From “Pinky Violence: Toei’s Bad Girl Films” (東映ピンキー・バイオレンス浪漫アルバム) (1999). I’ll try to summarize a few highlights. My translations may not be entirely accurate.
Norifumi Suzuki on Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto (Interview)
Sugisaku: “What were your impressions of Ike and Sugimoto?”
Suzuki: “Ike was like a flower. She had a beautiful skin and a body like a foreigner, but… the flower only bloomed for a short time. Sugimoto was gloomy and rebellious, like a delinquent girl. At first she was playing minor roles, but when she became a lead she gained self-confidence. She was the opposite of Ike, in good and bad.”
Sugisaku: “[regarding Ike’s 1972 declaration to quit Toei and refuse nude scenes] Did Ike complain that she didn’t want to be nude before?”
Suzuki: “Not in the first 2 or 3 films, but after that… It may have been the record company, or perhaps it was her own or her parents’ wish. “
Sugisaku: “Was there a sense of rivalry between the two of them?”
Suzuki: “There was. Ike left Toei and Sugimoto became the lead actress, then Ike came back again. So then we had two lead actresses. But [producer] Amao was really good with that stuff. We made them compete. When one played the lead, the other would be the supporting star, and we’d rotate this pattern [from film to film]. Well, I thought it would be good if they didn’t get along too well.”
Sugisaku: “It would’ve been terrible if they got along too well, and then decided to quit together!” (laughs)
Suzuki: “Not at all. I was confident I could make movies without them. Back then I was asked “why do you keep making porno films?”, and I replied “I can make a no-name girl into a star overnight… I can make legends like that. That’s why I work as a film director”. So, even if they’d quit, I’d go on and find a new girl.”
