Lightning Karate Blow

Ken Takakura's screen debut, following his admission into Toei ranks via the studio's annual New Faces program, came surprisingly enough in this pair of Okinawa karate films. The two-parter was released on Jan. 29, 1956 as two thirds of a triple feature. Both halves run just under one hour. The fighting is actually pretty good for the time, and it's fun to see Takakura as an impatient, bearded karate rascal.

• Release date
• January 29, 1956
• Runtime
• 59 min
• Genres
• Action
• Director
• Fujio Tsuda

Cast

Ken Takakura Harumi Urazato Susumu Namishima Takashi Kanda Higa Saburo (Gisen's Disciple) Isao Yamagata Nagoe Gisen Toranosuke Ogawa Yoshi Katō Takamaru Sasaki