Her Wicked, Wicked ways. Above is a rare poster for a 1971 Japanese film entitled Kawaii akujo, known in English as The Lovely Wicked Woman, or sometimes The Lovely Bad Woman. You won’t find any info about the production online under the English titles because for some reason all the movie databases we consulted referred to it as Cute Vanity Fair. But trust us, this poster doesn’t say “cute vanity fair”, and we seriously doubt the movie was ever released in the West under that highly dubious title. It actually says "cute villain," and it wouldn't have been released in the West under that title either. Anyway, whatever you call the film, it was directed by Inoue Umetsugu and starred Bunjaku Han in a story of murder and intrigue centered around a tabloid newspaper. Han appeared in about twenty-five movies, including the classic pinku serial Stray Cat Rock, and starred on television scores of times before dying prematurely in 2002 at the age of fifty-four. We’ll have a bit more on her later.
Meiko Kaji actioner serves up blood and guts with a side order of social commentary.
Nora-nekko rokku: Sekkusu hanta, aka, Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter is the third installment of a Nikkatsu Studios-produced pentology of loosely connected Stray Cat Rock films. This one attempts to address two real world issues: the notorious Japanese penchant for racism, and Japanese resentment concerning the post-war occupation of their country by American troops. Meiko Kaji and her friends, who comprise a girl gang called the Alleycats, run afoul of a J-supremacist street gang called the Eagles when one of the Alleycats refuses to betray her half-Japanese/half-black boyfriend. Parallel to this, Meiko finds herself drawn to another mixed race boy who happens to be in town searching for his missing sister. The leader of the Eagles, twisted by the traumatic memory of his sister’s rape at the hands of American servicemen, goes fully bughouse insane over all this race-mixing and decides to solve it by embarking on a citywide rampage against anyone he thinks isn’t pure Japanese. As usual, we won’t spoil the film by giving a full synopsis. Find it, rent it, watch it, love it, and then go bash some racists. It's good clean fun. Nora-nekko rokku: Sekkusu hanta opened in Japan today in 1971.
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1945—World War II Ends
At Reims, France, German General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms, thus ending Germany's participation in World War II. Jodl is then arrested and transferred to the German POW camp Flensburg, and later he is made to stand before the International Military Tribunal at the Nuremberg Trials. At the conclusion of the trial, Jodl is sentenced to death and hanged as a war criminal. 1954—French Are Defeated at Dien Bien Phu
In Vietnam, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, which had begun two months earlier, ends in a French defeat. The United States, as per the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, gave material aid to the French, but were only minimally involved in the actual battle. By 1961, however, American troops would begin arriving in droves, and within several years the U.S. would be fully embroiled in war. 1937—The Hindenburg Explodes
In the U.S, at Lakehurst, New Jersey, the German zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg catches fire and is incinerated within a minute while attempting to dock in windy conditions after a trans-Atlantic crossing. The disaster, which kills thirty-six people, becomes the subject of spectacular newsreel coverage, photographs, and most famously, Herbert Morrison's recorded radio eyewitness report from the landing field. But for all the witnesses and speculation, the actual cause of the fire remains unknown. 1921—Chanel No. 5 Debuts
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel, the pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist philosophy, menswear-inspired styles, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion, introduces the perfume Chanel No. 5, which to this day remains one of the world's most legendary and best selling fragrances. 1961—First American Reaches Space
Three weeks after Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly into space, U.S. astronaut Alan Shepard completes a sub-orbit of fifteen minutes, returns to Earth, and is rescued from his Mercury 3 capsule in the Atlantic Ocean. Shepard made several more trips into space, even commanding a mission at age 47, and was eventually awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
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