Black Test Car

Two Japanese car companies are racing to bring a new sports model to market, and each wants to know what the other is planning. Executives on both sides resort to surveillance, bribery and worse to learn the rival vehicle's specifications and price before the launch. At the centre is Yutaka Asahina, an employee drawn into the dirty work of corporate espionage, while Masako Usami becomes entangled in the scheme. The struggle between the firms gradually turns into a question of what people are willing to do for the sake of the company, and whether secrets and profits matter more than human beings.

Yasuzō Masumura directed the film, working from a screenplay by Yoshihiro Ishimatsu and Kazuo Funahashi. It was released in 1962 and runs 95 minutes. The seventh of the seventeen films Masumura directed in chronological order, it followed A Lustful Man in 1961 and preceded Superexpress in 1964. Jirō Tamiya plays Asahina, with Junko Kano as Masako Usami, Eiji Funakoshi as Kimio Hiraki, Hideo Takamatsu as Toru Onoda, Ichirō Sugai as Mawatari and Kichijirō Ueda as Matoba Syumatsu. Daiei Film produced it in Japan, and 28 cast members are credited.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7.1 out of 10 from 746 votes. On TMDB it also stands at 7.1 out of 10, from 33 votes. Both figures point to a solid, if not widely seen, crime drama that has retained a modest but steady audience over the decades.