Lady from Hell

Lady from Hell
Lady from Hell
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Motoyoshi Oda
Screenplay by	Akira Kurosawa; Motosada Nishiki
Produced by	Tomoyuki Tanaka; Keiji Matsuzaki
Starring	Michiyo Kogure; Eitaro Ozawa; Takashi Shimura; Michiyo Kogure
Cinematography	Shunichiro Nakao
Music by	Ryōichi Hattori
Production; company	Toho
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	March 15, 1949 (Japan)
Running time	72 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Lady from Hell (Japanese: 地獄の貴婦人, Hepburn: Jigoku no Kifujin) is a 1949 Japanese action drama film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film has been called a "protest movie" which "portrayed a cornucopia of corruption and indicted every known example of postwar exploitation: black-marketeering, crooked politicians, blackmailing journalists, and a decaying aristocracy."^[2]

The script was written by famed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa.^[1] Lady of Hell was regarded as one of Oda's best-known films.^[3]

Plot[]

It has been three and a half years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, and Japan's economy is no longer growing slowly due to inflation. To balance the fiscal balance, the tax authorities have organized a "T-men" squad to detect tax evasion, the biggest cause of inflation. The building is called Fujimura Sangyo and it is located in front of it. As a group of T Men are inspecting the books in the office, Yoshioka, Kano, Mihara and others are accompanied by the police; however, the double books in question are not present. A few minutes later Fujimura, the company's president, walks in and laughs meaninglessly. The economic paper's Tachibana, however, persists in his attachment to Fujimura. Former Countess Mibu and Center Party executive Nango have been dating for some time. She's also on Fujimura's radar. In the world of political parties and Fujimura Sangyo, a close relationship led to an entanglement involving Mrs Mibu, centred on "double books." Journalist Tachibana recognized the link between Nango and Fujimura Sangyo. In cooperation with Yoshioka and other members of "T Men," he began looking for the whereabouts of the double books, but Fujimura failed to reveal any evidence. Reporter Tachibana suddenly disappeared, leaving behind the news that he had captured a certain point. Major action has been initiated between the police and "T Men." Nango also suffered from money and women, like Fujimura and his friends. To gain power, Fujimura will do whatever he thinks is right. Fujimura finally takes Mrs Mibu out of Nango. Nango can't let go of Miss Mibu, but at the same time follow them to Atami, and then follow them to "T Men". A group of police officers. Fujimura's death caused Nango and Mrs Mibu to settle everything after Tachibana's murder. The "T-men" muttered, "The future is important."

Cast[]

Eitarō Ozawa as Fujimura^[4]
Michiyo Kogure as Mrs. Mibu^[4]
Akitake Kōno as Tachibana^[4]
Takashi Shimura as Chief of Police^[4]
Minoru Takada as Doi^[4]
Shin Tokudaiji as Yoshioka^[4]
Ichiro Ryuzaki as Nango^[4]
Kinzō Shin as Kano^[4]
Yasuo Hisamatsu as Mihara^[4]

Production[]

Production credits:^[4]

Motoyoshi Oda – director
Eiji Tsuburaya – special effects director
Tomoyuki Tanaka – producer
Akira Kurosawa - screenwriter
Minoru Esaka – art director
Akira Watanabe – special effects art director

Development[]

Production stills

The film is one of Toho's first films to use heavy special effects, the technology was then reused for the 1954 Godzilla film. The film's screenplay was co-written by Akira Kurosawa and Motosada Nishiki.

Release[]

Theatrical[]

Lady from Hell was released in Japan on March 15, 1949 where it was distributed by Toho.^[4]

Home media[]

Asahi Shimbun Publishing – DVD

Released: October 21, 2019^[5]
Audio: Japanese^[5]
Subtitles: Japanese
Discs: 1^[5]
Extras:
Still gallery^[5]
Theatrical poster^[5]
ISBN: 4910325511197^[5]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Anderson, Joseph L.; Richie, Donald (2018). The Japanese Film: Art and Industry. Princeton University Press. p. 187. ISBN 9780691187464. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
^ Chapman, William (1991). Inventing Japan: The Making of a Postwar Civilization. Prentice Hall Press. p. 55. ISBN 0-13-942921-2. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
^ Ryfle 1998, p. ^{[page needed]}.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k "地獄の貴婦人（1949): 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 11, 2021.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "黒澤明ＤＶＤコレクション全国版（２０１９年１１月３日号）". 紀伊國屋書店ウェブストア｜オンライン書店｜本、雑誌の通販、電子書籍ストア (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-11.

Sources[]

Ryfle, Steve (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. ECW Press. ISBN 1550223488.

External links[]

Lady from Hell at IMDb
"地獄の貴婦人 (Jigoku no kifujin)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database.

This article related to a Japanese film of the 1940s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[JFAI-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b Anderson, Joseph L.; Richie, Donald (2018). The Japanese Film: Art and Industry. Princeton University Press. p. 187. ISBN 9780691187464. Retrieved 20 September 2020.

[2] Chapman, William (1991). Inventing Japan: The Making of a Postwar Civilization. Prentice Hall Press. p. 55. ISBN 0-13-942921-2. Retrieved 20 September 2020.

[FOOTNOTERyfle1998[[Category:Wikipedia_articles_needing_page_number_citations_from_July_2021]]<sup_class="noprint_Inline-Template_"_style="white-space:nowrap;">&#91;<i>[[Wikipedia:Citing_sources|<span_title="This_citation_requires_a_reference_to_the_specific_page_or_range_of_pages_in_which_the_material_appears.&#32;(July_2021)">page&nbsp;needed</span>]]</i>&#93;</sup>-3] Ryfle 1998, p. ^{[page needed]}.

[:0-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k "地獄の貴婦人（1949): 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 11, 2021.

[:1-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "黒澤明ＤＶＤコレクション全国版（２０１９年１１月３日号）". 紀伊國屋書店ウェブストア｜オンライン書店｜本、雑誌の通販、電子書籍ストア (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-11.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]