MovieChat Forums > Kuro tokage Discussion > The Black Lizard was a Man???

The Black Lizard was a Man???

posted 11 years ago by sheepdater
3 replies | jump to latest

I watched this little gem on Turner Classics about a month ago. I really enjoyed it, it was like a Japanese version of Our Man Flynt or Austin Powers.

In every synopsis of the plot it referred to "androgynous" & "cross dressing". The only part I caught that fit that bill was when the Black Lizard escaped a hotel by dressing like a business man. I didn't find this sequence especially shocking. Yet I assumed perhaps that was something taboo in the Japanese society of the time, so that's why they included cross dressing as a plot point.

Today I happened to have the Black Lizard theme stuck in my head so I decided to finally look it up on here. When I saw the listing for the actor that played The Black Lizard, the trivia listed them as a "noted female impersonator". So in the immortal words of Austin Powers, was the Black Lizard really a man, BABY???

[–] sgcim 11 years ago

I think you saw the Black Lizard that was made in 1962. This was a different one, made in 1968. The Black Lizard on TCM that I saw was the one from 1962, that had a woman playing the Black Lizard. Either that, or I'm no longer a heterosexual male, because like Acheki, I too, have fallen in love with the seductive Black Lizard! ; - )

[–] sheepdater 11 years ago

That's EXACTLY the reason I was so desperate to find out. I too was quite enamoured with the beauty of the Black Lizard. I used to think Bugs Bunny's transformation was amazing when he doned a dress & a wig. Yet if the Black Lizard were a man, that act of female impersonation would put Bugs to shame.

You are absolutely right, I did have the two versions of KuroTokage confused. I was able to find both trailers on YouTube and confirmed I have only seen the 1962 version. I'm a real novice when it comes to Japanese cinema. I guess I made the stupid American mistake of thinking the long standing tradition of Kabuki theater somehow made Japanese drag queen experts.

Even though its no longer quite as scandalous as I thought, I still enjoyed the 1962 version of Black Lizard. It was a slick 60s film with a cultural twist. I'd even be interested in checking out this 1968 version, but I can't find it with English subtitles.

[–] phrumpster 9 years ago

A bit late, but it's on youtube via BING.

*beep*

Poets are made by fools like me, but only God can make STD.