Gambler Tales of Hasshu: A Man's Pledge poster

TMDb7.0 / 10

Gambler Tales of Hasshu: A Man's Pledge (1963)

Name: Gambler Tales of Hasshu: A Man's Pledge
Director: Masahiro Makino
Genre: Drama
Released: 1963-06-30
Duration: 83 min
Rating: 7
Cast: Chiezo Kataoka, Sonny Chiba, Takashi Shimura, Sumiko Fuji, Yachiyo Ōtori

83 min · Japan · Dir. Masahiro Makino

Drama 1963 movies

This is one of the many films based on the legend of Chuji Kunisada, a wandering gambler and a defender of the weak in the Edo period. In other words, he was the Japanese Robin Hood. In this film Kunisada (Chiezo Kataoka) arrives to a small town terrorized by an evil gang. He insists that he is not Kunisada, as the word is Kunisada has been executed, but of course the audience know better. Sonny Chiba plays an unusual supporting role as a helpless young man unable to defend himself from the gangsters. He does, however, get to play taiko drums and dance with Junko Fuji (who makes her film debut here). Chiba's father, an old judge who helps Kunisada, is played by Takashi Shimura. The film hardly anything exceptional, but it's a pretty decent jidai geki / yakuza drama.