it was great to see Mayama, a stunning beauty and great actress, in another earlier role. The cast furthermore includes the prolific Japanese character actor Chiezo Kataoka. The storyline is not too intriguing, but entertaining enough, and the great sense of humor, paired with violent sword-fights and the great Tomisaburo Wakayama provides great entertainment. Highly recommended to my fellow fans of Tomisaburo Wakayama and Chambara-buffs out there. My rating: 7.5/10

Two notorious forces in Japanese exploitation cinema before either hit their nadir. A few years later, director Ozawa was responsible for two Streetfighter films and Tomisaburo Wakayama went on to star in the Lone Wolf series. While this film doesn't rise to the questionable levels of either series, it certainly has it's moments.

Ichibei is sent by the Shogun to stop the Dutch from selling rifles to the Satsuma clan in the south. Ichibei stocks up on all his gadgets and bombs and sets out. Along the way he meets up with a cowardly ronin and a female spy who is nearly his match. We also find out he is impervious to viper venom and can turn his sword scabbard into a telescope. Intrigue and action occur as he makes his journey towards the Dutch ship carrying the armaments.

The film is tongue in cheek with obvious nods to the spy thriller and it's rather bloody. We can see glimpses of the future Lone Wolf series as the overweight Tomisaburo Wakayama ably jumps, flips and slices his way thru the action scenes. There's also some pinku style woman torture for those who need this stuff. The direction is planted firmly in Japanese TV action style which sometimes is very good and other times just quickly filmed and sort of sloppy. The music is pure TV action themes and gets quite annoying unless you have an appreciation of it. The main problem with this film is that it moves at a snappy pace for the first 50 minutes and then stalls out in a number of talking samurai in discussion scenes. The last ten minutes pick up as Ichibei finally gets to the Dutch but the fun is diminished. About fifteen minutes of the film has Ichibei pose as a blind masseuse which is sort of fun since Wakayama's brother, Shintaro Katsu was playing Zatoichi at the time. This is the second film Wakayama poked fun at his more successful brother.

Fun with a dull stretch.