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A Colt Is My Passport (1967) movie poster

Plot Summary

A Colt Is My Passport (1967) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
1967 · 84 mins · Japanese
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Directed by
Takashi Nomura
Starring
Hitoshi Takagi, Wataru Takagi, Hyôe Enoki, Jō Shishido, Eimei Esumi, Takeshi Yoshida

A gang lord hires Kamimura, a hit man, to take out a rival boss who’s gotten greedy.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 What happens: full plot
  3. 3 Plot questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like A Colt Is My Passport
  6. 6 Every angle
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Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in A Colt Is My Passport: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of A Colt Is My Passport (1967) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

In this tense yakuza thriller, contract killer Shuji Kamimura, [Jō Shishido], and his partner Shun Shiozaki, [Jerry Fujio], are hired by a ruthless yakuza boss, Senzaki, to wipe out a former ally, Boss Shimazu, who has siphoned money from an international co-op shared between them. Kamimura carries out the hit at Shimazu’s home while meeting with Senzaki, but their escape plan is foiled when Shimazu’s men close in and seize them before they can flee the country by plane.

Somehow they manage to break free during the chaos, using a cleverly concealed second brake behind the driver’s seat—installed earlier by Shun—to stop the pursuing gang and kill Shimazu’s men. With bounties on their heads and no clear path to safety, Nozaki, a lieutenant loyal to Senzaki, orders them to lie low at a roadside truck stop known as the Hotel Nagisakan, where they begin to form a wary connection with Mina, the hotel’s overworked waitress who offers them a quiet, human moment amid the violence.

As night falls, Shimazu’s lieutenant’s men surge in again, intent on finishing the job, but Kamimura and Shun slip away by bribing a patron to guide them to another motel. The next day, Miyoshi, Shimazu’s devoted enforcer, launches another attempt, intercepting them and pressuring the ferry company to depart early. The would‑be getaway is thwarted when Kamimura and Shun arrive in the truck they rode in the previous night, running down the hitman; however, the ferry has already sailed, cutting off their chance at a quick exit. They return to the Nagisakan, where Kamimura drugs Shun with a sleeping pill while Mina helps them secure a route out via a freighter captain who’s willing to smuggle them out of the country.

Meanwhile, Tsugawa, Shimazu’s ally, negotiates a fragile peace between Senzaki and Shimazu’s son, who has succeeded his father as boss. Despite the uneasy détente, the two sides decide Kamimura must be eliminated. Shun is later kidnapped at the Nagisakan, and when Mina arrives to gather her things, Senzaki calls Kamimura to arrange a rendezvous with one of his henchmen. Mina returns to Kamimura and attempts to leave with Shun, but a waiting agent forces a high-stakes exchange: Kamimura agrees to surrender in exchange for Shun’s release, with the clock ticking down to a three‑hour window.

The exchange goes through, and the ship pulls away with Shun and Mina safe, while Kamimura is left to confront the grim truth of his fate at a landfill the next morning. He spends the day plotting a counterstrike, spying on the attackers as they test a car with bulletproof windows—the very vehicle they plan to use to witness his execution. Kamimura crafts a bomb and digs a ditch nearby so he can plant it beneath the car undetected. The plan unfolds as the assailants close in, and though he is struck multiple times, Kamimura dives into the ditch, places the explosive, and waits as the car—a symbol of the conspiracy—rolls over him. The car erupts in flame, killing Senzaki, Shimazu, Tsugawa, and Miyoshi in a single, devastating explosion. Injured and exhausted, Kamimura surveys the carnage before he limps away, the film ending on his battered, unresolved, and solitary exit from a world of merciless violence.

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 12:33

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Plot questions answered

A Colt Is My Passport Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about A Colt Is My Passport (1967): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why does Senzaki hire Kamimura to kill Shimazu?

Senzaki, a ruthless yakuza boss, hires Kamimura to eliminate his former ally Boss Shimazu because Shimazu has been embezzling money from an international co-op they share. The betrayal of their business arrangement makes Shimazu a liability that Senzaki wants removed.

  • senzaki
  • shimazu
  • hitman contract
  • money embezzlement
  • yakuza betrayal
Q2

How do Kamimura and Shun escape after being captured?

They escape by using a cleverly concealed second brake that Shun had installed behind the driver's seat earlier. The hidden brake causes the vehicle to stop abruptly, killing Shimazu's men and giving them time to flee into the night.

Foreshadowing: Shun's earlier preparation of the hidden brake becomes crucial during their captivity.

  • escape
  • second brake
  • shun
  • kamimura capture
  • road chase
Q3

Why does Mina the waitress help Kamimura and Shun?

During their stay at Hotel Nagisakan, Mina forms a wary human connection with the two fugitives. Despite the dangerous world they inhabit, she offers them kindness and eventually helps orchestrate their escape by directing Kamimura to a freighter captain willing to smuggle them out.

Foreshadowing: Mina's role as an overworked waitress at a roadside truck stop provides the brief human moments that contrast with the surrounding violence.

  • mina
  • hotel nagisakan
  • waitress
  • escape plan
  • ally
Q4

Why is Kamimura still targeted after Tsugawa brokers peace between Senzaki and Shimazu's son?

Even after Tsugawa negotiates a fragile peace between Senzaki and Shimazu's newly ascended son, both sides agree that Kamimura must be eliminated. As the contract killer who actually carried out Shimazu's assassination, he becomes a liability to the new peace agreement and a target for both clans.

