This impressive promo poster was made for the pinku actioner Kuroi Mehyô M, aka Black Panther Bitch M, in which Japanese superstar Reiko Ike plays an assassin, whose first name is known only to start with “M,” and who’s tasked with getting rid of a troublesome gangster. This is far easier said than done, but she has all the skills a good killer-for-hire needs—she can run fast, climb well, throw bladed implements (and handy pitchforks), read lips, perform acrobatics, crush testicles, put out eyes with her fingers, execute “Tarama-style karate,” apparently a “mysterious martial art originating from the Tarama Island of Okinawa that only targets the neck of the enemy,” and wear pantsuits like a boss, whether snow white, canary yellow, or midnight black. That’s a lot of capability.
We’d love to tell you the film is brilliant. It isn’t, though. But when Reiko and her soulful eyes and shiny café au lait skin are onscreen does the plot really matter? It might to you, but it doesn’t to us, because she’s at her most beautiful in this one. She positively glows. Actually, the entire movie looks good, from the color and lighting to the reasonably convincing action choreography. As a film in the same tradition as those featuring badasses like Cleopatra Jones, Kuroi Mehyô M is probably worth a watch even for casual fans of action cinema from the era. Its Japanese title, by the way, is actually “Black Rose M.” We don’t know where the panther thing came from, but it’s an apt description for Reiko. Kuroi Mehyô M premiered in Japan today in 1974.
