is a 1970 Japanese comedy film directed by

Shun'ichi Kobayashi Shun'ichi or Shunichi (written: or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese baseball player and manager *, Japanese academic *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese sprint canoeist *, Japanese engineer *, ...

. It stars

Kiyoshi Atsumi Kiyoshi Atsumi (渥美清 ''Atsumi Kiyoshi''), born Yasuo Tadokoro (田所康雄 ''Tadokoro Yasuo'', 10 March 1928 – 4 August 1996), was a Japanese actor. He was born in Tokyo, and started his career in 1951 as a comedian at a strip-show the ...

as Kuruma Torajirō (Tora-san), and Komaki Kurihara as his love interest or "Madonna". ''Tora-san's Grand Scheme'' is the fourth entry in the popular, long-running ''

Otoko wa Tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans. Spanning 48 installments released between 1969 and 1995, all of the ' ...

'' series.

Synopsis

Hoping to repay his family for the trouble he has caused them in the past, Torasan gambles and wins at the horse races. He plans to give his uncle and aunt a vacation in Hawaii, but the travel agent turns out to be a con-artist, and makes off with his money. Torasan falls in love with Haruko, a young kindergarten teacher who is renting a room in his uncle's home.

Cast

as Torajiro *

Chieko Baisho is a Japanese actress and singer. In Japan, she is well known for her performance as Sakura in the ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series from 1969 until 1995. In addition, she has acted in many films directed by Yōji Yamada since the 1960s. She won th ...

as Sakura *

Komaki Kurihara is a Japanese stage and film actress. She has appeared in 30 films since 1967. She starred in the 1974 film ''Sandakan No. 8'', which was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1975 she was a member of the jury at the 9th ...

as Haruko *

Chieko Misaki Chieko (written: , , , , or ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese sprint canoeist *, blind Japanese computer scientist *, Japanese actress and singer *, Japanese voice actress and singer *, Japanes ...

as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt) *

Gin Maeda (born February 21, 1944) is a Japanese actor. He had a regular role in the ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' films, beginning with the first in the series (1969), as Sakura's husband. Filmography Film *''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series (1969–2019), Hiroshi S ...

as Hiroshi Suwa * Masaaki Tsusaka as Noboru Kawamata * Gajirō Satō as Genkichi (Man at the Temple)

Critical appraisal

The German-language site molodezhnaja gives ''Tora-san's Grand Scheme'' three out of five stars.

Availability

''Tora-san's Grand Scheme'' was released theatrically on February 27, 1970. In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1989 and 1995, and in DVD format in 2000, 2005, and 2008.

AnimEigo AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. Founded in 1988 by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams III, the company was one of the first in North America dedicated to licensi ...

released the film on DVD in the US along with the other first four films in the ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series on November 24, 2009.

References

Bibliography

English

* * * *

German

Japanese

* * * *

External links

''Tora-san's Grand Scheme''
at www.tora-san.jp (official site) {{Otoko wa Tsurai yo 1970 films Films set in Nagoya 1970s Japanese-language films Otoko wa Tsurai yo films Japanese sequel films Shochiku films 1970 comedy films 1970s Japanese films