is a 1950 Japanese

anti-war film An anti-war film is a sub-genre of war film that is opposed to warfare in its theming or messaging. Characteristics Anti-war films typically argue that war is futile, unjust, a loss for all involved, only serves to benefit few in society (us ...

directed by

Senkichi Taniguchi (February 19, 1912 – October 29, 2007) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Tokyo, Japan, he attended Waseda University but left before graduating due to his involvement in a left-wing theater troupe. He ...

. Co-written by Taniguchi and

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

, the film is based on ''Story of a Prostitute'' by

Taijiro Tamura was a Japanese novelist. He was born in Yokkaichi, Mie, and was educated at Waseda University in Tokyo where he studied literature. His most famous work is ''Gate of Flesh'', which has been adapted into a movie four times and most recently in 200 ...

. The film revolves around a tragic affair between a soldier involved in the Manchurian campaign and a prostitute. The film received two awards at the

Mainichi Film Concours The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by ''Mainichi Shimbun'' (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of t ...

and was later remade by

Seijun Suzuki , born (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017), was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their florid visual style, absurd humour, and a playful rejection of traditional film grammar. He made 40 predominately ...

Nikkatsu is a Japanese film studio located in Bunkyō. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Motion Pictures". Shareholders are Nippon Television Holdings (35%) and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (28.4%). ...

Plot

Mikami, a Japanese soldier serving in China, is captured by Chinese forces. Although he is able to escape, he is treated with contempt by his peers. After falling in love with a prostitute named Harumi, she convinces him to desert the army and live with her.

Cast

Ryō Ikebe was a Japanese actor. He graduated from Rikkyō University and originally wanted to be a director, but ended up debuting as an actor at Tōhō in 1941. He did not achieve popularity until starring in a series of youth films in the late 1940s. H ...

as Mikami *

Yoshiko Yamaguchi Yoshiko Yamaguchi ( ''Yamaguchi Yoshiko''; ''Shānkǒu Shūzǐ''; 12 February, 1920 – 7 September, 2014) was a Japanese singer, actress, journalist, and politician. Born in China, she made an international career in film in China, Hong Kong, ...

as Harumi *

Eitaro Ozawa , also credited as Sakae Ozawa (小沢栄), was a Japanese film actor and stage actor and director. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1935 and 1988, directed by notable filmmakers such as Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita ...

as Adjutant * Hajime Izu as Oda *

Haruo Tanaka was a Japanese film actor noted for his supporting roles in a career that spanned seven decades. Career Tanaka was born in Kyoto and quit school in order to become a film actor, joining the Nikkatsu studio in 1925. He eventually moved up to se ...

as Noro * Setsuko Wakayama as Kaoru

Release

''Escape at Dawn'' was released in Japan on 8 January 1950 where it was distributed by

Shintoho was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios (which also included Daiei, Nikkatsu, Shochiku, Toei Company, and Toho) during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company ...

Reception

''Escape at Dawn'' was ranked as the third-best Japanese film of 1950 by ''

Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...

'' critics. The film received two awards at the

: Best Cinematography and Best Sound.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * * *

External links

* * 1950 films Japanese black-and-white films 1950s Japanese-language films 1950s war drama films Japanese war drama films Films based on Japanese novels Films directed by Senkichi Taniguchi Films scored by Fumio Hayasaka Films with screenplays by Akira Kurosawa Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka Toho films Shintoho films Films with screenplays by Senkichi Taniguchi 1950 drama films Japanese World War II films 1950s Japanese films Japanese-language war drama films {{1950s-Japan-film-stub