Nippon musekinin jidai

Nippon musekinin jidai (ニッポン無責任時代, Irresponsible Era of Japan) is a 1962 Japanese comedy film directed by Kengo Furusawa. It became one of the most popular comedic films in Japan with the box office earning around ¥350 million ($3,343,567.50 in US dollar).

Nippon musekinin jidai
Directed byKengo Furusawa
Produced byEizaburō Adachi
Shin Watanabe
Written byYasuo Tanami
Hiroshi Matsuki
StarringHitoshi Ueki
Hajime Hana
Noriko Shigeyama
Music byYoshiyuki Kôzu
CinematographyTakao Saito
Edited byYoshitami Kuroiwa
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • July 29, 1962 (1962-07-29)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Budget¥350 million
Box office$3,249,557 (box office)

The Crazy Cats comic jazz band and their featured singer Hitoshi Ueki did not invent the local genre of the "salaryman" comedy but they were its ubiquitous face in the 1960s. Some of the first big stars of the new medium of television brought standing-room-only audiences to a cinema in decline. This film established Ueki's comic persona as a salaryman who would goof off at work and yet somehow always come out ahead, every so often bursting into one of his well-known Japanese folk-inflected songs while dancing something like the twist. The first in a series of "Irresponsible" films whose comic songs formed the soundtrack of Japan's high economic growth.

Overview

This movie was shot in color and cinemascope (TohoScope). The musical themes are "Irresponsible Ichidai Otoko" and "Hello, Until Then". This was the first memorable movie of the Crazy Movie series. The Crazy Cats, which became popular on "Shabontama Holiday" (Nippon TV) at that time, especially Hitoshi Ueki's big hit apperence on "Sudara Bushi". The series involved three main actresses (Sonomi Nakajima, Noriko Shigeyama, Reiko Dan), but it became unexpectedly popular, and 30 more were produced up to "Nippon ichi no shokku otoko" (directed by Takashi Tsuboshima) in 1971. In this play, Yasuo Tanami, who was an employee of the Toho Literature Club at the time, was originally involved in planning the President's Series, wrote the draft of the "Irresponsible Employee" as the antithesis of a loyal member of the company.

They sold it as a project for a movie starring Frankie Sakai, but the idea was scrapped due to poorly script writing, and when he left it as it was, producer Eizaburō Adachi asked Tanami to make a movie named after the success of Crazy Cats' music hit "Sudara Bushi", and he began to write the screenplay. When it was released, it was agreed, and it was a scenario where Crazy Cats members were assigned to act in the film.

Plot

The average Kuchihaccho and Tehaccho (Taira Hitoshi) heard the story of Pacific sake riding in the bar "Madrid". Hitoshi's first job, when he mentioned the name of a senior in his hometown to the president of Pacific Sake and worked in the general affairs department, was to acquire the president of Toyama Shoji, a major shareholder.

Success with a single check. Shimbashi geisha Manmaru is also cholera with his great ability, and promotion to chief of staff is a completely easy business. However, as Mika Tenka often said, Hitoshi was immediately fired when he learned that the kidnapper, Yuto Kuroda, had acquired Toyama's property. Kuroda's brain is Ryosuke Oshima, president of Sankai Foods, but his daughter Yoko ran away with her boyfriend Takasaku Ujiie. By the way, Hitoshi met Kuroda at the new president's inauguration party, but he returned with the outside director due to the skill of the show and the banquet. It is an unfortunate story for employees on the Taihei side that the traditional Pacific sake will become a subsidiary of Sankai Foods.

On the other hand, Kyoko, a geisha, and Aiko, a liquor secretary from the Pacific, ran to Tonton's boarding house and began to guess love. Hitoshi is fluttering with Aiko's fierce kiss. Around this time, Kuroda, who visited the Oshima Residence, cut the story of his daughter Yoko's marriage and discovered that he had a favorite partner, Takasaku Ujiie. Hitoshi's next job is to buy hops from Hokkai Bussan, a Pacific liquor business.

Hitoshi captured the president of the North Sea, Ishikari, who could not eat even if it was boiled or baked, with a pink film and a naked tatami in the room. However, Hitoshi, who simply doesn't wake up when he falls, discovers that Oshima and Kuroda are injured by Yoko's marriage and urges Ujiie's president to return to work, using Yoko's whereabouts as a seed. Who knows that Hitoshi, who appeared in a black tie at the Ujiie and Oshima families' wedding ceremony that day, is the new president of Hokkai Bussan!

Cast

※ Uncredited

Staff

Theme songs / Insert songs

  • All the lyrics are written by Yukio Aoshima and composed by Hiroaki Hagiwara.
  • Skinny Manbushi (やせがまん節, Yase gaman-bushi)

An original movie song is played when Hitoshi goes to the Ujiie family at night. Later sung in "Sudara Gaiden". In the trailer, it was "Skinny Manbushi", but in the OP credit, it was written as "Skinny Patience Bushi".

  • Don't Clause (ドント節, Donto-bushi)

Hitoshi, who went to the Ujiie family, robs Takasaku of his guitar and sings.

  • Sudara Section (スーダラ節, Sūdara-bushi)

Use number 2. After returning to the boarding house, Hitoshi throws out the betting ticket while climbing the stairs and sings while cleaning his suit.

  • Fifty Thousand Verses (五万節, 50, 000-Setsu)

Hitoshi, who saw a pair of Takasaku and Yoko at the bar, muttered, "Well, when I was a student," and first sang one phrase with a cappella, followed by a shout of "Ah, that!" With BGM, and was a guest at the same bar. Sing with Otsuka, Sakura, Aoki and Yasui. All lyrics are movie originals.

  • Hello, Until Then (ハイそれまでョ, Haisoremade~yo)

Hitoshi sings at the inaugural meeting of President Kuroda, and Otsuka, Sakura, Aoki, and Yasui act as back dancers. He used No. 1 and No. 3, but the lyrics have changed in the latter half of both. At first glance, it seems to be a stage, but in fact, it is a production peculiar to the Furusawa movie, that is, at the inaugural meeting.

In the trailer, it is "High Until Then", but in the opening credit is written as "High Until Then".

  • Irresponsible First Generation Man (無責任一代男, Musekinin ichidaiotoko)

The theme song of this work. It was played twice in total, and the second time, Hitoshi sang instead of congratulations at the wedding ceremony of Takasaku and Yoko, and Otsuka, Sakura, Aoki, and Yasui danced.

 
"Aoyama Cemetery" with "Aoyama Shiba" used as the place where Hitoshi and President Ujiie met.

Location

Simultaneous screening

"Kigeki ekimae onsen" (喜劇 駅前温泉, Comedy Station Square Hot Spring)

The fourth installment of the "Ekimae Series". Since then, Industrial Spy Free for All (directed by Takashi Tsuboshima), "Mahjong Madness" will be coupled eight times in total with the Crazy Movie and "Ekimae Series".