Operation Crazy

**Operation Crazy** (クレージー大作戦, *Kureji daisakusen*) is a 1966 Japanese action crime comedy film directed by Kengo Furusawa and starring The Crazy Cats. It was produced by Watanabe Productions with Shin Watanabe as producer of entertainment. Another film was release that same day was Kigeki ekimae keiba, directed by Kôzô Saeki and starring Hisaya Morishige. Screenwriter Ryozo Kasahara from "Red Angel", Yasuo Tanami from "Punch Guy", Takashi Tsuboshima from "Tanuki no ōsama" and Ichiro Ikeda from "Beware of the Lord" co-wrote the script, and Kengo Furusawa from "It Started in the Alps".

## Overview

A suspense action comedy that was inspired from an Italian film called "Seven Golden Men" (directed by Marco Vicario), which was released in Japan in the spring 1966, and is designed to make use of the characters of each of the seven crazy members and to have a meaningful role in the film.

In addition to the four credited scriptwriters, novelist Yasuo Nakahara (Nobuhiko Kobayashi) and Kengo Furusawa, who took over to direct the film, participated in the detailed brainstorming to create the story plot, which is the essence of the story. Finally, Yasuo Tanami put together a bundle of the script drafts. It is also the only work in which directors Kengo Furusawa and Takashi Tsuboshima, who supported the Toho Crazy Movie, were involved together as the main staff.

## Plot

In Cell No. 9 in Sunarun Prison, a group of five men are convicted of theft and robberies. These includes Hisa Ohara, Juro JIn, Yotaro Yabukoshi, Nukimaru Hanamikoji and George Baba. Kakoi, the guard in charge on Cell No. 9, is trying to form a gang and give guidance on rehabilitation, but the five-member group has no interest on this task. At that time, a businessman named Goro Ishikawa entered the seventh issue. Ishikawa, who was trying to get rid of bad money from all over the world, wanted to borrow Ohira's safe-breaking skill and was caught on purpose. The current plan is to steal the billion yen safe from the "President" who reigns in the criminal underworld of Japan.

One day, the six men who came out for a consolation performance escaped from Kakoi with a companion and, on the way, attacked a department store and headed for the president's residence. Ishikawa and Ohira who arrived were able to clean up the gangsters and open the safe safely. However, what appeared was Himeko Takayama, a beautiful fox fashion woman with the same ideals as Ishikawa. Himeko was captured by the president's bodyguards. Ishikawa, who quickly said goodbye, was disappointed that the heist was a failure. On the other hand, Kakoi learned that they were looking for him as an aid to escape and joined the group. Finally, Ishikawa sneaked into the scene when he learned that gangsters from all over Japan were gathering under the name, the **National Council of the Pacific Product Chain** (太平洋製品チェーンの全国評議会, *Taiheiyō seihin chēn no zenkoku hyōgi-kai*).

However, Himeko was surprised to see them approach the president with a color scheme and heist operation. Ishikawa, who was in good shape, rolled up Himeko and listened to the content of the meeting. According to the reports, the bosses would load ¥1 billion on a car and take it to Izu. When Ishikawa asked the exact time, he locked Himeko in the bathtub and followed him with his friends for a billion yen. However, there are many hitmen and gangsters in front of and behind the president's car. Ishikawa and his fellow thieves have been successful in the heist so far, but will they manage to steal a billion yen? Soon it will be Izu next stop. After their successful heist, they took the Pan American plane, arriving in Las Vegas, steal the money from a bank and sing in front of the club audience.

## Staff

* Producer: Shin Watanabe
* Director: Kengo Furusawa
* Screenwriters: Ryôzô Kasahara, Ichiro Ikeda, Yasuo Tanami, Takashi Tsuboshima
* Editor: Yoshitami Kuroiwa
* Cinematographer: Senkichi Nagai
* Music Composer: Naozumi Yamamoto, Hiroaki Hagiwara
* Production Designer: Shinobu Muraki
* Second Unit Director or Assistant Director: Masanobu Deme (chief assistant director), Koji Hashimoto (second assistant director), Fumisuke Okada (third assistant director) (as Fumisake Okada)
* Sound Department: Kanae Masua (sound recordist), Hisashi Shimonaga (sound effects editor)
* Camera and Electrical Department: Kiyohisa Hirano as (lighting technician), Masahiro Kishimoto (assistant camera)
* Synthesis: Hiroshi Matsuda

## Cast

* Hitoshi Ueki as Gorō Ishikawa
* Hajime Hana as Imori Kako
* Kei Tani as Hisa Ōhira
* Hiroshi Inuzuka as Juro Jin
* Senri Sakurai as George Baba
* Shin Yasuda as Yotaro Yabukoshi
* Êtarô Ishibashi as Nukimaru Hanamikoji
* Yumiko Nogawa as Himeko Takayama
* Yukio Aoshima as Residential police box officer
* Tonpei Hidari as Gangster
* Akimi Fuji as Keiko Hinata
* Eitarō Shindō as President
* Kiiton Masuda as Director Oto
* Akira Hitomi as Policeman coming to the hotel
* Gen Shimizu, Somesho Matsumoto, Jun Ôtomo as Underworld bosses
* Shin Otomo, Naoya Kusakawa, Ryūsuke Saijō as Executives
* Nadao Kirino as Bouncer
* Masanari Nihei, Yasuo Araki, Jun Kuroki as President's bodyguards
* Shiro Tsuchiya as Department store manager
* Kazuko Tani as Department store clerk lady
* Ryūji Kita as Hotel manager Ariga
* Tadashi Okabe as Hotel receptionist
* Keiichi Morishita as Hotel bell boy
* Tôru Yuri as Stationmaster
* Hideo Shibuya as Train driver
* Rinsaku Ogata as Inspector Shimoda
* Yoshio Katsube as Detective
* Kôzô Nomura as Policeman coming to the jewelry store
* Shoichi Hirose, Wataru Ōmae as Police officers on the cordon
* Akira Kitchoji as Old police officer
* Saburo Kadowaki as Guard
* Yûko Shibaki as Woman at the party
* John Stephenson as Las Vegas bank official (uncredited)

## Insert songs

**Troublesome Section** (たるんどる節, *Tarun doru setsu*)

* Lyrics: Yukio Aoshima
* Composer: Hiroaki Hagiwara
* Performer: Hitoshi Ueki

**Folk Song Medley-Shibire Bushi** (民謡メドレー〜シビレ節, *Min'yō medorē 〜 shibire*) (Folk song)

* Shibire-bushi = Lyrics: Yukio Aoshima, Composer: Hiroshi Miyagawa
* Performer: Crazy Cats

**I Love You To The Bones** (骨まで愛して, *Hone made aishite*)

* Lyrics: Kazuko Kawauchi (co-written by Kohan Kawauchi)
* Composer: Reiji Kazari (Jun Kitahara)
* Performer: Kei Tani \* A hit song by Masao Kikuchi. Pretend to be drunk and sing in cappella

**Great Operation March** (大作戦マーチ, *Dai sakusen māchi*)

* Lyrics: Yukio Aoshima
* Composer: Hiroaki Hagiwara
* Performer: Crazy Cats

**Music Tale-Turkish March** (音楽コント－トルコ行進曲, *Ongaku konto - Toruko kōshinkyoku*)

* Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
* Performer: Kei Tani