The Black Test Car (1962) Kuro no tesuto kaa (original title)

Director:

Yasuzô Masumura

Writers:

Kazuro Funabashi
Yoshihiro Ishimatsu
(more)

Release Date:

1 July 1962 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Two car manufacturers spy on each other to try to find out details and prices of a new sports car each is about to launch. |

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Japanese Noir | Crash | Beach | Corporate Crime

Cast

Jiro Tamiya	...	Yutaka Asahina
Junko Kano	...	Masako Usami
Eiji Funakoshi	...	Kimio Hiraki
Hideo Takamatsu	...	Toru Onoda
Ichirô Sugai
Kichijirô Ueda

Directed by
Yasuzô Masumura		(as Yasuzo Masumura)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kazuro Funabashi
Yoshihiro Ishimatsu
Sueyuki Kajiyama		novel

Produced by
Gentaro Nakajima	....	planner

Original Music by
Sei Ikeno

Cinematography by
Yoshihisa Nakagawa

Film Editing by
Tatsuji Nakashizu

Production Companies

• Daiei Studios

Distributors

• Daiei Studios
• Fantoma

Also Known As:

"Kuro no tesuto kaa" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Company:

Daiei Studios

Sinking to the depths of industrial espionage

The story centers around the project manager of a new sports car called the Pioneer, to be produced by the Tiger Motor Company. A larger rival company (Yamoto) has infiltrated Tiger with spies in order to steal the design.

The story builds up from what seem to be relatively harmless spying methods like filming the rival model on a test run. The Tiger manager has to use his own spying methods to counteract Yamoto. This meets with little success. This leads to a mutual escalation of industrial espionage that builds and builds and builds, peeling off layer after layer of morality of the characters as each side uses more low-handed methods. Example: The manager puts pressure on his assistant with promises of promotion, and that assistant stoops to prostituting his girl friend with the head man of Yamoto. But that's only a taste. As the story progresses, you will be surprised to what lengths the rivals go.

The cinematography of this film noir complements excellent staging by the director to underscore the tawdry activities of businesses competing with no holds barred. The director made good use of dark hallways at critical points in the narrative, for example. There is a constant feeling of confinement and near desperation, with the possible exception that the project manager remains quite determined to win by gradually becoming more and more ruthless.

The acting is flawless. The music score in this one is relatively subdued, using natural sound and silence to add tension.

Thematically, most every theme is revealed through action. But in the final reel, there is more direct confrontation centering on the moral aspects of saving the company by any means. Plus the alternatives are illustrated by the contrast between the choices of the project manager and his assistant. Similarly, throughout the film, we see how a variety of different people react as they are touched by the espionage.