Media Monday.

Time to get back to business proper. As such let's continue with my look back at the "Lone Wolf & Cub" series. This week we are looking at the third in the series "Lone Wolf & Cub: Baby Cart To Hades".

"Lone Wolf & Cub: Baby Cart to Hades" was released in August, 1972. It saw the return of both star Tomisaburo Wakayama and directer Kenji Misumi.  

I'm on a Boat!

First thing we learn in this movie is that the baby cart can float. It is an amphibious vehicle. Which is awesome.

Daigoro saves a woman's satchel. It is a quick scene that shows his innocence and good nature. After which we get the first dose of action.

Itto killing Ninjas.

Itto, while watching over Daigoro as he relieves himself, kills three ninja assassins. He does this with a series of lighting quick moves. After the action scene we a get a nice father son scene. Itto and Daigoro fish together and play in the water.

We then move to a group of mercenaries drinking. Three of them are lowlife scoundrels who think only of women. Raping women to be exact. The fourth is Kanbei, a former samurai. A man of Honor.

I don't see the appeal.

The three see a mother and daughter traveling with a servant and decide to rape the women. They attack them, knocking the servant out, and proceed to have their way with the mother and daughter. When the servant awakes he attacks them with a stick. They, being the cowards they are, hide behind Kanbei. He kills the man and then the women. Whether he killed them because they are witnesses or because of his own personal shame is left ambiguous. He makes the other three mercenaries pick straws. The one with the short straw will be killed and blamed for what had happened.

The man runs from Kanbei and ends up up before Itto and Daigoro. He is quickly killed. Kanbei speaks to Itto and learns his name. He knows of Itto's past and challenges him to a fight. Itto refuses. The other two mercenaries threaten and attack him. Itto makes quick work of them.

The stare down before the duel.

Itto accepts the challenge. Kanbei tells him that if he should kill Itto he will look after Daigoro. Itto assures Kanbei not to worry about it. He and his son are demons. Itto declares the match to be a draw. He tells Kanbei that a real samurai should stay alive. Which I read as Itto saying he has no chance against him.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

We then move to Itto and Daigoro eating in a hotel. In another room the woman, whose belongings were saved by Daigoro, is eating with the man she has been traveling with. We learn that he bought her and is selling her into prostitution. He decides to attempt to rape her. This is the second rape scene in less than 30 minutes. This one ends better than the previous one. The woman bites his tongue off, killing him. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy. She runs away fearing repercussions. Luckily for her she ends up in Itto's room. Daigoro takes a liking to her. Even offering his handkerchief to her, so that she may wipe the blood from her mouth. Itto allows the woman to hide there.

This leads to a funny scene were a cop enters Itto's room. He acts as if he owns the place. Itto tells him that as long as he pays for the room it is his home and any one that enters without his permission will be dealt with.

As they have this conversation the man hears a noise coming from a closet. He believes it to be the woman. He asks Itto what would happen if the woman was in the room. Itto says that he would share her fate. Itto asks what would happen if the woman was not there. The cop says he would give up his head. The man opens the closet to see Daigoro. Itto tells the man he is punishing him. The man answers this by running for his life.

After the man leaves the woman reappears. She thanks Itto for his help and exits the room. She is found almost immediately. She has no choice but to run back to Itto. It turns out the people looking for her are Yakuza. They are led by a woman named Torizo.

Itto after the "Buri Buri" ritual/torture.

Torizo tries to talk Itto into handing the woman over. When that fails she begins to threaten Itto and Daigoro. Itto  is unfazed by her threats and protects the woman. He explains that he and the woman are connected by a totem. The totem is much like the one that led to Itto's downfall. He feels an affinity with the girl because of this. Eventually Torizo attacks Itto. A fight breaks out, but before it can escalate she stops it. It is apparent that Itto is too much for her men to deal with. Instead of losing them Torizo proposes an option.

The woman will have to go through an incredibly dangerous ritual. Itto decides to take the woman's place. The ritual involves Itto being hung above a tank of water. He is dropped into it and then beaten with poles by the onlookers. Itto is beaten until his skin is red and broken never making a sound. All the while Daigoro watches on. With that down the woman is now free.

