Dimension 5 (film)

Last updated
Dimension 5
Dimension 5 (film).jpg
Theatrical poster.
Directed by Franklin Adreon
Written by Arthur C. Pierce
Produced byFred Jordan
Earle Lyon
Starring Jeffrey Hunter
France Nuyen
Donald Woods
Harold Sakata
Cinematography Alan Stensvold
Edited by Robert S. Eisen
John Shouse
Music by Paul Dunlap
Production
companies
Distributed by Feature Film Corp. of America
Release date
  • October 1966 (1966-10)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Dimension 5 (also known as Dimension Five or Dimension Four [1] ) is a 1966 science fiction/espionage film written by Arthur C. Pierce and directed by Franklin Adreon. [2] Jeffrey Hunter and France Nuyen [2] star as time-traveling secret agents. It is part of a series of nine low-budget films produced by United Pictures Corporation.

Contents

The films were intended for TV distribution, but received a theatrical release. The time-travel premise had previously been used in the studio's film Cyborg 2087 . [3]

Plot

Justin Power (Hunter), an agent for Espionage, Inc., returns from a mission in which he used a time-travel belt to steal secret plans. He is told by his superior, Cane (Donald Woods), he is to be teamed with a Chinese agent to combat an Asian crime ring, Dragon, headed by crime lord Big Buddha (Sakata). A sister agency has discovered Dragon plans to destroy Los Angeles if United States forces are not withdrawn from Southeast Asia.

Aware that Dragon has a primitive hydrogen bomb, but no way to deliver it, Espionage, Inc plans to interrogate a captured agent, Chang (Gerald Jann). Chang is being brought from Hong Kong by two agents—Sato (Robert Ito) and George (Robert Phillips)—so they might learn Dragon plans. Chang insists that Dragon will see to it that he will never talk. An assassination attempt occurs immediately. Though George is killed, Chang survives when a female agent shoots the assassin with a dart.

Informed of the incident, Power goes to Ontario Airport where he uses his time-travel device to "preview" the assassination. A man in a cowboy suit shoots Chang with a dart gun concealed in a camera, while Sato and the female agent watch helplessly. The shooter then escapes in a limousine with Big Buddha in the back seat. Powers then switches to the present, warns Sato by radio of the threat, and orders the limousine be prevented from following their taxi. Then he punches out the would-be killer, and the transfer is made successfully.

At headquarters, the Professor (Jon Lormer), and his assistant, Miss Sweet (Deanna Lund), subject Chang to a truth machine that forces him to tell what he knows at the risk of brain damage. During the process, Chang switches to Chinese and Sato has to translate. The interrogation of Chang reveals that a hydrogen bomb is being delivered piece-by-piece and assembled in Los Angeles, to be exploded on Christmas Day, three months away. Power meets his new partner, Ki Ti Tsu (Kitty) (France Nuyen), the agent who aided during the Hong Kong assassination attempt.

Power takes Kitty to a Cantonese restaurant run by an old friend, Kim Fong (Kam Tong). He asks Fong about the black market (Power's cover is an importer) and he offers to help, until Big Buddha is mentioned. Fong's hostess, Nancy Ho (Linda Ho)—a Dragon agent—recognizes Kitty as a Chinese agent and forces Fong to give Power a bomb disguised as an owl-shaped incense burner. Kitty is suspicious because in China, an owl is symbolic of ill omen, and because she recognizes the hostess as an enemy agent. Power disregards her suspicions, and both happen to be out of the car when the bomb explodes.

Later, Power visits Ho and confronts her, demanding the location of the bomb. Ho is killed by Kitty as the former tries to stab Power. Kitty then turns Power over to Dragon agent Stoneface. This a ruse; she has her own reasons to meet up with Big Buddha, and after she signals headquarters, Power is rescued. Power then demonstrates the time travel belt to Kitty, warning her that she must limit her travels to areas that she knows will still be there in the future or past.

Power receives a message from Cane and learns the Ming company—the maker of the owl bomb and a front for Dragon—has a warehouse in Long Beach, and is expecting a shipment from Hong Kong on the Osaka Maru in three weeks. Power and Kitty time travel ahead the three weeks, unaware that they are being watched. When Stoneface wants to kill them with a disintegrator, Big Buddha has him killed instead.

Inspecting the warehouse in the future, Power and Kitty discover Uranium-238 in with the Christmas decorations, but are discovered by Big Buddha, who has been expecting them for the last three weeks. Limited by the restriction that he can only travel to locations he can see, Power bounces between barrels as Dragon agents hunt him. Kitty confronts Big Buddha, wanting revenge for his war crimes as executioner during the Nanking Massacre, including the death of her parents seven years earlier, but she is captured. Power surrenders to Big Buddha to save her. Big Buddha plans to ship Power to Hong Kong to extract secrets from him.

