A Lovely Afternoon in the Company of an Even Lovelier Actress!

Faith Clift with a DVD of The Nightmare Never Ends (1980). Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

On Friday, July 18, I was finally able to meet Faith Clift, an actress who appears in a couple of my favorite genre movies. I interviewed Ms. Clift for Vantage Point Interviews back in 2020 and got to hear her memories of working with several notable film personalities over the years, and it was quite fascinating. 

Ms. Clift stars as Claire Hansen in the feature film The Nightmare Never Ends (1980), which got severely edited down and appears in a truncated form in the anthology horror flick Night Train to Terror (1985). She also appears in a small role in the cult classic Horror Express (1972).

Faith Clift with a Blu-ray of Night Train to Terror (1985). Photo by Brett Homenick.

I first saw The Nightmare Never Ends in the fall of 2008 on one of the Mill Creek sets of 50 public domain movies. I went into it completely blind but was intrigued by the film, as it was more about ideas than horror. I later saw Night Train to Terror in August 2009 right after moving into a new apartment and was surprised to see the former flick recycled into the new one, with loads of new claymation effects thrown in for good measure. Both movies are enjoyable but for completely different reasons.

I picked Ms. Clift up at her home and, since she almost literally now lives in the neighborhood in which I grew up, I drove her by my childhood home to show her my old house. After that, we had a nice lunch and then went walking around a local street fair. We sat down after walking around for a while and talked about just about every imaginable topic. It was a great afternoon!

Afterward, I asked her to sign my Nightmare Never Ends DVD and Night Train to Terror Blu-ray, which are pictured above. Since she'd never seen either of these releases, she took some extra time looking at the covers she was signing. Then we took our obligatory photos.

And that's a wrap! I really look forward to visiting Faith Clift again in the future!

Nikkatsu Actress Masako Izumi Passes Away at 77

Masako Izumi in February 2015. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Nikkatsu starlet Masako Izumi passed away on July 9 at 1:03 p.m. at her home after a battle with an undisclosed form of cancer. She was 77.

Ms. Izumi, who was born on July 31, 1947, began her acting career in 1958 and quickly became a star when she signed with Nikkatsu Studios in the early 1960s. At Nikkatsu, she starred in such films as Toshio Masuda's tragic World War II drama Monument to the Girls' Corps (1968), Seijun Suzuki's Tattooed Life (1965), and Kirio Urayama's Each Day I Cry (1963).

Masako Izumi holds a poster for her film The Bride Is 15 Years Old (1964) in February 2019. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was fortunate enough to meet Ms. Izumi multiple times at various events between 2015 and 2023. You can tell by the photos accompanying this blog post that she was always fun to spend time with. Unlike many Japanese actresses who attain a certainly level of fame, she was about as easygoing and unpretentious as it gets. 

Masako Izumi under a poster for her film Thank You for the Tears (1965) in January 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

A very interesting story that Ms. Izumi once shared is that she was offered a part in the movie Sanjuro (1962) personally by Akira Kurosawa. However, she had just signed with Nikkatsu Studios at the time, so she couldn't join Kurosawa's production. The part she was offered ended up going to Toho actress Reiko Dan.

With Masako Izumi in June 2023.

Another fun story is that Ms. Izumi watched some of the monster scenes in Gappa the Triphibian Monster (1967) being filmed at Nikkatsu. It was her first time to see the production side of tokusatsu in person, so it left quite an impression on her.

With Masako Izumi in January 2016.

Aside from being a prolific Nikkatsu Studios actress during the 1960s, she turned her attention to becoming an adventurer in the 1980s, attempting to become the first woman to visit the North Pole on foot and sled in 1985.

Masako Izumi poses with a poster for Toshio Masuda's Monument to the Girls' Corps (1968) in June 2023. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Unfortunately, she was not able to complete her attempt, and another woman, Ann Bancroft (not the actress with the similar name), became the first in 1986. Undaunted, Ms. Izumi became only the second woman to travel to the North Pole in 1989.

Masako Izumi in January 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

According to NHK, Ms. Izumi fell in May of this year and was hospitalized in Tokyo. While recovering at home, her health suddenly declined, and she passed away. 

Ms. Izumi leaves behind an acting legacy few Japanese actresses of the Showa era can match. May she rest in peace.

Fumio Ishimori, Writer of 'Kamen Rider,' 'Zone Fighter,' and 'Ultraman Ace,' Passes Away at 93

Fumio Ishmimori with a Zone Fighter DVD in April 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick.

According to his official Facebook page, screenwriter Fumio Ishimori (sometimes credited as Shiro Ishimori) passed away on June 9. He was 93.

Born on July 31, 1931, Mr. Ishimori began his screenwriting career in the early 1960s, primarily working for Nikkatsu Studios during most of the 1960s, before transitioning to Shochiku before the end of the decade.

With Fumio Ishimori in April 2017.

In total, Mr. Ishimori wrote more than 70 movie screenplays, penning the scripts for the films Fearless Comrades (1966), A Warm Misty Night (1967), Toshio Masuda’s Monument to the Girl’s Corps (1968), The Rendezvous (1972), Journey into Solitude (1972), Toho’s Horror of the Wolf (1973), Galaxy Express 999 (1979), and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s The Rocking Horsemen (1992).

Fumio Ishimori stands outside a theater in Asakusa where a play he had written was performed in September 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In terms of TV tokusatsu, he wrote Kamen Rider (1971-73) episodes 47, 50, 76, 83, 89, and 90, Ultraman Ace (1972-73) episodes 37 and 44, and Zone Fighter (1973) episode 20 (under the pen name Shiro Ishimori).

