FILMS… Enter the Ninja (1981)

#1980s #AllPosts

 

Spot the actor behind the mask as Franco Nero goes peak Ninja…

 

Realweegiemidget Reviews’ Award for the Best All-Time On-Screen Movie Death goes to just one of the three in the headlining cast.

 

Christopher George

Susan George and Nero

Enter the Ninja (1981) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p], HD Retro Trailers

 

Sometimes as a critic, you go down a bit of a rabbit warren when researching for a film review. This film in the Ninja vs Bad Guys sub-genre, Enter the Ninja (1981) was just one of these. This cult film was recommended by Darlin Husband, meaning it’s as good as it gets when it comes to low budget B Movies.

After using my little grey cells – as the fictional detective, Hercule Poirot would say – I deduced it also to have a tenuous connection to Dallas (1978-91). This was after watching a different kind of movie. With this newly gained insight, I am now suggesting that this film, in theory, is part of the Priscilla Presley biopic, Priscilla (2023) Extended Universe.

Hear me out, the AFIJCatalog HERE states the film’s initial leading man, screenwriter, stunt coordination and fight choreographer was Mike Stone. Stone taught Elvis Presley and this singing sensation’s later ex-wife, Priscilla Presley Karate. In real life, after teaching Priscilla his best moves, Stone passed her Karate teaching on to the hands of one (martial arts actor), Chuck Norris. This Dallas fans, was long before Priscilla starred as Jenna Wade, Bobby Ewing’s childhood sweetheart. But I digress…

The film titles for Enter the Ninja have a funky drum score with faux Oriental fonted credits on a black background. We see a Ninja in black doing a variety of Ninjutsu moves with more arsenal than Michael Douglas had in Falling Down (1993). After each move, he disappears into the black screen and finally (with foreshadowing at its most subtle) he’s kicked in the head by a Ninja in white.

We cut to “Japan”, and find our hero Cole (Franco Nero) – in his white Ninja suit – fighting and dispatching (and running away from) a multitude of Ninjas. Cole is not only good at running away, but he can jump down a waterfall, hide from these men by lying down in some long grasses and kill Ninjas just by being in the same scene. Cole even decapitates the head (no pun intended) of the head Ninja, Master Komori. This final kill is in what seems like the final boss level, proving this film should inspire a one person computer game like the John Wick quadriology.

This ultra-long continuous – but amazingly choreographed sequence –  first scene is revealed to be part of Cole’s final tests to qualify as a Ninja. It’s then revealed that no Ninjas were harmed – in these bloody convincing scenes – as they all join Cole as he kneels, and this includes the (not) decapitated one. Cole then explaines and demonstrates the Nine Levels of Power with some nifty fingerwork. Cole then graduates as a Ninja and gets a natty certificate from Master Komori.

A wee celebration is in order. yet it seems one of the Ninjas, the black attired, Hasegawa (Sho Kosugi) is more than a wee bit miffed. He doesn’t recognise Cole as a Ninja as he came from abroad (read a white American). After a 1-1 from Master Komori, Cole is advised to use his strength to help the unfortunate.

But first, Cole is off to visit a one-time war buddy in the Philippines. On visiting his friend Frank Landers (Alex Courtney) from his army days, he meets his friend’s young wife Mary Ann (Susan George). This is as he restrains her and then disarms her from her rifle (in what is a future meet cute). Naturally, he apologises.

It seems Frank is now an alcoholic, impotent (for plot convenience) and has a strained relationship with his wife of two years. The Landers and their plantation workers are being terrorised by the henchmen who work for a local businessman, Charles Venarius (Christopher George). Venarius wants to buy the Landers’ plantation and land as it has oil – read a MacGuffin – underneath it. The Landers are oblivious to this oil and stay there as Mary Ann loves it there despite this ongoing aggro…

In a nutshell, Cole helps the Landers – read “unfortunates” – and their plantation workers by kicking the crap out of George’s henchmen using a range of his ninjutsu moves. There are flashbacks, as Cole remembers his and Frank’s army days in some (cliched to parody levels) buddy scenes during the war. There are also scenes where it’s suggested that Cole does the deed with Mary Ann after he’s seen reading a book (must be his handlebar moustache). This is after we see her visit his room in a see-through negligee (the day after Frank tells Cole about his impotence) and the light goes out.