Unexpectedly, Big Buddha's mute servant girl tries to stab him. Power uses the distraction to turn on Big Buddha's bodyguard, Genghis, and a furious fight develops. The much larger Genghis overpowers Power. Finally, Kitty manages to toss Power a gun, which he uses to shoot Genghis down.

Big Buddha by now has forgotten all about his servant girl, who has been waiting for her chance to stab him again. This time she kills him.

Power and Kitty return to the present to use their knowledge to stop Dragon again without time travel, and let Cane's people do all the work.

Cast

Release

Posters billed Sakata as Harold "Oddjob" Sakata to cash in on his popularity for his role in Goldfinger . [4]

Review

Most reviewers have given fair to poor reviews, centering on the film's low production values and silly plot. Jeffrey Hunter's performance has been criticized for his looking bored. France Nuyen, on the other hand, was praised for her performance as a femme fatale. [5] [6]

Star Trek

Several cast members had appeared or would appear in various episodes of Star Trek . Jeffrey Hunter, Jon Lormer and Robert Phillips appeared in the pilot episode, "The Cage". Lormer also appeared in both "The Return of the Archons", and "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky", France Nuyen appeared in "Elaan of Troyius" and Maggie Thrett appeared in "Mudd's Women". [7] Robert Ito starred in "Coming of Age", an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation . [8]

Home media

The film was released on DVD, September 26, 2017 by Kino Video in a widescreen edition

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keye Luke</span> American actor (1904–1991)

Keye Luke was a Chinese-American film and television actor, technical advisor, artist, and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Hunter</span> American actor (1926–1969)

Jeffrey Hunter was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as The Searchers and King of Kings. On television, Hunter is known for his 1965 role as Captain Christopher Pike in the original pilot episode of Star Trek.

Kintarō is a folk hero from Japanese folklore. A child of superhuman strength, he was raised by a yama-uba on Mount Ashigara. He became friendly with the animals of the mountain, and later, after catching Shuten-dōji, the terror of the region around Mount Ōe, he became a loyal follower of Minamoto no Yorimitsu under the new name Sakata no Kintoki. He is a popular figure in Bunraku and kabuki drama, and it is a custom to put up a Kintarō doll on Boy's Day in the hope that boys will become equally brave and strong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockheed (character)</span> Fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe

Lockheed is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character appears most commonly in association with the X-Men. He is an alien dragon and longtime companion of Shadowcat, a member of the X-Men and Excalibur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Sakata</span> American Olympian, wrestler, and actor (1920–1982)

Toshiyuki Sakata, better known as Harold Sakata, was an American Olympic weightlifter, professional wrestler, and film actor of Japanese descent. He won a silver medal for the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London in weightlifting, and later became a popular professional wrestler under the ring name Tosh Togo, wrestling primarily for various National Wrestling Alliance territories as a tag team with Great Togo. He also wrestled in Japan for the Japanese Wrestling Association between 1955 and 1957. On the basis of his wrestling work, he was cast in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964) as the villain Oddjob, a role he would be closely associated with for the rest of his life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benson Fong</span> American actor (1916-1987)

Benson Fong was an American character actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">France Nuyen</span> French-American actress, model, and psychological counselor (b. 1939)

France Nuyen is a French-American actress, model, and psychological counselor. She is known to film audiences for playing romantic leads in South Pacific (1958), Satan Never Sleeps (1962), and A Girl Named Tamiko, and for playing Ying-Ying St. Clair in The Joy Luck Club (1993). She also originated the title role in the Broadway play The World of Suzie Wong, based on the novel of the same name. She is a Theatre World Award winner and Golden Globe Award nominee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael McConnohie</span> American voice actor

Michael McConnohie is an American voice actor, writer and director who has provided many voice roles in movies, anime, and video games. He and fellow actress Melodee Spevack run a production company called VoxWorks. Some of his major works include the Narrator on Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo and Hunter x Hunter, The Necromancer in Diablo II, Azulongmon in Digimon, Gork in Masked Rider, Keiichi Ikari in Paranoia Agent, Rolf Emerson in Robotech, Manzou the Saw in Samurai Champloo, Cosmos and Tracks in Transformers, Hot Shot / Ironhide in Transformers: Robots in Disguise, D in Vampire Hunter D, Chief Inquisitor Margulis in Xenosaga and Charles zi Britannia in Code Geass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvia Chang</span> Taiwanese actress, writer, singer, producer and director

Sylvia Chang is a Taiwanese actress, writer, singer, producer and director. In 1992, she was a member of the jury at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival. In 2018, she was one of the jury members of the main competition section at the 75th Venice International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BarBara Luna</span> American actress (b. 1936/37)

Barbara Ann Luna, also stylized as BarBara Luna, is an American actress from film, television and musicals. Notable roles include Makia in Five Weeks in a Balloon and Lt. Marlena Moreau in the classic Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror". In 2004 and 2010 she appeared in the first and sixth episodes of Star Trek: New Voyages, a fan-created show distributed over the Internet.

