| Wandering Ginza Butterfly: She-Cat Gambler (1972) |
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| Director: | Kazuhiko Yamaguchi |
| Writers: | Kazuhiko Yamaguchi and Isao Matsumoto |
| Starring: | Meiko Kaji, Sonny Chiba, Junzaburo Ban, and Tamayo Mitsukawa |
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The Plot: This sequel to the original Wandering Ginza Butterfly begins with a young woman named Hanae being transported in a van by a group of horny lunatics. They intend to take the young woman to her new home as a enslaved prostitute, but as they venture near a Hot Spring, Hanae takes off running and eventually crosses paths with Nami (Meiko Kaji). When Nami interrupts, she takes the young girl under her wing and goes to visit boss Okuma whom the girl was supposed to be contracted to. Nami, being a genius gambler, offers to play a game of cards for the girl’s freedom. Being the She-Cat Gambler, Nami of course wins, and this leads to her being wrapped up in a story involving Boss Okuma’s criminal organization as well as the man responsible for her father’s death. |
| The Review |
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Humor is certainly a big part of She-Cat Gambler, and it is no better represented than with the stuttering buffoon that Sonny Chiba plays in the film. Known for his tough guy roles, Chiba is in rare form as the sniveling twerp that must continually be bailed out of trouble. Although he fancies himself a ladies man, he is often shown making a fool of himself in public. During our first real introduction to this character he even takes off his pants and tries to trade them for another hand at a card game. In another humorous scene we see him trying to lecture a group of prostitutes in the proper use of a bidet by having his right-hand-man Smokey sit on the commode and feign an orgasm when the hot water sprays his crotch. Even Kaji gets in on the humor throughout the majority of the movie, but as one might expect, most of the comedy becomes absent during the final twenty minutes. This is of course when the violence starts to double and murder becomes the primary motivation for almost every character. Although the movie does become quite serious, this is about as tame as the pinky violence genre gets. Nudity within the film is sparse and bloodshed is kept to a bare minimum. However, the movie still manages to stand out as a fine example of the entertainment that this genre can provide.
| The Conclusion |
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