Onna dorei-sen

In the final months of World War 2 the Japanese navy is experiencing terrible losses to the United States due in large part to the new British advances in radar. To counter that a secret courier by the name of "Lieutenant Sugawa" (Bunta Sugawara) is ordered to fly from Malaya to Tokyo with a picture encoded with vital information obtained from a German submarine which will help negate the American advantage. Unfortunately, the cargo plane he takes is shot down by American aircraft and he is picked up in an unconscious state by a passing freighter which just happens to be carrying twelve Japanese women who are being taken to China to be sold into slavery. Although the captain and crew are all male the person with the real power is an unscrupulous Japanese woman who goes by the name of "the Queen" (Yoko Mihara). And after seeing Lt. Sugawa fight off some of the crew on behalf of one particular Japanese women named "Rumiko" (Utako Mitsuya) the Queen immediately falls in love with him. However, as fate would have it the freighter is attacked by Chinese pirates which results in her being made yet another slave to be sold in auction once the pirate vessel reaches its port. What nobody counts on is Lt. Sugawa's resourcefulness or the Queen's treachery. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie I will just say that it is more of an action movie than an exploitation film. No doubt a main reason for this is due to the fact that it was made in 1960 rather than twenty or more years later when Japanese films became less censored. Be that as it may, there is no sex or nudity in this movie at all. As a matter of fact, about the only risqué scene is when the Queen performs a belly dance in front of the captain and crew of the pirates. In any case, although it is clearly dated, those who enjoy swash-buckling action movies might find this one somewhat entertaining and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

In WWII, our hero is sent on a vital mission: to steal the secret of radar! He doesn't get very far, as he is almost immediately shot out of the air and finds himself on the FEMALE SLAVE SHIP! While the title implies some hot and heavy sex slave action, the film is actually much closer to an American serial from the 40's. At least every eight minutes, there is either a fist fight, a gun fight, or both. The characters are all laughably stereotypical: The deceptive, opportunistic slave woman who will stop at nothing to get ahead, the virginal, "let's all get along" girl who was tricked into prostitution, the manly-man hero who insists on jeopardizing his vital radar mission to save the slave girls...they're all here. As for the sex part, well, there isn't much. Being from 1960, this movie is tame enough to be on the 700 Club. There is a cat fight. There is a slave auction. A woman does have her dress ripped off (only to reveal a full length slip. D'oh!). Mostly, though, this is just too tame for even the most sheltered twelve-year-old. That's not to say that I thought the film was a total bust (despite the lack of bust); I found it to be a pleasant enough time waster. It moved along at a brisk clip, and has an enjoyable girls-with-guns finish (and I'm a sucker for girls with guns). It's not a bad way to spend 90 minutes, but you might not want to break the bank picking it up, either.