"Tokkan kozo" (a charging-ahead boy) is the earliest Ozu I've seen yet. Only one older film directed by him still exists. This one was believed lost until 1990 or so, when the first and last reels of this 4-reel "nonsense comedy" were re-discovered. This is an adaptation of O. Henry's "Ransom of Red Chief". It stars a diminutive bespectacled Tomio Aoki (the little brother from "I Was Born But" -- a couple of years later) as the unmanageable and ultimately unwanted kidnap victim and Tatsuo Saito (the father from IWBB) and Takeshi Sakamoto (Aoki's father in "Passing Fancy" and "Tokyo Inn", also from the 30s) as the hapless kidnappers. One assumes that this film was inspired by the "Little Rascals" films -- and (except for the clothing -- and the comparatively sophisticated direction and cinematography) looks like the American exemplars -- especially the end which features a batch of our young hero's friends. Nothing profound here, but good fun -- despite the missing middle (wherein our kidnappers try unsuccessfully to return their "visitor").
Review of A Straightforward Boy
