''Big Zapper,'' also known as ''The Sex Life of a Female Private Eye,'' is a 1973 British

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by

Lindsay Shonteff Lindsay Craig Shonteff (5 November 1935 – 11 March 2006) was a Canadian born film director, film producer and screenwriter who achieved fame for low-budget films produced in the United Kingdom. Biography Lindsay Shonteff was born in Toronto, ...

and starring

Linda Marlowe Linda Virginia Marlowe (''née'' Bathurst; born 26 July 1940) is an Australian-born British film, theatre, and television actress. She is noted for her association with Steven Berkoff, performing in many of his theatrical works, creating a one- ...

, Gary Hope and

Sean Hewitt Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

. It was followed by a sequel '' The Swordsman'' (1974).

Plot

Harriet Zapper is a detective hired by Jeremiah Horn to locate his missing daughter Pandora, who has in fact been murdered by gangland boss Kono. With the help of three samurai imported from Japan, Zapper pursues Kono and brings him to justice.

Cast

as Harriet Zapper * Gary Hope as Kono *

as Fingers * Michael O'Malley as Strawberry Jim *

Richard Monette Richard Jean Monette CM, DHum, LLD (June 19, 1944 – September 9, 2008), was a Canadian actor and director, best known for his 14-season tenure as the longest-serving artistic director of the Stratford Festival of Canada from 1994 to 2007. Ear ...

as Rock Hard *

Jack May Jack Wynne May (23 April 1922 – 19 September 1997) was an English actor. Early life and education May was born in 1922 in Henley-on-Thames, and was educated at Forest School in Walthamstow. After war service with the Royal Indian Navy in Br ...

as Jeremiah Horn *

Penny Irving Penny Irving is a Scottish-born former actress and a page 3 model in ''The Sun'' newspaper. Career Irving is best remembered for her roles in the 1970s sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' (as Miss Bakewell, Young Mr Grace's secretary), appearing ...

as Maggie * Stuart Lock as Septimus / Randy Horn * Bobbi Anne as Pandora Horn / Pandy * Kristopher Kum as samurai * Hock Chuan as samurai * Tony Hiew as samurai * William Ridoutt as Shawn Cobra *

Graham Ashley Graham or Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

as Cortini

Plot

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "A paltry and nasty sexual fantasy which looks as though it has been dreamed up for the entertainment of impotent sadists. ... Attempting some kind of balance between jokiness and titillation, Shonteff effectively stifles both. The feeble jokes and tricks fail to camouflage the dominant motif: knives penetrate, blood gushes, heads roll. And to crown it all, particularly inane use is made of a cod Chandler narration."

References

External links

* 1973 films British action films 1973 action films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Lindsay Shonteff 1970s British films English-language action films {{1970s-UK-film-stub