The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978)

Director:

John Berry

Writer:

Bill Lancaster (written by)

Release Date:

30 June 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

They never met an adult they couldn't drive crazy.

Plot:

In this third film of the Bad News Bears series, Tony Curtis plays a small time promoter/hustler who...

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Japan | Sequel | Batter | Homerun

Cast

Tony Curtis	...	Marvin Lazar
Jackie Earle Haley	...	Kelly Leak
Tomisaburô Wakayama	...	Coach Shimizu
Antonio Inoki	...	Himself
Hatsune Ishihara	...	Arika
George Wyner	...	the Network Director
Lonny Chapman	...	Louis the Gambler
Matthew Anton	...	E.R.W. Tillyard III (as Matthew Douglas Anton)
Erin Blunt	...	Ahmad Rahim
George Gonzales	...	Miguel Agilar
Brett Marx	...	Jimmy Feldman
David Pollock	...	Rudy Stein
David Stambaugh	...	Toby Whitewood
Jeffrey Louis Starr	...	Mike Engleberg
Scoody Thornton	...	Mustapha Rahim
Abraham Unger	...	Abe Bernstein
Dick Button	...	Himself
Regis Philbin	...	Harry Hahn
Kin'ichi Hagimoto	...	Game Show Host
Hugh Gillin	...	Pennywall
Robert Sorrells	...	Locke
Sonny Barnes	...	Mean Bones Beaudine (as Clarence Barnes)
Michael Yama	...	Usher
James Staley	...	Network Man #4
Dick McGarvin	...	Network Man #3
Tak Kubota	...	Referee
Jerry Ziesmer	...	Eddie of Network
Gene LeBell	...	Mean Bones' Manager
Bin Amatsu	...	Arika's Father
Dean A. Okinaka	...	Manager
Victor Toyota	...	Interpreter
Yangi Kitadani	...	Fight Announcer
Marjorie Jackson	...	Waitress
Jerry Maren	...	Page Boy
Tim P. Sullivan	...	Network Man #2
Bob Kino	...	Moderator
Dennis Freeman	...	Network Man #5
Kyôko Fuji	...	Madam (as Kyoko Fuji)
Ginger Martin	...	Director's Aide
Daniel Sasaki	...	Band Leader
Don Watters	...	Network Man #1
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julie Hampton	...	Dancing Woman (uncredited)
Shô Kosugi	...	Kata Demonstrator (uncredited)
Ari Taub	...	Left Fielder (uncredited)
Akira Ôizumi	...	Second Baseman (uncredited)

Directed by
John Berry

Writing credits
Bill Lancaster		(written by)

Produced by
Terry Carr	....	associate producer
Bill Lancaster	....	co-producer
Michael Ritchie	....	producer
Hisashi Yabe	....	associate producer: Japan

Original Music by
Paul Chihara

Film Editing by
Richard A. Harris
Dennis Virkler

Production Design by
Walter Scott Herndon

Set Decoration by
Cheryal Kearney

Makeup Department
Hisako Hanazawi	....	hair stylist: Japanese Crew (as Hisako Hanazawa)
Bob Mills	....	makeup artist (as Robert Mills)

Production Management
Terry Carr	....	unit production manager
Asatomo Kyokawa	....	unit manager: Japan
William Ross	....	unit manager: Japan (as Bill Ross)
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	executive production manager: Paramount (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mike Abe	....	assistant director: Japan
Alan Brimfeld	....	second assistant director (as Alan Brimfield)
Jerry Ziesmer	....	assistant director

Art Department
Hiroshi Kitagawa	....	art director: Japan
Mike Miner	....	property master

Sound Department
William M. Andrews	....	sound effects editor (as Bill Andrews)
Bub Asman	....	sound effects editor (as Henry Asman)
Gene S. Cantamessa	....	sound mixer (as Gene Cantamesa)
John Wilkinson	....	sound re-recording mixer (as John K. Wilkinson)
Raul A. Bruce	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Hector Guerrero	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Marlin Hall	....	key grip
Kôzô Okazaki	....	director of photography: Japan
Gene Polito	....	director of photography: USA
Tony Rivetti	....	first assistant camera: "a"camera, steadicam
Richard Walden	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nancy Martinelli	....	wardrobe
Thomas Welsh	....	wardrobe (as Tommy Welsh)

Editorial Department
Carolyn H. Abe	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Paul Chihara	....	music adaptor
Robert Krueger	....	music editor
Michael Melvoin	....	music arranger: songs (as Mike Melvoin)

Other crew
Takashi Arakawa	....	baseball advisor: Japanese Crew
Charlotte Dreiman	....	location liaison: Japan
Michie Ross	....	interpreter: Japanese Crew
Shin'ichirô Sawai	....	dialogue coach: Japanese Crew (as Shinichiro Sawai)
Naofumi Okamoto	....	production coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Michael Ritchie Productions
• Paramount Pictures (presents)
• Toei Company (uncredited)

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1980) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Paramount Pictures

Other Companies

• Champion Spark Plugs  promotional material furnished by
• Denny's Inc.  promotional material furnished by (as Denny's)
• Group TAC (I)  animation by
• Japan Airlines  promotional material furnished by (as Japan Air Lines)
• Keio Plaza Hotel  promotional material furnished by
• Pacific Title  end title by
• Rawlings  promotional material furnished by
• Sony  promotional material furnished by
• Toei Company  production services in Japan by: Japanese Crew (as Toei Company, Ltd.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Michael Ritchie Productions

Quotes:

Abe Bernstein:Marvin, if I take off my shoes, I'm going to get athlete's foot!
Marvin Lazar:Well, that'll be the only part of you that is an athlete.

Movie Connections:

References Rocky (1976)

Soundtrack:

MEAN BONES

The Bears are BAD.

It had to happen. After the success of "The Bad News Bears" and "Breaking Training" the film execs at Paramount knew they had a goldmine on their hands and couldn't leave well enough alone. They started on the right track by enlisting Bill Lancaster to write the script. He also authored the original. Sadly that is where the similarities end.

"The Bad News Bears Go To Japan" is one of the worst films of the 70's. It's so bad the many of the kids from the first two don't even appear in this one. The ones that do are given little to do save for team leader Kelly Leak who gets to romance a young japanese girl. The love story is laughably bad.

The coach this time around is Tony Curtis playing a con man looking for his next score. Curtis looks as if he is in a trance as he sleepwalks thru the film.

And the worst part? There is very little baseball in a movie about little leaguers!!! We get more scenes of sumo wrestling. The one baseball game we DO get is badly directed and comes so late in the film you may have either fallen asleep or turned it off.

And why send the kids all the way to Japan? A bit far fetched don't you think? Apparently the first film was a smash hit in Japan, playing in one theater for over a year. That says it all. The filmmakers knew that no matter how badly it bombed here (and it did) that they would have a hit in Japan (and it was). Too bad they didn't care that the product they were presenting was no better than a student film on a tiny budget. No. Take that back. A student film on a tiny budget would have to be ten times better than this pathetic "comedy."