William Ross
Actor · 1923 – 2014 · Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Ross was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. on September 7, 1923. He was drafted into the Korean War, and would be stationed in Japan, where he fell in love with the country. Ross would subsequently move to Tokyo with intentions of joining the Japanese State Department. Instead, he ended up becoming involved in the film industry, and would go on to appear in more than 80 Japanese films and Television shows. In 1959, Ross got into the dubbing industry upon recommendation by Japanese actor So Yamamura. He showed such a talent for the industry, that the Japanese dubbing director quit and left Ross in charge on the first day. Soon thereafter, he would hired as a director by Asian Films. After the closure of several Tokyo dubbing studios in 1964, he founded his own dubbing company, Frontier Enterprises, also working as dialogue writer, dubbing director and voice actor. Frontier quickly became one of the big five early English dubbing houses, doing work for companies such as Toho, Toei and Shochiku. Frontier would go on to dub over 465 live-action and animated films and TV series. Ross was forced to rely on whatever native English speakers he could find in Tokyo back in the 1960's; much of which consisted of businessmen, musicians and students with little to no acting experience. He held auditions and made sure he hired the best people available, and trained them thoroughly. His regular dubbing cast primarily consisted of expatriates living in Tokyo and members of the Far East Network, however. Aside from his dubbing ventures, Ross was an associate producer on Toei's Terror Beneath the Sea and the MGM-Toei coproduction The Green Slime (where he was also an assistant director to Kinji Fukusaku and appeared as Ferguson). He continued to act occasionally, appearing in Message from Space, The Last Dinosaur and The War in Space. Ross was also a dialogue editor, notably editing for American animated shows such as Dennis the Menace, Heathcliff & the Cadillac Cats and The Real Ghostbusters. Ross died in Tokyo on April 19, 2014.
Movies16
Movie7.1CrimeDramaWhen George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.
The Yakuza
1974 · 228 votes
Movie5.3HistoryActionA steel samurai blade that was to be given to the American ambassador by the Emperor of Japan is stolen. American sailors and Japanese samurai are sent to find it.
The Bushido Blade
1981 · 15 votes
Movie6.4DramaActionA WWII film set on a Pacific island. Japanese and allied forces occupy different parts of the island. When a group of British soldiers are sent on a mission behind enemy lines, things don't go exactly to plan. This film differs in that some of the 'heroes' are very reluctant, but they come good when they are pursued by the Japanese who are determined to prevent them returning to base.
Too Late the Hero
1970 · 81 votes
Movie5.6ActionAdventureFeaturing an all-star cast and on-location shooting in Japan, where the story is set, three US Air Force rescue pilots must overcome their personal problems and differences to embark upon a dangerous mission to save raft-bound Japanese survivors from a murderous storm-tossed sea. As they head for their location, the film flashes back to chronicle the pasts of each pilot to make clear their mixed feelings about their upcoming assignment.
Flight from Ashiya
1964 · 8 votes
Movie6.1AdventureScience FictionThe year is 1988, and in the midst of recovering from a near-miss with a large comet, Earth finds that there are much worse matters at hand: the sudden arrival of a strange army of aliens and their fleet of unstoppable warships.
Movie6.4AdventureScience FictionWealthy big game hunter (Boone), along with his group, gets trapped in pre-historic times where they are stalked by a ferocious dinosaur.
The Last Dinosaur
1977 · 21 votes
Movie6.7CrimeActionA self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the yakuza but quickly loses his self-control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.
MovieWarDuring the naval battle of Midway in WWII, the battleship Mutsu was in its home port in Japan. The ship's officers and crew were frustrated at not being able to take part in the fighting. They had been held back by orders from the Naval Ministry, but there was also a plot by saboteurs, who were trying to prevent the sailing of the Mutsu. Director Komori developed a suspenseful plot by including a fictional adaptation of the Russian spy Richard Sorge, who had been captured in Japan and subsequently executed. Komori brings a fictional Russian spy to the screen by portraying him as a military attaché at the German embassy. As Germany was an ally of Japan in WWII, a secret agent being a mole in the German embassy is a perfect cover. The interaction of the saboteurs and the officers and crew of the Mutsu make an exciting story.
MovieDramaActionA motorcycle courier (Ken Utsui) is recruited to test a new high-speed motorboat but another company is willing to kill to win the competition to bring it to market.
Movie6.8FantasyMusicThe Japanese pop music duo Pink Lady are circus performers who show kindness toward a captured "monster," a sad, furry being (played by a man in a bulky, over-sized pink acrylic costume) who suffers acts of unusual cruelty by the keeper and ringmaster before the girls escape with the creature in a circus trailer.
MovieComedyComedy movie
Movie8.0DramaAlongside Tokyo's Sumida River is a ragpickers' settlement known as Ant Village. One night, a young Catholic girl, Satoko Kitahara, who has been baptized under the name of Maria, comes to offer her services. However, Ant Village is not just an ordinary vagrants' community but a fine autonomous organization, and as the municipal authorities have long been demanding that the people of Ant Village leave the site, Satoko is utilized to publicize the Village and win public sympathy. While being utilized in this manner, Satoko is nevertheless glad to be able to help the people of Ant Village, especially the children, and when the summer vacation comes she decides to take the children on an excursion to Hakone. To raise funds for this purpose she becomes a rag-picker herself.
- Movie9.0Comedy
Japanese comedy film.
誰よりも金を愛す
1961 · 1 votes
Movie8.0DramaAdventureA Japanese sailor finds a colony of Eskimos in the Arctic and decides to stay with them. He comes off at a certain moment to look for his luck in the gold rush in Alaska. But he does not forget them.
Movie10.0WarThe story of the role played by Japanese-American soldiers from Hawaii in the Korean War of the 1950s.
- MovieComedy
Japanese comedy film.