Synopsis
Detective Tarao investigates the deaths of police officers who were involved in solving a kidnapping case.
1960 ‘多羅尾伴内 七つの顔の男だぜ’ Directed by Shigehiro Ozawa
Detective Tarao investigates the deaths of police officers who were involved in solving a kidnapping case.
Chiezō Kataoka Shinjirô Ehara Yoshiko Sakuma Naoko Kubo Hitomi Nakahara Shoji Nakayama Chizuru Kitagawa Yūji Hori Isao Yamagata Eitarō Shindō Eijirō Tōno Akitake Kôno Michiko Hoshi Yoshi Katō Kusuo Abe Jun Usami Tokue Hanazawa Tōru Abe Ken Sudo Rinichi Yamamoto Koji Kiyomura Yoshio Inaba Nakajirō Tomita
Nanatsu no kao no otoko daze, 多羅尾伴内 七つの顔の男だぜ
The last of the Toei series of private investigator Tarao Bannai aka The Man of Seven Faces, the last time Chiezō Kataoka plays the role, and the first of the films in color, bringing to life the nightclubs, street scenes, costumes, and cars with tail fins. This time around it's kidnapping, blackmail, embezzling, and of course, unscrupulous nightclub hostesses (Chizuru Kitagawa and Naoko Kubo especially stand out in a strong supporting cast). Our hero pieces together the mystery methodically, as Tarao Bannai, as a one-eyed Taxi driver, a magician, a sailor, and so on, each identity given its time in the spotlight.
The nature of classic Japanese movie series is very different than American. American sequels are constantly mucking with…
Tarao Bannai: Now in color! Like sequels often are, this takes the elements of the past films, shakes em up, and dumps them out in a slightly different configuration. This time Bannai is investigating the kidnapping of a rich family’s daughter. Again, it’s not the mystery itself that is particularly interesting, but how Bannai uses his many personas to hunt down the daughter and unravel who the real culprit is. I don’t know... it might be that I’m shotgunning too many of these in a short period of time, but this one felt just less exciting than the past entries. I still think FOUL PLAY is the best of the bunch. I feel like Chiezo Kataoka was just more vital and interesting…