SEVEN GAMBLERS (1966)

Hanjiro (Koji Tsuruta), a one-eyed gambler with a gravestone tattooed on his back, joins forces with a one-armed con man, a one-legged priest, and a blind man when they all accept employment as bodyguards for a quarry owner on a nearby island. They soon find themselves caught between two clans fighting over the excavation rights to a mountain, and along the way they encounter a hunchback, a deaf mute, and a fire-scarred henchman (Yep, that makes seven of 'em). Also known as SEVEN ROGUES, this fast-moving yakuza pic by Shigehiro Ozawa has a good sense of humor and convincing performances, especially by Kyosuke Machida as the Zatoichi-like blind gambler and Tsuruta, who adds a sometimes comical crankiness to his noble stoic template. Both of them returned for the sequel, SEVEN FUGITIVES (aka AMBUSH OF THE SEVEN).