繁體中文
井上梅次為日本人，1923年生於京都。1947年他獲慶應義塾大學經濟系學位，並得內川清一郎介紹加入新東寶當兼職副導演，跟隨佐伯清、千葉泰樹、阿部豐等名師。因兼具寫劇本之長，他1952年榮升導演，完成處女作《求愛敢死隊長》。1955年他轉投日活，兩年後憑《瘋狂的男女》（1957）捧紅新人石原裕次郎，成為日活青春動作片的台柱，同時擅長輕喜劇與現代歌舞片。1959年他離開日活，獲大映董事長永田雅一邀請，偕夫人兼著名女星月丘夢路遠赴美國研究闊銀幕等新技術。回國後他分別為寶塚、大映、松竹、東映執導《喚風的樂團》（1960）、《女人夢幻曲》（1961）、《黑蜥蜴》（1962）、《賭城喋血記》（1963）等娛樂片。1965年他在攝影師西本正穿針引線下，跟邵氏兄弟（香港）有限公司簽下沒有時限的「百部片約」，1966年12月率領副導演、美術指導、燈光師、舞蹈指導等多名人員來港工作。他為邵氏執導的首部作品是間諜動作片《諜網嬌娃》（1967），接著拍攝香港大型歌舞片的代表作《香江花月夜》（1967）。他極力向邵氏推薦音樂大師服部良一為《諜網嬌娃》、《香江花月夜》、《青春鼓王》（1967）等作曲。其快速、不超時、不超支的製作風格與邵氏「多、快、好、省」的宗旨契合，最後執導的邵氏電影是歌舞片《玉女嬉春》（1972）。他一直以真名面對香港觀眾，為邵氏執導影片達十七部。他畢生導演作品多達一百六十部，其中九十九部自編自導。七十年代中期起他轉投電視與舞台劇發展。2010年2月11日因病逝世。
English
Inoue Umetsugu was born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1923. He earned a degree in economics from Keio University in 1947 and, introduced by Seiichiro Uchikawa, joined Shintoho as a part-time assistant director, learning under masters such as Kiyoshi Saeki, Yasuki Chiba and Yutaka Abe. Gifted at screenwriting, he was promoted to director in 1952 and made his debut. He moved to Nikkatsu in 1955 and two years later helped make a star of the newcomer Yujiro Ishihara, becoming a mainstay of the studio's youth action films while also excelling in light comedy and modern musicals. He left Nikkatsu in 1959 and, invited by Daiei's head Masaichi Nagata, travelled to the United States with his wife, the actress Yumeji Tsukioka, to study widescreen and other new technologies. After returning he directed entertainment pictures for Takarazuka, Daiei, Shochiku and Toei, including The Wind-calling Band (1960), A Woman's Fantasy (1961), The Black Lizard (1962) and Gambling Den Bloodshed (1963). In 1965, through the cinematographer Yoshimoto Sho, he signed an open-ended 'hundred-film contract' with Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong); in December 1966 he arrived in Hong Kong with a team of assistant directors, art directors, lighting men and choreographers. His first Shaw film was the spy thriller Angel with the Iron Fists (1967), followed by Hong Kong's landmark musical Hong Kong Nocturne (1967). He strongly recommended the composer Ryoichi Hattori to Shaw, who scored Angel with the Iron Fists, Hong Kong Nocturne and The Singing Drummer (1967). His fast, on-time and on-budget method matched Shaw's drive for volume, and his last Shaw picture was a 1972 musical. He always appeared before Hong Kong audiences under his own name and directed seventeen films for Shaw. In all he directed about 160 films, ninety-nine of them self-written, and from the mid-1970s moved into television and the stage. He died on 11 February 2010.
