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The Rainbow Man
TheRainbowMan
Theatrical release poster by Tsunekichi Shibata.[1]
Directed by Kiyohiko Ushihara
Produced by Hisakazu Tsuji
Kenji Kuroiwa
Written by Tsugio Yonezu
Kikuo Tsunoda
Starring Keiju Kobayashi
Teruko Akatsuki
Katsuko Wakasugi
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography Isamu Kakita
Editing by Masanori Tsujii
Distributed by Daiei
Released July 18, 1949
Running time 82 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese

The Rainbow Man (虹男,   Nijiotoko?) is a 1949 Japanese tokusatsu eiga (special effects movie) loosely based on a 1947 Japanese novel with the same name by Kikuo Tsunoda. The film was produced in Daiei's Tokyo Studio.

Plot[]

Ryosuke Akashi, a reporter of the Shin-Toyo Shimbun, had a close relationship with Mimi Torikai, a female reporter of the Showa Nippo. .. One day, Mimi happened to meet her best friend Yurie at the Metropolitan Police Department, but she lived in the Maya family because she was the niece of Shimako, the second wife of physicist Maya Ryuzo, but Suga, a disciple of Ryuzo. Hachiro died during a fire in the villa, and Yurie, who was there, was suspected of being suspected and was interrogated by Inspector Okada as a suspect. During the interrogation, Yurie was frightened by the illusion of the rainbow and the mysterious cause and effect hidden in the Maya family, and Suga, who denied the rainbow, was swaying in fear that he had been killed by the rainbow man. Her loyal maid also tried to confess a secret fact to her over the phone, but was struck by the illusion of a rainbow and became the second victim. The Maya family had the eldest son, Katsu, who drew a bizarre rainbow picture, and the second son, Toyohiko, who recently returned home. Yurie, who was released on bail, had Mimi come to her house and Mimi began to detect her with a sense of profession. The whole family of the Maya family is afraid of the rainbow man, respects the phenomenon of the rainbow, has some kind of secret, and Katsuto and Toyohiko have hatred for his second wife, Shimako, Ryuzo. It became clear that Shimako held the secret of the rainbow and that the marital relationship did not go well, and that everyone was afraid to be killed and kept the secret. Around that time, the third victim, Shimako, was murdered with a knife in the bedroom under the illusion of a rainbow. In addition, the conditions become disadvantageous to Yurie. A little later, one night, I found Ryuzo reading an old notebook while drinking alcohol alone in the beautiful sleep of Veranda, but suddenly Ryuzo was once again obsessed with the illusion of a rainbow. With the help of the people who ran into him, he carried it to the sofa, and a chandelier on the ceiling instantly fell on his head. Ryuzo has abandoned his life, but Nijio has issued a fourth sword. The situation gradually became urgent, and Inspector Okada was a close friend of Ryuzo, the main notebook that Mimi picked up, and he stole the research of Yajima who died in adversity, and he got a degree and Yurie died. He had a relationship with Suga, and was struck by Katsuto and Toyohiko after confirming that he was already pregnant with his child. The winner was frightened when he met Okada's sharp question, and he enthusiastically explained that the criminal was not me. Yurie talked beautifully to tell the truth, but she couldn't tell because of the illusion of the rainbow, and as soon as she gave herself to the stairs, she fell and she had a miscarriage. Okada mentioned that the terrace and the sake that Ryosuke drank contained mescaline, which causes dizziness and illusion, and the criminal said that he had the victim drink this liquid first before the crime. Katsuto insisted that he only loved mescaline as a painter and loved the rainbow-like morbid sense of color. Okada's question was directed to Toyohiko, who finally began to wonder about Toyohiko's resemblance to Hachiro and the fact that he had peeled off the album. According to Yurie's remarks, Nijio was him, and he was Suga Hachiro, who had killed Toyohiko, whom Yurie loved, for a while and pretended to be Toyohiko.

Cast[]

  • Keiju Kobayashi   as   Ryôsuke Akashi
  • Teruko Akatsuki   as   Mimi Torigai
  • Katsuko Wakasugi   as   Yurie Obata
  • Den Ohinata   as   Inspector Okada
  • Bontarô Miake   as   Ryuzu Maya
  • Junnosuke Miyazaki   as   Toyohiko Maya
  • Bumon Kahara    
  • Tatsuo Hananumo   as   Detective Shimizu
  • Tamotsu Moriyama   as   Dr. Hirai
  • Shiroyuki Miyajima   as   Charcoal Maker
  • Masatoki Sasaki   as   Charcoal Maker
  • Osamu Maruyama   as  
  • Susumu Atsumi   as   Nishizawa
  • Yoshirô Kitahara   as   Yamamoto
  • Gen Harada    
  • Manabu Morita   as   Detective
  • Shin Suzuki   as   Detective
  • Yoshiko Nagata   as   Maid
  • Kenjiro Uemura as Katsundo Maya
  • Kiyoko Hirai as Shimako Maya
  • Kumeko Urabe as Kane Nonomura

Production[]

Development[]

The film was produced in Daiei's Tokyo Studio. Hisakazu Tsuji, known for "Underground Bullet Hole", Kenji Kuroiwa, known for "Ghost Tower", and Hajime Takaiwa of "When a Man Sees Blood" (1949) wrote the script from the original by Kikuo Tsunoda. Directed by Kiyohiko Ushihara of "Ni Koisen" and photographed by Isamu Kakita of "Ghost Tower". The main performers are Keiju Kobayashi of "Poison Rose", Teruko Sono known for "Spring Mantan Festival", Sumiko Wakasugi of "Sanshiro Omokage", Dainichikataden of "Bontaro Miake", and "Beautiful Face". Bontaro Miake and Kenjiro Uemura.

Release[]

Theatrical[]

The Rainbow Man was theatrically released in Japan on July 18, 1949 by Daiei Motion Picture Company.

Home media[]

The film was released in Japan on DVD by Kadokawa sometime between 2003-2016.[2]

Videos[]

Trivia[]

  • While not very special effects-heavy, the film does feature some full-color hallucination sequences that were technically sophisticated for its time.
  • The Rainbow Man was one of Eiji Tsuburaya's earliest projects as a special effects director. Tsuburaya would become renowned for his work on Godzilla five years later.

References[]

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