Dokufu Takahashi Oden (1958)

In 1870's Tokyo, Den steals to support the daughter of her first marriage and her consumptive second husband. She falls in love with a young policeman, but is coerced into becoming the ... See full summary »

Director:

Nobuo Nakagawa

Writers:

Katsuyoshi Nakatsu (screenplay), Shin Nakazawa (screenplay),

Stars:

Katsuko Wakasugi, Jûzaburô Akechi, Tetsurô Tanba

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Katsuko Wakasugi	...	Oden Takahashi
Jûzaburô Akechi
Tetsurô Tanba
Akira Nakamura
Gen Funabashi
Asao Matsumoto
Saburô Sawai
Arata Shibata
Minako Yamada
Den Kunikata
Fumiko Miyata
Keiko Ôzeki
Teruko Amano
Fujie Satsuki
Masao Takamatsu

Storyline

In 1870's Tokyo, Den steals to support the daughter of her first marriage and her consumptive second husband. She falls in love with a young policeman, but is coerced into becoming the mistress of and procurer for a vice boss. After the deaths of her second husband and daughter, Den moves to Yokohama. There she runs a casino for the vice boss. Her remorseful first husband and the disgraced policeman follow her. Den kills her former husband and the vice boss, but when she tries to escape with the casino takings, she's arrested and returned to Tokyo to stand trial.

---

Plot Keywords:

1870s | meiji | human trafficking | yokohama japan | shoplifter | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

---

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

25 February 1958 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Poisonous Woman Takahashi O-Den

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shintoho Film Distribution Committee

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

"You can all go to hell!"

This period melodrama portrays the descent of a basically caring person into a heartless, money-obsessed killer. The plot-heavy narrative is held together by Kazuko Wakasugi's passionate commitment to putting emotional flesh on the title character's bones. She went on to play the even more tragic Iwa in 'Tokaido Yotsuya kaidan'.

Director Nakagawa keeps things moving at a brisk enough pace to gloss over the story's improbabilities. Continuing to experiment with his visuals, he includes an unusually large number of high-angle shots, suggesting the powerlessness of the main characters.

Although not one of the director's best films, 'Dokufu' is still an above-average entry in its genre.