From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1976 detective comedy film
Mastermind
is a 1976 Japanese-American
comedy
thriller film
directed by Alex March and starring
Zero Mostel
,
Keiko Kishi
and
Gawn Grainger
. Filmed in 1969, it sat on the shelf for seven years before receiving a limited theatrical release in 1976. It has developed a
cult following
since its release on home video.
[
citation needed
]
The second of producer Malcolm Stuart's two-picture deal with screenwriter,
William Peter Blatty
, the project was inspired by the success of the 1964
Peter Sellers
comedy
A Shot in the Dark
which Blatty had co-written with producer/director
Blake Edwards
. Blatty's script was drastically revised by
Ian McLellan Hunter
prior to production, and the disgruntled screenwriter chose the
pseudonym
Terence Clyne for his screen credit.
[2]
By 1973 it had recorded a loss of $2.9 million.
[1]
Blatty's original screenplay was published as part of a limited edition collection by
Lonely Road Books
in 2013 as
Five Lost Screenplays by William Peter Blatty
.
Plot
[
edit
]
Zero Mostel plays an inspector on the trail of criminals who have captured a robot called Schatzi played by Felix Sillas. The inspector has delusions that
he is a great Samurai warrior and the film flashes back and forth between present day and ancient times.
Cast
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"ABC's 5 Years of Film Production Profits & Losses".
Variety
. 31 May 1973. p. 3.
- ^
Pfeiffer, Lee (24 May 2018).
"Review: "Mastermind" (1969)"
.
Cinema Retro
. Retrieved
20 August
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]