In short: The Shadow of Fear (1956)

Original title: Nerawareta otoko 狙われた男

Post-war Japan. In a side street of little shops in Tokyo’s Ginza district, a hairdresser is murdered, apparently strangled. Inspector Yasumoto (Taketoshi Naito) investigates in a rather calm and collected manner. Early signs point to ex-con Yoshio (Shinsuke Maki) as a probable culprit; he was after all convicted of manslaughter he committed in a low level yakuza war. While the neighbourhood is quickly convinced of Yoshio’s guilt, the Inspector isn’t quite so sure. It looks rather a lot as if someone were trying to frame the young man.

Yoshio himself starts investigating as well.

If you expect this very early directorial work by Ko Nakahira for Nikkatsu to already be in the full, intense pop cinema style we know him for, you’re probably going to be bit disappointed in this little murder mystery.

For most of its running time, Nakahira’s direction is tightly formalist. He uses few shots and minimal camera movement during most scenes, leaving large parts of the film peculiarly calm and just a little mannered, though, because this is a Japanese studio movie, beautifully and effectively framed all the same. From time to time, in the few scenes of surprisingly brutal violence, Nakahira shifts to a much more dynamic style, with fast jazz on the soundtrack, quick edits, and angles and shadows that parallel noir aesthetics.

These scenes make a marked – and obviously conscious - contrast to what appears to be Shadow’s main interest, the portrayal of the small cross-section of Japanese society that populates the street most of the film’s action takes place on. Clearly, the film is more than just a little critical of the Japanese version of the petty bourgeoisie, as seen via the scenes of all too quickly circulating rumours and lies. Alas, this critique never connects too well with the actual mystery plot, so it’s more an interesting idea with moments that foreshadow Nakahira’s later, much superior work than anything else. Though the contemporary post-war setting is certainly of some interest, and the more exciting aesthetic flourishes alone should make this one worth watching.