James Jene Fae Lew is an American actor and martial artist. He has made 80 on-screen film and television appearances and 46 more as a stunt coordinator or stunt double. He has done choreography for movies like Get Smart, Killers and the cult classic Big Trouble In Little China, as well as television shows such as National Geographic's Fight Science, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, and Entourage. He does Shaolin Kung-Fu, Tae Kwon Do, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, and Boxing. He also trained Brad Pitt with sword fighting for the movie Troy.

<i>My Father Is a Hero</i> 1995 Hong Kong film

My Father Is a Hero is a 1995 Hong Kong action film starring Jet Li and the late superstar Anita Mui, directed by Corey Yuen, who also co-stars in the film. The film was released in Hong Kong on 2 March 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Loo</span> American actor (1903–1983)

Richard Loo was an American film actor who was one of the most familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1982.

George Kee Cheung is a Hong Kong actor and stuntman with an extensive career in American television and film dating back to 1975, often playing Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Mongolian parts. His career has focused primarily on television work, though he has had numerous supporting roles in films such as Rambo: First Blood Part II, RoboCop 2, Under Siege, and Fist of the North Star.

<i>The Iceman Cometh</i> (1989 film) 1989 Hong Kong film

The Iceman Cometh, is a 1989 Hong Kong martial arts fantasy film directed by Clarence Fok. It stars Yuen Biao, Maggie Cheung and Yuen Wah. The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 18 August 1989.

<i>Return of the One-Armed Swordsman</i> 1969 Hong Kong film

Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, also known as One-Armed Swordsman Return, is a 1969 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Chang Cheh and produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio. The film is a sequel to the 1967 film The One-Armed Swordsman, with Jimmy Wang and Lisa Chiao Chiao reprising their roles.

<i>To Be Number One</i> (film) 1991 Hong Kong film

To Be Number One is a 1991 Hong Kong gangster film directed by Poon Man-kit, and produced by Stephen Shiu. The film is based on the rise and fall of a real-life gangster Ng Sik-ho, who is portrayed in the film by Ray Lui. To Be Number One was a critical and box office success, grossing HK$38,703,363 at the Hong Kong box office and winning the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film at the 11th Hong Kong Film Awards. In 2017, the film was remade as Chasing the Dragon.

<i>Little Big Master</i> 2015 Hong Kong film

Little Big Master is a 2015 Hong Kong drama film co-written and directed by Adrian Kwan and starring Miriam Yeung and Louis Koo. The film is based on a true story where Lilian Lui, former headmistress of an elite kindergarten in Discovery Bay whom originally planned to retire to travel around the world with her husband Alvin Tse, takes up a job with a monthly salary of HK$4,500 to continue educating five remaining pupils single-handedly in Yuen Long's Yuen Kong Kindergarten, which was on the verge for closure in 2009, and puts her travel plans on hold. Little Big Master was a critical and commercial success, and was met with acclaim from audiences. It grossed HK$46.6 million at the Hong Kong box office and became the highest-grossing domestic film of 2015 in the territory.

<i>Dragon Force</i> (film) 1982 Hong Kong film

Dragon Force, also known as Powerforce, is a 1982 martial arts film that was directed by Michael Mak. It starred Bruce Baron, Frances Fong, Chi-Hung Chan, Sam Sorono, Yun Ho, Jackson Ng and Bruce Li.

References

  1. ↑ Dimension 5 (1966) - Release info , retrieved 2023-02-19[ user-generated source ]
  2. 1 2 "Dimension 5". Turner Classic Movies . Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ Green 2014, pp. 120–121.
  4. ↑ "Half sheet poster". Archived from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  5. ↑ "Dimension 5 (1966) Article #1501 by Dave Sindelar". www.scifilm.org. Dave Sindelar. 21 September 2005. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  6. ↑ Mavis, Paul (2015-06-08). The Espionage Filmography: United States Releases, 1898 through 1999. McFarland. ISBN   978-1-4766-0427-5.
  7. ↑ Sherman, Allan (1981). The Star Trek Compendium. Simon and Schuster. pp. 30, 146, 157. ISBN   0-671-79145-1.
  8. ↑ Okuda, Michael Okuda, Denise, Mirek, Debbie (1994). The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future . Pocket Books. p.  46. ISBN   0-671-86905-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.