Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
Directed by Kenji Misumi
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based on the manga
by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima
Starring
Music by Eiken Sakurai[1]
Cinematography Fujio Morita[1]
Edited by Toshio Taniguchi[1]
Production
company
Katsu[1]
Distributed by Toho
Release date
  • 11 August 1973 (1973-08-11) (Japan)
Running time
 89 minutes[1]
Country Japan

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (子連れ狼　冥府魔道, Kozure Ōkami: Meifumando, "Wolf with Child in Tow: Crossroads to Hell") is the fifth in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son, Daigoro.

Synopsis

On his travels on "the Demon Path in Hell", Ogami Itto is contronted by a series of messengers who represent a clan wanting his services. Each assassin in turn administers a specific test of his abilities, and when bested, gives Ogami partial payment for the job and, as per his usual stipulation, discloses some of the "secrets and reasons" for the killing. By the time Ogami has defeated all the messengers, he has been informed of a conspiracy to disguise a daimyō's illegitimate female offspring as a prince, while the clan leader's official offspring, a son, is kept concealed. A letter uncovering the plot is being delivered by a monk to the shōgun, which would mean the dissolution of the clan, leaving retainers, samurai, and vassals without an organization to support them—a disastrous end. Ogami is to intercept the Buddhist monk carrying the letter; the monk will be traveling under the protection of his arch enemy, Yagyū Retsudō, further complicating the mission. On a stopover at a town festival, Itto's three-year-old son, Ogami Daigoro, is separated from his father and gets mixed up with a notorious pickpocket being chased by constables. She asks him to promise not to divulge her identity, and when he is confronted he keeps his promise. The law officers publicly flog him in front of the townspeople, until the pickpocket surrenders herself and confesses. Still Daigoro keeps his word. Finally the constables release him, impressed by his stoic courage and honor. En route to intercept the monk, Ogami is contracted to kill the senile old lord, his concubine, and the young daughter. After securing the letter, he confronts the daimyo, and kills him, his concubine, and the young girl, fulfilling his contracts and preserving order.

Cast

  • Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ogami Ittō
  • Akihiro Tomikawa as Daigoro
  • Akira Yamauchi as Ayabe Ukon, Messenger 1
  • Hideji Otaki as Mogami Shusuke, Messenger 2
  • Taketoshi Naitô as Mawatara Hachiro, Messenger 3
  • Fujio Suga as Kikuchi Yamon, Messenger 4
  • Rokko Toura as Sazare Kanbei, Messenger 5
  • Shingo Yamashiroas Lord Kuroda Naritaka
  • Tomomi Sato as "Quick Change" Oyô
  • Michiyo Ōkusu as Shiranui
  • Koji Fujiyama as Tomekichi the Moll
  • Sumida Kazuyo as Hamachiyo
  • Bin Amatsu as Inspector Senzo
  • Taizen Shishido as Izumi Kazuna
  • Eiji Okada as Wakita
  • Minoru Ohki as Yagyu Retsudo

Release

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons was released theatrically in Japan on 11 August 1973 where it was distributed by Toho.[1] The film was released on home video by Samurai Cinema, a division of AnimEigo with English subtitles on 20 July 1997.[1]

Footnotes

Sources

  • Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 1461673747.
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