, also titled ''City of Violence'' and ''Street of Violence (The Pen Never Lies)'', is a 1950 Japanese

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

and

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Satsuo Yamamoto was a Japanese film director. Yamamoto was born in Kagoshima, Kagoshima City. After leaving Waseda University, where he had become affiliated with Left-wing politics, left-wing groups, he joined the Shochiku film studios in 1933, where he worke ...

. Its story is based on a reportage published in the newspaper

The Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

Plot

In the city of Tōjō, news reporter Kita is first insulted by local boss Onishi and later threatened by gangsters after an article on corrupt businessmen, officials and authorities. Bureau chief Sagawa withdraws Kita for his and his family's protection and instead sends a group of colleagues to Tōjō to investigate. Aided by a group of organised young people and formerly intimidated citizens, who are weary of the ongoing corruption and violence, the reporters can finally expose the schemings. In the closing

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

, the narrator cautions the audience to stay attentive to prevent a return of the depicted violence.

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 Kawasaki *

Akitake Kōno was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than sixty films from 1943 to 1973. Career Kōno started acting with the Zenshinza theater troupe before joining the Toho Company, Toho studio in 1942. Mostly a character actor, he appeared in film ...

as Enomoto * Masao Mishima as Onishi * Hajime Izu * Miki Sanjō as Tazuko, Kita's sister * Yasumi Hara as Kita * Hatae Kishi as Harue *

Masao Shimizu was a Japanese actor. His wife was actress Yumi Takano. His first starring role in the film was in ''Momoiro no Yuwaku'' in 1931. In 1947, he formed the Mingei Theatre Company. Shimizu often worked with Akira Kurosawa. He appeared in more than ...

as Okano *

Eitarō 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 ...

Takashi Shimura was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1934 and 1981. He appeared in 21 of Akira Kurosawa's 30 films (more than any other actor), including as a lead actor in '' Drunken Angel'' (1948), '' Rashomon'' (1950), '' Ikiru'' (1952) ...

as Sagawa *

Jūkichi Uno (real name ; 27 September 1914 – 9 January 1988) was a Japanese actor. In 1950, he formed the with Osamu Takizawa was a Japanese actor. He was born in Ushigome, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Starting at the Tsukiji Little Theater, Takizawa particip ...

as Natsume *

Taiji Tonoyama was a Japanese character actor who made many appearances in films and on television from 1939 to 1989. He was a close friend of Kaneto Shindo and one of his regular cast members. He was also an essayist. In 1950 he helped form the film company ...

Osamu Takizawa was a Japanese actor. He was born in Ushigome, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Starting at the Tsukiji Little Theater, Takizawa participated in a number of theatrical troupes before forming Gekidan Mingei with Jūkichi Uno. His was praised for his performa ...

as Prosecutor Togami

Background

''Street of Violence'' was produced by a production committee established especially for this film, which included the Japan Film Workers Union. Among the cast were actors under contract with the studios

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

Shōchiku is a Japanese entertainment company. Founded in 1895, it initially managed ''kabuki'' theaters in Kyoto; in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and establishe ...

and

Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni ...

, and independent film and theatre actors. It was shot on location where the actual events, which became known as the "Tōjō incident", had taken place.

Notes

References

External links

* 1950 films 1950 crime films 1950 drama films Japanese drama films Japanese crime films Japanese black-and-white films Films directed by Satsuo Yamamoto Films scored by Ichirō Saitō 1950s Japanese films {{1950s-Japan-film-stub