''Mastermind'' is a 1976 Japanese-American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Alex March and starring

Zero Mostel Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in ''Fiddler on the Roof'', Pseudolus on stage and on ...

Keiko Kishi is a Japanese actress, writer, and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. Life and career She made her acting debut in 1951. In the 1950s, David Lean had proposed her for the main role in ''The Wind Cannot Read'', which is about a Japanese language instru ...

and

Gawn Grainger Gawn Grainger (born 12 October 1937) is a British actor, playwright and screenwriter. Early life Some sources indicate he was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 12 October 1937. He is the son of Charles Neil Grainger and his wife Elizabeth (née Gal ...

. Filmed in 1969, it sat on the shelf for seven years before receiving a limited theatrical release in 1976. It has developed a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

since its release on home video. The second of producer Malcolm Stuart's two-picture deal with screenwriter,

William Peter Blatty William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel, ''The Exorcist'', and for his 1974 screenplay for the film adaptation of the same name. Blatty won ...

, the project was inspired by the success of the 1964

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

comedy '' A Shot in the Dark'' which Blatty had co-written with producer/director

Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio s ...

. Blatty's script was drastically revised by

Ian McLellan Hunter Ian McLellan Hunter (8 August 1915 – 5 March 1991) was an English screenwriter, best remembered for fronting for the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo as the credited writer of ''Roman Holiday'' in 1953. Hunter was himself later blacklisted. ''Roman ...

prior to production, and the disgruntled screenwriter chose the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Terence Clyne for his screen credit. By 1973 it had recorded a loss of $2.9 million. Blatty's original screenplay was published as part of a limited edition collection by

Lonely Road Books Lonely Road Books is a small press publishing company founded in 2007 by Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar and based out of Forest Hill, Maryland. They are a publishing company that specializes in deluxe signed limited edition books. L ...

in 2013 as ''Five Lost Screenplays by William Peter Blatty''.

Plot

Zero Mostel plays an inspector on the trail of criminals who have captured a robot called Schatzi played by Felix Sillas. The inspector has delusions that he is a great Samurai warrior and the film flashes back and forth between present day and ancient times.

Cast

as Inspector Hoku Ichihara *

as Nikki Kono *

as Nigel Crouchback *

Bradford Dillman Bradford Dillman (April 14, 1930 – January 16, 2018) was an American actor and author. Early life Bradford Dillman was born on April 14, 1930, in San Francisco, the son of Dean Dillman, a stockbroker, and Josephine (née Moore). Bradford's pa ...

as Jabez Link *

Jules Munshin Jules Munshin (February 22, 1915 – February 19, 1970) was an American actor, comedian and singer who had made his name on Broadway when he starred in ''Call Me Mister''. His additional Broadway credits include ''The Gay Life'' and ''Barefoot ...

as Israeli Agent #1 * Furankî Sakai as Captain Yamada (as Frankie Sakai) *

Sorrell Booke Sorrell Booke (January 4, 1930 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor who performed on stage, screen, and television. He acted in more than 100 plays and 150 television shows, and is best known for his role as corrupt politician Jefferson ...

as Max Engstrom *

Zaldy Zshornack José Rizaldy Taduran Zshornack (30 December 1937 – 18 November 2002) was a Filipino actor. Zshornack had a long career spanning the 1950s to the 1990s. His name Zaldy is derived from his birthdate, 30 December, which is celebrated as Rizal ...

as Officer Abe *

Felix Silla Felix Anthony Silla (January 11, 1937 – April 16, 2021), also credited as Felix Cilla, was an Italian actor and stuntman, known for his career in Hollywood in TV and film. Silla starting his career in the circus, but is best known especial ...

as Schatzi *

Phil Leeds Phil Leeds (April 6, 1916 – August 16, 1998) was an American character actor. He is best known for appearing in many movies and television series, including guest appearances in ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' Maude'', ''Friends'', ''Barney ...

as Israeli Agent #2 * Kichi Taki as The Monk *

Tetsu Nakamura , also known as Kaka Murad (Pashto: , transl. "Uncle Nakamura"), (15 September 1946 – 4 December 2019), was a Japanese physician and honorary Afghan citizen who headed Peace Japan Medical Services (PMS), an aid group known as ''Peshawar-kai'' ...

as Mr. Hiruta (as Satoshi Nakamura) * Chikako Natsumi as Yoko Hara * Larry Ohashi as Police Commissioner * Masanobu Wada as Hori * Wataru Omae as Kozo (as Kin Omae) *

Renate Mannhardt Renate Mannhardt (1920–2013) was a German actress. She starred in Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States ...

as Bertha Tors

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0074877, title=Mastermind 1976 films 1970s parody films 1970s mystery films American parody films Comedy mystery films Films scored by Fred Karlin Films set in Japan 1976 comedy films Japan in non-Japanese culture 1970s English-language films 1970s American films