An adventurous and daring sailor sets sail to the castle of an ailing king to stop an evil premier, hungry for power and wealth, from succeeding the throne and marrying the king's beautiful daughter. Along the way, with the help of some courageous rebels and a lustful wizard, he must overcome the powers of a bewitching witch, a band of ruthless pirates, and the castle's Imperial guards. He must also free those kidnapped into slavery and restore the king's reputation.
Practical Effects
Gloriously fake cave sets that somehow look expensive
Costume
Mifune's pirate boots deserve their own billing
Stunts
Sword fights that are more gymnastics than combat
Director
Senkichi Taniguchi
Toshirō Mifune
Sukezaemon Naya, aka 'Luzon' [Sinbad, in US version]
Mie Hama
Princess Yaya
Tadao Nakamaru
The Chancellor
Kumi Mizuno
Miwa the Rebel Leader
Ichirō Arishima
Sennin the Wizard
Hideyo Amamoto
Granny the Witch
Mitsuko Kusabue
Sobei
Jun Tazaki
Itaka Tsuzuka of the Imperial Guards
Akiko Wakabayashi
Yaya's maid
Jun Funato
Prince Ming of Thailand
Makoto Satō
The Black Pirate
Takashi Shimura
King Raksha
Hideo Sunazuka
Rebel
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Toho's attempt to crack the international peplum market—hence Mifune as 'Sinbad' in US prints, complete with dubbed dialogue that treats the original Japanese as mere suggestion.
Mie Hama and Kumi Mizuno both appeared in King Kong vs. Godzilla the same year—this production shared so many Toho contract players that the castle guards are basically Mothra's fairies in different hats.
JP