But his tokusatsu connections run even deeper — his maternal cousin was famed manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. 

Fumio Ishimori in Asakusa after his play was performed in January 2020. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In November 2020, I had the distinct privilege of interviewing Mr. Ishimori about his prolific screenwriting career. I had come to respect and admire Mr. Ishimori since our first meeting in early 2016 that I was determined to share his story in English with the rest of the world. Mr. Ishimori was, without a doubt, one of the kindest gentlemen I met while I was in Japan. 

With Fumio Ishimori in October 2020.

As he got older, he became much less active, and I never met him again after we completed our interview. Mr. Ishimori stopped going out, although he continued to offer screenwriting lectures via Zoom. I wanted to meet him one last time before leaving Japan, but it was sadly not to be. I'm pleased that I was able to record Mr. Ishimori's screenwriting memories in my interview with him.

Rest in peace, Ishimori-sensei. Thank you for your kindness.

Attending Another Hollywood Show in Burbank!

With Barbara Steele.

On Saturday, June 7, I attended the Hollywood Show in Burbank. Overall, unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the one in January. It was still a pretty fun time, but the January edition was one for the history books.

The first guest I met was horror-movie icon Barbara Steele. As a connoisseur of the various Mill Creek 50-movie box sets, I've become rather familiar with a number of her films. I can't say I'm the hugest fan of hers, but I do admire her work, and her movies are quite often pretty entertaining. 

Funnily enough, I met her 15 years ago (!) at the same event. (Time sure does fly.) Ms. Steele was polite but a bit guarded, which I suppose is to be expected given her age. 

The most notable interaction I could share about our encounter was that I originally picked out a Nightmare Castle (1965) photo for her to sign. Given all the black spaces on the image, I asked her to sign in silver, which she did. The silver pen, however, must have been running out of ink, because the autograph was barely visible.

Not wanting to make waves, I was prepared to accept it and move on, but she and her assistant offered a free replacement and let me keep the other autograph. Well, that was an easy decision on my part! I happily accepted their proposal and selected a She Beast (1966) photo, which had plenty of space appropriate for an autograph written in black ink. That signature looked fantastic, so I ended up with two for the price of one. Not too shabby!

With Hal Linden.

The next guest I met was Hal Linden. Most people will know Mr. Linden from his work on the TV series Barney Miller (1975-82), but, if you're a Godzilla fan, then you're more likely to him as the voice of Akira Takarada in the Titra/Titan dub of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966), as well as the voice of Akira Kubo in the Titra/Titan dub of Destroy All Monsters (1968).

When I approached Mr. Linden, I told him that I was a fan of his dubbing work and that I had interviewed many of his voice-acting colleagues, such as Paulette Rubinstein. He replied that dubbing kept him alive during the early part of his acting career.

Mr. Linden asked me if I knew when he dubbed the films. Thinking he was talking about the Godzilla flicks, I said it was around 1968 or '69. He said it went much further back than that, adding that he dubbed many other movies than just the Godzilla ones and went on to list several other flicks that I wasn't familiar with that he had also dubbed.

In the end, he signed my Media Blasters Blu-ray of Destroy All Monsters, which is a cool addition to my collection. 

With Martha Smith.

The last guest I met was Martha Smith, who played Babs Jansen in Animal House (1978). I asked her about working with director John Landis, to which she replied I was the first one to ask her about him, as everyone else wanted to know about John Belushi. While he didn't do it to her, she said that Landis would whack actors on the head with the script and shout, "Be funny!"  

Animal House, of course, is a classic, and it's a great showcase for the talents of John Landis as a director. Naturally, Martha Smith is great in it, as well. After we took our obligatory photos, I said to her, "And, remember, be funny!" That got a chuckle out of her, so I guess it was a nice way to put a bow on the whole experience.

After that, I went on to other appointments. As I wrote above, I definitely had more fun at the January show than this one, but it was still a pleasant experience. I look forward to adding the next one!

The Land of the Rising Starr!

Mike Starr. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Wednesday, April 9, I got to spend an enjoyable afternoon with actor Mike Starr. The conversation focused mostly on his work on The Bushido Blade (1981), his very first movie, but of course we touched on several other topics, as well.

It was great to spend time in the company of a person who loves Japan about as much as I do. I have to thank Mr. Starr for his hospitality, and I hope we can meet up again in the future!

New Dubbing Q&A Now Available on Vantage Point Interviews!

Photo © Sharon Szmidt.

If you ever wondered what the Tom Hanks dramedy A League of Their Own (1992) has in common with Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), my latest vintage account has the answer you're looking for! Omni Productions voice actress Sharon Szmidt, who dubbed several Heisei-era Godzilla films in the late 1990s, shares her story in my latest interview. Check it out today at the one place on the Internet where content is still king.

Kaiju Eiga Secrets Revealed in New Q&A on Vantage Point Interviews!

Yoshio Suzuki in March 2024. Photo by Brett Homenick.

A new vintage account is now available on Vantage Point Interviews -- this time with Yoshio Suzuki, one of the five original suitmakers for the original Godzilla (1954). For the first time in English, Mr. Suzuki recounts his career at both Toho and Tsuburaya Productions, covering everything from the first two Godzilla movies to the enigmatic North Korean kaiju epic Pulgasari (1985).

It's all here in this brand-new Q&A from Vantage Point Interviews!