Street of Shame (1956)

The personal tales of various prostitutes who occupy a brothel.

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Masashige Narusawa, Yoshiko Shibaki (novel)

Stars:

Machiko Kyô, Aiko Mimasu, Ayako Wakao

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Machiko Kyô	...	Mickey
Ayako Wakao	...	Yasumi
Michiyo Kogure	...	Hanae
Aiko Mimasu	...	Yumeko
Kenji Sugawara	...	Eiko
Yasuko Kawakami	...	Shizuko
Eitarô Shindô	...	Kurazô Taya
Bontarô Miake	...	Nightwatchman
Haruo Tanaka
Sadako Sawamura	...	Tatsuko Taya
Daisuke Katô	...	President of Brothel Owners' Association
Hisao Toake	...	Shiomi
Jun Tatara	...	Yumeko's client
Osamu Maruyama	...	Sato Yasukichi
Hiroko Machida	...	Yorie

Storyline

Five prostitutes work at Dreamland, in Tokyo's Yoshiwara district. As the Diet considers a ban on prostitution, the women's daily dramas play out. Each has dreams and motivations. Hanae is married, her husband unemployed; they have a young child. Yumeko, a widow, uses her earnings to raise and support her son, who's now old enough to work and care for her. The aging Yorie has a man who wants to marry her. Yasumi saves money diligently to pay her debt and get out; she also has a suitor who wants to marry her, but she has other plans for him. Mickey seems the most devil-may-care, until her father comes from Kobe to bring her news of her family and ask her to come home.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitute | diet | brothel | prostitution | f rated | 

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Taglines:

A true story of the personal and professional lives of the girls in a legal house of prostitution in Japan.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Kenji Mizoguchi's final film. He died of leukemia only five months after its release at the age of 58.

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Connections

Referenced in Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975)

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Soundtracks

Manshû Musume (aka: Manchurian girl)
Composed by Tetsuo Suzuki
Sung by Aiko Mimasu

User Reviews

ravishing

Fabulous film making, a really enjoyable and moving film, oh so beautifully shot. Every wondrous frame is a sight to behold and Mr Mizoguchi certainly knew how to exploit the 4:3 academy ratio and as it says in my booklet, don't dare watch it stretched on a widescreen TV. Set in Tokyo's red-light district of the time and against the background of political attempts to have prostitution made illegal, as well as everything else it is a tantilising glimpse of the mid fifties streets. Poverty and hypocrisy, along with the real need to literally pull those punters in. Always ravishing to watch there are additionally some stand out scenes and the controversial ending works splendidly for me with the electronic music preventing it becoming 'sentimental' or 'overplayed' as suggested by Keiko I McDonald in her 1984 biography of the director.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

4 June 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Street of Shame

Filming Locations:

Yoshiwara, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,549

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min (Blu-ray)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1