どたんば (1956)

Trama

Based on a 1956 television feature on Japan’s national network, NHK, this is one of Uchida’s rarest films. A socially conscious drama with a contemporary backdrop, Dotanba focuses on the attempts to rescue a group of trapped miners. The title is a figure of speech — (essentially “last minute” or “eleventh hour”) — that refers to a situation of peril. The film boasts a script co-written by Uchida and Akira Kurosawa’s frequent screenwriter, Shinobu Hashimoto, and stars Kurosawa’s frequent star Takashi Shimura.

Cast

• Rentaro Mikuni
• Kō Nishimura
• 加東大介
• 殿山泰司
• 多々良純
• 津島恵子
• 飯田蝶子
• 藤間紫
• 河野秋武
• 千石規子
• 織田政雄
• 原保美
• 相原巨典
• Fumiya Takahata
• 田武謙三
• 名古屋章
• 森幹太
• 伊藤雄之助