It's only a matter of time. All woman fall for the Lone Wolf & Cub.

However there is still the matter of the dead man. Torizo offers to deal with the issue if Itto does what she asks. She leads him into a hidden room where a man with one arm is waiting. The man is her father. He and Itto have history. When Itto was still the Kaishakunin he was ordered to kill a man who had gone crazy. The man was not able to deal with what was presented to him. As such Torizo's father had to hold him in place. In doing so he lost an arm.

It turns out that the woman's twin sister was raped and then killed herself. She was raped by Gemba Sawatari a corrupt district deputy. Itto is asked to kill the man. He agrees.

Shit about to get real.

While on his way to complete his mission he finds that he is wanted for another. It turns out that Gemba Sawatari wants Itto to kill the head of a different clan. Itto refuses. This causes a standoff between Itto and two other men who work for Gemba. They other men are smart enough not to start a fight with Itto. After Itto leaves Sawatari comes to the conclusion that the only reason Itto would refuse the job is because he is planning on killing him.

One of the men with Sawatari is a master gunman. We see him practicing. Daigaro watches and applauds the mans skills. The man enjoys this reaction and goes out of his way to impress the boy. Only to find that Daigaro has left. The man continues on his way until he comes across Daigaro apparently drowning. He removes his guns and jumps into the water. It turns out the water was not a river as he had thought but a shallow stream. He realizes that he has fallen into a trap. He frantically runs to the shore to retrieve his weapons. It is a fool's errand. Itto quickly strikes him down. After which he collects Daigaro and goes on his way.

After finding one of his men dead Sawatari is now certain that Itto is after him. He decides to contact the Yagyu clan. Knowing they would pay greatly for Itto's head. Sawatari knows that killing Itto will bring him great rewards. Maybe even a place within in the Shogunate. Sawatari sends the second of his bodyguards after Itto. The bodyguard finds Itto rather quickly. He squares off with Itto and gets a sword through the top of his skull in return.

After finding his second man dead Sawatari plans to set a trap for Itto. He will gather an army and lure Itto to them. One of the men hired for this is Kanbei, the Samurai from the beginning of the movie.

Flip up armor.

Itto walks into the trap knowing what awaits him. He is greeted by an army. First archers let loose at him. He uses the flip up armor plating in the baby cart to protect himself. He then shoots a group of rifle men, with the guns hidden in the babycart, before they can shoot him.

Hidden mini-cannons.

As the remainder of them charge he thins the herd of oncoming foot soldiers with bombs. The rest of the soldiers are dealt with the old fashioned way. Itto slices, dices, and juliennes an entire army.

Itto is packing.

When the army is no more Sawatari attacks on horse back. He uses a gun given to him by one of his now dead bodyguards. He fires shot after shot at Itto. Driving him over a small ledge. Sawatari aims his gun at the prone Itto and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. He is out of ammo. Itto who lost his sword while dodging Sawatari's fire pulls two guns of his own. The guns he got after killing the first bodyguard and kills Sawatari.

After Sawatari dies a few men dressed in white arrive. They overlook the battle field and remark that while Itto survived today he will not survive tomorrow because the Yagyu are after him. They then leave.

The battle seems to be over when Kanbei emerges. He and Itto have a dual. He is able to cut Itto but looses none the less. While dying he tells Itto his story. He was a samurai protecting his master. They were attacked and the Kanbei left his master's side and killed the attackers. The master expelled him for leaving his side.

An honorable death.

Kanbei asks if he did the right thing. Itto tells him he would have done the same. Feeling vindicated he asks Itto to help him commit sepuku. Itto accepts to help Kanbei die with honor.

Having watched all of this the Torizo  tries to run to Itto. Seeing him in all his glory has made her fall for him. She is stopped by two other yakuza. they tell her that he is not a man but a monster. With that the movie comes to an end.

This is by far the most violent of the first three movies. It is also the most fun and disturbing. While I would recommend the first before this one I'd recommend it none the less. If you just want to see some of the action check the video below for a taste.

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