Cole is helped out in killing these bad guys by a wily old character, Dollars (Will Hare). On a side note, Dollars would have possibly been played by Ernest Borgnine or Burgess Meredith had this film had a bigger budget. Venarius’ security guards are killed and therefore decimated in number thanks to Cole’s Ninja skills and Dollars’ guns as Venarius finds out when Frank still won’t sell up despite a huge offer.

Venarius  – a man who Darlin Husband noted had a natty range of Caftans – then decides to employ a Ninja of his own to kill Cole. Cue a fun random scene where we see Mr Parker (Constantine Gregory, credited as Constantin de Goguel) Venarius’ English right-hand man visit a talent scout in Japan including a bonkers in-movie reference to Robert Mitchum in The Yakuza (1974). After seeing Hasegawa in a black and white movie, ÅP visits Cole’s old Ninja school and Hasegawa gets the job after he shows his skills.

One night, Cole and Dollars are busy finding out just why Venarius wants the Landers’ land by visiting (read breaking into, overpowering guards and dressing up as these guards) Venarius Headquarters. Meanwhile, Hasegawa visits the Landers plantation. He kills Frank in front of Mary Ann (who is tied to a tree), and he then kidnaps her… leading to Cole’s revenge of the Ninja kind…

Enter The Ninja began filming in Japan, and then had – to Darlin Husband’s delight – Menahem Golan replacing Emmett Alston in a directing role, and Yoram Globus as one of the producers. Production then moved to the Philippines and Cole was recast. Now played by Italian heartthrob, Franco Nero was the titular moustached Ninja, Cole – Nero was last seen on this blog, in a post on The Visitor (1979) as a Space Jesus – replacing the originally cast, Mike Stone.

According to IMDB, Nero was a last minute replacement and was cast as he was in Manila promoting a movie at the time. Nero was also apparently dubbed as he couldn’t master the desired American accent (Why not make him Italian??), and was often replaced in the scenes as you watch his Ninja character in action.

British actress, Susan George, wasn’t dubbed – yay – and she doesn’t do Ninja moves. She’s pretty good as the only actress with a speaking role in this movie. She juggles her role as a strong female lead, the inevitable on-screen love interest for two out of three of the leading men, and is a damsel in distress. She effortlessly takes on each of these roles as the script requires, and seamlessly blends them into a credible character.

Yet, stealing the film is Christopher George – no relation to Susan – who proves hidden depths as the bad guy (extraordinaire) after seeing him as nicer characters. Christopher commands every scene he’s in and if you have to watch one Christopher George movie this is it… he’s mesmerising, chews up the scenery and even surpasses Blofeld in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). This was when Blofeld was played by Telly Savalas and he had a tribe of lovelies. These included Anouska Hempel, Joanna Lumley, and Catherine Schell. The thankfully undubbed Christopher George enunciates every syllable of every word, adds appropriate gestures to support and stress his dialogue and even has a pointy stick to direct his swimming pool of babes in some in-pool choreography.

As for the award for the Best All-Time On-Screen Movie Death for 1981. Let’s just say this could have gone to this Enter the Ninja actor’s co-star actress, Susan George. Susan channelled a convincing on-screen death by some (snake) bite in Venom (1981), released in the same year. But as for this winning actor, by George, it’s all in the name…

 

Weeper Rating:  😦😦 😦 /10

Handsqueeze Rating: 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂🙂 🙂 🙂  🙂 🙂 🙂 /10

Hulk Rating: ‎ ‎ ‎  /10

 

---

2nd Annual Favorite Stars in B Movies Blogathon No 6. 

This post was entered in Films From Beyond the Time Barrier’s 2nd Annual Favorite Stars in B Movies Blogathon  Other posts with this cast include, 

• Franco Nero in Django Unchained, The Time Of Their Lives, The Visitor and more.
• Will Hare in The Bionic Woman, Tales of the Unexpected, Heaven Can Wait and more.
• Susan George in Jack the Ripper, Billion Dollar Brain, Venom and more.
• Christopher George in Cruise into Terror, The Love Boat, Mayday at 40,000 Feet and more. 
• Sho Kosugi in Blind Fury.
• Constantine Gregory in The Tamarind Seed, Voyage of the Damned, The Russia House and more.

---