Masuda’s tough take on juvenile street gangs created an international pop hit with the movie’s title song, sung by lead actor and heart throb Kyu Sakamoto and released as “Sukiyaki” in America (where it would be the only Japanese song ever to chart at number one). The entertaining pairing of the fresh-faced singer with a gang story was part of a five-film-a-year tear by consummate Nikkatsu professional Toshio Masuda, the studio’s indefatigable action maven.
