Mastermind (1976 film)

Mastermind
Mastermind
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	September 10, 1976;
Running time	86 minutes
Countries	Japan; United States
Language	English
Budget	$2.5 million

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] 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

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

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

References

^ ^a ^b "ABC's 5 Years of Film Production Profits & Losses". Variety. 31 May 1973. p. 3.
^ Pfeiffer, Lee (24 May 2018). "Review: "Mastermind" (1969)". Cinema Retro. Retrieved 20 August 2020.

External links

Mastermind at IMDb

[variety-1] "ABC's 5 Years of Film Production Profits & Losses". Variety. 31 May 1973. p. 3.

[2] Pfeiffer, Lee (24 May 2018). "Review: "Mastermind" (1969)". Cinema Retro. Retrieved 20 August 2020.

[1]

[2]