Cruel Gun Story is a 1964 film from Japan directed by Takumi Furukawa.
It is one of many, many films in which action star Joe Shishido played a Yakuza. In this one, he is Togawa, a hoodlum who has just gotten released from prison. In fact, his release was finagled by Matsumoto, a yakuza boss, because Matsumoto has a job for him.
The job, as explained to Togawa by Matsumoto's lieutenant Mr. Ito, is to rob an armored car, namely the car that transports the daily intake from a racetrack. Togawa assembles his team, which consists of Togawa's old friend Shirai and two goons recommended by Matsumoto: Okada, a boxer for muscle, and Teramoto, smarter than Okada but also a drug addict. Teramoto's moll, Keiko, winds up tagging along. The gang successfully ambushes the armored car, but then things start to go sideways, starting when the driver and the guard lock themselves in the car. Naturally, multiple double-crosses follow.
Tropes:
- Abandoned Area: The rendezvous point for the gang is an abandoned American military base full of bars and laundromats with English lettering on the storefronts. The point about the lingering trauma of defeat in war followed by occupation is obvious.
- Anti-Hero: Togawa, who has a sympathetic Healthcare Motivation, is a loyal friend to Shirai, and probably would have honorably divided the money per agreement, but who is also a murderer, perfectly willing to kill the driver and all three guards in cold blood.
- Armed Blag: A Japanese take on this typically British trope, as a yakuza gang hijacks and robs an armored car taking the cash proceeds from the Japan Derby horse race.
- As You Know: Ito says "You've heard of me, right? Then tell me what you know," followed by Togawa rattling off some information about Ito once being a respectable lawyer who got disbarred for getting too entangled with the yakuza. Then Togawa asks the same question back, followed by Ito delivering exposition about how Togawa is a gangster who just got early release.
- Bad Guys Play Pool: Teramoto and Togawa play pool in what looks like a Bad Guy Bar, as Togawa recruits him to the gang.
- Blood from the Mouth: Seen from both Matumoto when Togawa shoots him and Keiko when Ito shoots her, indicating that they have in fact been fatally shot.
- Briefcase Full of Money: Two large briefcases contain the 127 million yen taken from the racetrack, which the gangsters steal.
- Diabolus ex Machina: After everything, after betrayal and counter-betrayal and a big pile of bodies, Togawa is alive at the end and still has the money. Unfortunately for him, his friend Tokizawa, as he bleeds to death, hallucinates that Togawa is actually their mortal enemy Ito. Tokizawa proceeds to shoot Togawa, and the film ends.
- Dumb Muscle: Okada, who was once a contender for a boxing title but is now "just a punching bag" after too many blows to the head.
- Eagleland: Nods towards Flavor 2, with the suggestion that maybe it's defeat in the war and specifically the way the post-war occupation went that led to yakuza running rampant like this. Togawa and the gang take the armored car to an abandoned American base. American fighter jets are shown zooming overhead from time to time, for no particular reason. And Togawa's bar, which Tokizawa has been running while Togawa was doing time, caters to Westerners.
- Establishing Character Moment: How do we know that Teramoto is a real weasel, evil beyond even the scale of most yakuza bad guys? Because when Togawa and Shirai are following him, and Teramoto realizes this, he grabs a random woman that he passes on the sidewalk and tries to use her as a Human Shield.
- "Everybody Dies" Ending: Absolutely everybody is killed by the end, namely every last one of the gangsters, all four of the armored truck's guards, and even Keiko, Teramoto's moll who falls in love with Togawa. The only character to survive is the only one with no connection to the world of crime, Togawa's innocent sister Rie.
- Every Car Is a Pinto:
- In the Imagine Spot where Togawa explains the plan, naturally the armored car bursts into flames as Teramoto and Okada push it off a cliff.
- Even sillier closer to the end, when a yakuza car careens off a road, gently slides down a short and not-that-steep embankment, and just bursts into flame for no reason.
- Fire Purifies: Togawa knocks over a lantern after Takizawa accidentally shoots him. This starts a fire and the whole bar goes up in flames as Togawa lies on the floor, the money scattered around him. The End.
- Healthcare Motivation: Togawa's motivation, to get the money for his sister Rie to walk again, years after a truck ran over her legs and left her wheelchair-bound. Subverted when a doctor tells Togawa that the surgery won't do any good, but he still proceeds.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: Keiko, Teramoto's moll who was actually sent by Matsumoto to spy on the gang, expresses her love for Togawa and switches her loyalty to him. All this does is get her killed along with everybody else.
- The Lancer: Shirai, Togawa's old friend from earlier gangster days who is his first recruit to the caper. Unlike the other two men who are supplied by Matsumoto, Shirai is loyal.
- Model Planning: Togawa uses a little model, complete with a tiny toy truck, to show the race track, the main road that the truck usually takes to the city, and the side road that they will force the truck onto in order to hijack it.
- No Honor Among Thieves: If they'd just divided up 127 million yen according to plan, there would be no third act. Naturally, Teramoto and Okada try to betray the other two and steal the take, later followed by Matsumoto and Ito trying to betray Togawa and steal the take.
- Parking Garage: Matsumoto and Ito tell Togawa to head for a hotel room and spend the night. Togawa stops in the parking garage and is about to hand over a key when he sees in his side mirror one of the valets pull a gun, and realizes that it's a trap. He kills both "valets" and escapes.
- The Starscream: Ito, who is plotting to take Matsumoto's place as head of the yakuza gang, as Togawa explains to a startled Matsumoto near the end.
- Throwing the Fight: It is said that at some point in the back story Okada threw a fight, which is why he's now punch-drunk Dumb Muscle instead of being a successful boxer.
- Yakuza: A yakuza gang hijacks and robs a cash truck.
