DEEP DIVE: Did Teruyoshi Nakano Work on the Bloodthirsty Series?

Teruyoshi Nakano in May 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was browsing Wikizilla the other day and noticed that one of the editors removed the Bloodthirsty trilogy -- consisting of The Vampire Doll (1970), Lake of Dracula (1971), and Evil of Dracula (1974), all of which were directed by Michio Yamamoto -- from Toho special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano's filmography, due to a lack of proper citation.

I thought that was rather interesting, as I didn't realize Nakano-san's involvement was that poorly documented. But it did remind me of the time I asked Nakano-san about it in person. Thankfully, I took contemporaneous notes of his comments, and, after doing some digging for them, I finally found them and had a chance to look at them for the first time in a long time.

My notes are below, slightly edited for clarity:

5/27/2017 - Teruyoshi Nakano worked on the Bloodthirsty trilogy for free and no credit because he was friends with Fumio Tanaka. 

Fumio Tanaka, of course, produced the Bloodthirsty trilogy. And there you have it, straight from the source.

WALKING WITH A FRIEND! Two Toho Veterans Talk About Their Film Together!

Choei Takahashi (left) looks on as Koichi Ueda (right) signs an autograph. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight, I was pleased to attend a special dinner event with two special actors. The event followed a screening of their film Walking with a Friend (2013), which I had to miss due to my work schedule. But the dinner event was well worth attending.

Actor Choei Takahashi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was particularly eager to meet actor Choei Takahashi. Takahashi-san played the lead role in the Toho thriller Lake of Dracula (1971), the middle entry in the great Bloodthirsty trilogy. Actors from that film are especially difficult to meet, so the chance to meet the film's star was one I couldn't pass up. I brought a couple of Lake of Dracula stills for him to sign.

Actor Koichi Ueda. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also on hand was Koichi Ueda, a prolific Japanese actor whose career still thrives to this day. Most tokusatsu fans in the West probably know that Ueda-san appeared in every Godzilla movie from Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) through Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). (He told me that his role in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was his favorite of all his Godzilla appearances.) His other SFX and fantasy credits include: Kaiju Booska (1966-67), Ultra Seven (1967-68), Ultraman Taro (1973-74), Jumborg Ace (1973), and Barom-1 (1972). However, his best-known credit of all would likely be Shall We Dance? (1996).

I especially had a great time speaking with Ueda-san, who is extremely approachable and friendly. I certainly hope to have another chance to visit with him some day. Likewise, I hope to have another chance to see Takahashi-san again. I'd sure love to hear his stories from the set of Lake of Dracula!

That's all for now. Stay tuned to this blog for all the latest happenings!

A RETURN TO THE MOVIES! Seeing Toho Flicks Again in Asagaya!

Tickets for tonight's double feature. Photo by Brett Homenick.

It's Monday, so that must mean I went back to the Laputa Asagaya for another double feature. On tonight's menu was a pair of Toho features, which couldn't be any more different from each other. One was the screwball romantic comedy The Dangerous Kiss (1960), and the other was the eerie vampire tale Lake of Dracula (1971). 

Prior to the screenings, another audio recording by none other than Shinichi Yanagisawa was played, describing the background of The Dangerous Kiss. It's always a treat to hear Yanagisawa-san's familiar voice. 

 A poster for The Dangerous Kiss (uh, the one on the right). Photo by Brett Homenick.

The Dangerous Kiss stars Akira Takarada, Reiko Dan, Ichiro Arishima, Sachio Sakai, and several other Toho regulars (most of whom didn't appear in the studio's monster films). It's a lighthearted, over-the-top comedy that doesn't take itself seriously for one second. Takarada-san plays a popular, handsome boxer named Akira Takada (get it?) who, after a car collision, is photographed by the paparazzi trying to revive a high school student (played by Reiko Dan) using an unusual combination of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and ramen broth. The photo (looking more like a make-out session than a life-saving attempt) ends up on the cover of a gossip magazine and causes all sorts of shenanigans among the multiple women in Takada's life.

There's a lot happening in this film, everything from a food-fight sequence to a stage show at a nightclub featuring a guy in a yeti suit menacing a dancer. (The suit looked a bit like the one used in Half Human but, to my eye, was demonstrably different.)  Takarada-san was at his most charismatic here, and the entire cast was obviously having a lot of fun with the material.

Poster art for Toho's Lake of Dracula. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

After The Dangerous Kiss, it was time for a movie about a different kind of dangerous kisses -- you know, the kind vampires give you when they're trying to eat. Lake of Dracula was screened in all its glory, and it has obviously never looked better. I've never seen it in 35mm before, but the detail of the images was fantastic. Watching Shin Kishida's death scene at the end was quite intriguing. I never noticed before that the makeup used on Kishida's face during his death scene wasn't applied to his neck, making it plainly obvious to the viewer that it's all just a touch-up job.

And so ends another eventful Monday night. I'll be back at the Laputa Asagaya soon, but on a different night from my usual routine. Why the change? Stay tuned to this blog for the exciting answer!