Three Pretty Devils
Director: Motohiro Torii
Year: 1970
Rating: 5.0
Aka - Sanbiki no mesubachi
Aka - Girl Boss Three Pretty Devils
In some places on the internet this film is referred to as Girl Boss Three
Pretty Devils but I am not sure how accurate this is. There were a number
of films in the 1970s that were part of the Girl Boss female gang series
from Toei. This sort of falls into that genre but it just seems awfully tame
and more comedic than exploitive for a Girl Boss film. As best as I can figure
out the Japanese title translates to something like Three Honey Bees but
that could be very wrong!
Anyway, this is sort of a Girls Just Wanna Have Fun film. That is if having
fun consists of hustling and scamming men for meals, booze and money. Let's
face it men of all ages are easy targets for a pretty girl's come-on. And
if that doesn't make him open his wallet, sex will. But for the most part
it is all done with light pop sensibilities that wander about in no particular
direction with no destination in mind. Every now and then it looks like it
might get sleazy and serious but quickly pulls back after perhaps a glimpse
of nudity. There are moments when it reminded me of a teenage Beach
movie but with a lot more larceny and a lot less sand - or even at times
like a Love American Style scene. Then a naked breast pops out or a Yakuza
beats up someone and you have to reconsider. The director Motohiro Torii
who wrote scripts for Street Fighter, Sister Street Fighter and one of the
Red Peony Gambler films just feels lost here as plot threads come and go
like traffic lights.
A large Expo is taking place in Osaka which was a real event with the motto
"Progress and Harmony for Mankind." and lasted for six months in 1970. It
was a like a beacon to freelance girls with a cash register for a heart as
they make their way to Osaka like an invasion of locusts. Pretty, hip, immoral
and willing to take chances with the law. Three girls that came down separately
end up bonding together and working on schemes to hustle stupid men. There
is Sachiko (Junko Natsu) who has clearly played this game before and specializes
in getting men back to short time hotels and running off with their money
when they are taking a bath; Mina (Reiko Ohara) doing small con jobs and
Hatsue (not sure who, maybe Yôko Ichiji) who doesn't mind a roll on
the mattress or letting an old man feel her up for a reward. After a score
they go out to clubs and dance. One of the singers at the club is Peter,
an androgynous singer who was known at the time and was apparently in Ran
of all things. Also, making a cameo is singer Wada “Akko” Akiko who
sings the theme song and beats up a few Yakuza thugs and has a pretty good
scowl going for her.
This grifting part is fine but then lots of sub-plots are brought in - a
man cheating on their friend (Yuriko Mishima), a broken heart, a stolen document
about a land deal, a truck chase, the Yakuza - that go nowhere. Mild fun
for the pop scene, nifty fashions, runaway camera work and the Expo but not
much of a payoff. It just flutters away in the end.