Paper Tiger
They saw him as a hero....but could he live up to it?
1975 | 100m | English
Popularity: 0.9 (history)
| Director: | Ken Annakin |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Jack Davies |
| Staring: |
| A somewhat prim and proper Englishman is hired as the tutor to the son of the Japanese ambassador. His life changes when he and the boy are kidnapped by terrorists for political purposes. | |
| Release Date: | Nov 05, 1975 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Ken Annakin |
| Writer: | Jack Davies |
| Genres: | Adventure, Drama |
| Keywords | japan, ransom, tutor, ww2 veteran |
| Production Companies | Joseph E. Levine Productions, Filmways Australasian Distributors, Euan Lloyd Productions, MacLean and Company |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Jan 29, 2026 Entered: Apr 25, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| David Niven | 'Major' Walter Bradbury |
| Toshirō Mifune | Ambassador Kagoyama |
| Hardy Krüger | Müller |
| Kazuhito Ando | Koichi Kagoyama |
| Irene Tsu | Talah |
| Ivan Desny | Foreign Minister |
| Miiko Taka | Mme. Kagoyama |
| Jeff Corey | Mr. King |
| Patricia Donahue | Mrs. King |
| Rainer Penkert | Army Colonel |
| Noor Kumalasari | Ruby |
| Salleh Ben Joned | Sokono(Kulagong police chief) |
| Mustapha Maarof | Marco |
| Gatz Shariff | Chief of Police |
| Tony Braun | T.V. Cameraman |
| Paul Neuhaus | Army Sergeant |
| David de Keyser | Ambassador Kagoyama (voice) |
| Robert Rietty | Harok (voice) |
| Nicole Massie | Plane passenger /Coach crash victim (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Jack Davies | Writer |
| Ken Annakin | Director |
| Roy Budd | Orchestrator, Conductor, Original Music Composer, Musician |
| John Cabrera | Director of Photography |
| Alan Pattillo | Editor |
| Herbert Smith | Production Designer |
| Tony Reading | Art Direction |
| Peter Scharff | Art Direction |
| John Furniss | Costume Designer |
| Ursula Borsche | Makeup Artist |
| Klaus Winter | Makeup Artist |
| David C. Anderson | Production Supervisor |
| Heng Gee Suan | Production Manager |
| Wolfgang von Schiber | Production Manager |
| Lajos Baghy | Assistant Director |
| Ian Goddard | Assistant Director |
| John Jarvis | Set Dresser |
| Geoff R. Brown | ADR & Dubbing |
| George Stephenson | Sound Recordist |
| Erwin Lange | Special Effects |
| Kit West | Special Effects |
| Bob Simmons | Action Director |
| Dudley Lovell | Camera Operator |
| Graeme Scaife | Focus Puller |
| Keith Grant | Music Arranger |
| Sally Jones | Continuity |
| Barbara Back | Production Secretary |
| Maureen Newman | Production Accountant |
| Tom Raeburn | Property Master |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Euan Lloyd | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
| 2024 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 3 |
| 2024 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 2 |
| 2024 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 2024 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 2 |
| 2024 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Trending Position
David Niven is the epitome of the retired English soldier "Major Bradbury" in this gently comedic thriller. He is hired to tutor the young son of the Japanese Ambassador (Toshirô Mifune) to another, somewhat less democratic nation. When he and the young boy "Koichi" (Ando) are kidnapped and held to ... ransom by some local freedom fighters, it soon transpires that "Maj. Bradbury" may have been exaggerating his credentials somewhat and Mifune starts to seriously worry for the fate of his child. Luckily the kidnappers are pretty hopeless and our pair manage to escape - though only into the jungle and a chase ensues. It's not a complex story, nor a particularly good one - but David Niven is a class act and with all his engaging and charming bravado, he manages to carry this - alongside a decent performance from the young boy too. I reckon the first five minutes were sponsored by British Airways....