  • peace deal
  • kamimura targeted
  • tsugawa
  • shimazu son
  • both sides
Q5

Why does Kamimura agree to surrender in exchange for Shun?

When Shun is kidnapped and Senzaki calls to arrange a rendezvous, Kamimura negotiates a three-hour window to release Shun in exchange for himself. Despite knowing he'll likely be killed, he chooses to sacrifice himself to save his partner, demonstrating the only loyalty that matters to him.

  • hostage exchange
  • kamimura surrenders
  • shun release
  • three hour window
Q6

How does Kamimura plant the bomb on the car at the landfill?

Kamimura spends the day before his execution devising a counterstrike. He spies on the attackers testing a bulletproof car meant to witness his death, then crafts a bomb and digs a hidden ditch along the car's route. When the vehicle rolls over him, he places the explosive underneath, destroying the car and everyone inside.

Foreshadowing: The bulletproof car the attackers test becomes the very weapon used against them.

  • bomb
  • landfill execution
  • car explosion
  • kamimura counterattack
  • bulletproof car
Q7

Who dies in the final car explosion at the landfill?

The car bomb kills all four key antagonists: Senzaki, the yakuza boss who ordered the hit; Shimazu's son, who succeeded his father as boss; Tsugawa, who brokered the peace deal; and Miyoshi, Shimazu's devoted enforcer. They all die in the single devastating explosion Kamimura triggers.

  • senzaki death
  • shimazu son death
  • tsugawa death
  • miyoshi death
  • car bomb victims
Q8

What happens to Kamimura at the end of the film?

Despite being struck multiple times during the ambush, Kamimura survives the final confrontation by hiding in the ditch. After the car explodes and kills his pursuers, he emerges injured and exhausted, limping away alone into the distance. The film ends on his battered, unresolved exit from the violent world he inhabits.

  • kamimura survives
  • ending
  • limps away
  • injured
  • solitary exit
Q9

Why does the ferry departure ruin Kamimura and Shun's escape plan?

After the ferry is forced to depart early by Miyoshi, Shimazu's enforcer, Kamimura and Shun arrive at the port in their truck and run down the hitman. However, the ferry has already sailed, cutting off their chance at a quick exit and forcing them to return to Hotel Nagisakan to devise another plan.

Foreshadowing: Miyoshi's interception at the ferry represents another instance where the protagonists are always one step behind their pursuers.

  • ferry early departure
  • miyoshi
  • escape plan foiled
  • port
Q10

Why does Kamimura drug Shun with a sleeping pill?

While at Nagisakan, Kamimura drugs Shun with a sleeping pill to keep him unconscious and out of danger while Mina helps secure their escape route through a freighter captain willing to smuggle them out of the country. The drug ensures Shun stays safely hidden during the dangerous negotiation.

  • sleeping pill
  • drugged shun
  • freighter escape
  • kamimura protects shun

Movie threads

More Movies Like A Colt Is My Passport, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes A Colt Is My Passport tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Lone Wolf Hitman Thrillers Like A Colt Is My Passport

Stories of solitary contract killers navigating worlds of inescapable betrayal. If you liked the solitary, fatalistic journey of the hitman in A Colt Is My Passport, explore more movies like it. This thread gathers gritty crime stories featuring lone wolf assassins, high-stakes betrayals, and violent survival struggles, all sharing a tense and bleak tone similar to this classic yakuza film.

  • stoic
  • lonely
  • fatalistic
  • tense
  • gritty
  • anxious
  • Tone: bleak, gritty, fatalistic
  • Pacing: fast, relentless
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a highly skilled but emotionally detached protagonist who completes a job only to be betrayed by their employer. This forces them into a relentless, fast-paced chase where they must use their wits and violent skills to survive, often forming a brief, doomed connection with an ally. The journey is linear and straightforward, leading to a pyrrhic victory that leaves the protagonist isolated and hollow.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their focus on a specific archetype: the solitary contract killer. They share a high-intensity, fast-paced rhythm driven by action and betrayal, a consistently bleak and gritty tone, and a heavy emotional weight stemming from the protagonist's fatalistic acceptance of their violent, lonely path.

Bleak Yakuza and Gangster Films Like A Colt Is My Passport

Criminal worlds where loyalty is a weakness and survival is a hollow victory. For viewers who enjoyed the grim yakuza world of A Colt Is My Passport, this thread collects similar movies about gangster betrayal and fatalistic downfall. Discover more films like this one that explore the violent, unforgiving nature of crime syndicates, featuring tense standoffs, stoic protagonists, and ultimately bleak endings.

  • gritty
  • tense
  • fatalistic
  • grim
  • violent
  • melancholic
  • Tone: bleak, dark, cynical
  • Pacing: fast, tense
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The plot typically revolves around a power struggle within a criminal organization. A central character, often an enforcer or mid-level member, is tasked with a job that exposes the rotten core of the syndicate, leading to them being targeted by their former allies. The story is a straightforward descent into violence and paranoia, culminating in a climax that resolves the conflict but leaves the characters physically and emotionally shattered, with no hope for a better future.

Why they belong together: This thread unites films through their specific setting and core conflict: the unforgiving world of organized crime. They share a high level of violence, a fundamentally bleak outlook on loyalty and power, a fast or steady pacing driven by impending danger, and a heavy emotional weight derived from the inevitability of a grim fate.

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Every angle

A Colt Is My Passport (1967) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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