Mastermind (1976 film)
| Mastermind | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Directed by | Alex March |
| Screenplay by | William Peter Blatty (as Terence Clyne) Ian McLellan Hunter (as Samuel B. West) |
| Story by | William Peter Blatty (as Terence Clyne) |
| Produced by | Malcolm Stuart |
| Starring | Zero Mostel Keiko Kishi Gawn Grainger |
| Cinematography | Gerald Hirschfeld |
| Edited by | John C. Howard |
| Music by | Fred Karlin |
| Color process | Metrocolor |
Production companies | ABC Pictures Master Associates |
| Distributed by | Goldstone Film Enterprises |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Countries | Japan United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.5 million[1] |
Mastermind is a 1976 Japanese-American comedy thriller film directed by Alex March and starring Zero Mostel, Keiko Kishi and Gawn Grainger. 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 since its release on home video.[citation needed]
The second of producer Malcolm Stuart's two-picture deal with screenwriter, William Peter Blatty, the project was inspired by the success of the 1964 Peter Sellers comedy A Shot in the Dark which Blatty had co-written with producer/director Blake Edwards. Blatty's script was drastically revised by Ian McLellan Hunter prior to production, and the disgruntled screenwriter chose the pseudonym Terence Clyne for his screen credit.[2] Finance came from ABC Pictures.[3] By 1973 it had recorded a loss of $2.9 million.[1] Blatty's original screenplay was published as part of a limited edition collection by Lonely Road Books in 2013 as Five Lost Screenplays by William Peter Blatty.
Plot
[edit]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
[edit]- Zero Mostel as Inspector Hoku Ichihara
- Keiko Kishi as Nikki Kono
- Gawn Grainger as Nigel Crouchback
- Bradford Dillman as Jabez Link
- Jules Munshin as Israeli Agent #1
- Furankî Sakai as Captain Yamada (as Frankie Sakai)
- Sorrell Booke as Max Engstrom
- Zaldy Zshornack as Officer Abe
- Felix Silla as Schatzi
- Phil Leeds as Israeli Agent #2
- Kichi Taki as The Monk
- Tetsu Nakamura 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 as Bertha Tors
Trivia
[edit]Co-star Jules Munshin died 6½ years before the film was finally released. Munshin died Feb. 19, 1970 at age 54 and "Mastermind" was released in September 1976.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "ABC's 5 Years of Film Production Profits & Losses". Variety. May 31, 1973. p. 3.
- ^ Pfeiffer, Lee (May 24, 2018). "Review: "Mastermind" (1969)". Cinema Retro. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (April 7, 2026). "Forgotten Film Moguls: Martin Baum at ABC Pictures, Selig Seligman at Selmur and Edgar Scherick at Palomar". Filmink. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
External links
[edit]- Mastermind at IMDb
- 1976 films
- 1970s parody films
- 1970s mystery films
- American parody films
- Comedy mystery films
- Films with screenplays by William Peter Blatty
- Films scored by Fred Karlin
- Films set in Japan
- 1976 comedy films
- Japan in non-Japanese culture
- 1976 English-language films
- 1976 American films
- English-language mystery films