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Escape at Dawn (暁の脱走, Akatsuki no Dassō) is a 1950 Japanese anti-war film directed by Senkichi Taniguchi. Co-written by Taniguchi and Akira Kurosawa, the film is based on Story of a Prostitute by Taijiro Tamura. 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 and was later remade by Seijun Suzuki at Nikkatsu.

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 as Mikami
• Yoshiko Yamaguchi as Harumi
• Eitaro Ozawa as Adjutant
• Hajime Izu as Oda
• Haruo Tanaka as Noro
• Setsuko Wakayama as Kaoru

Release

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

Reception

Escape at Dawn was ranked as the third-best Japanese film of 1950 by Kinema Junpo critics. The film received two awards at the Mainichi Film Concours: Best Cinematography and Best Sound.

References

Footnotes

1. ^ Galbraith IV 2008, p. 77.
2. Yamaguchi & Fujiwara 2015, p. 262.
3. ^ Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 51.
4. Hirano 1998, p. 154.

Sources

• Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1461673743.
• Hirano, Kyoko (1998). 天皇と接吻―アメリカ占領下の日本映画検閲 [Kissing the Emperor: Censorship of Japanese Films under U.S. Occupation] (in Japanese). Soshisha. ISBN 978-4794207760.
• Ryfle, Steve; Godziszewski, Ed (2017). Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 978-0819570871.
• Yamaguchi, Yoshiko; Fujiwara, Sakuya (2015). Fragrant Orchid: The Story of My Early Life. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0824854041.

External links

• Akatsuki no Dassō at IMDb
• Akatsuki no Dassō at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)

This article related to a Japanese film of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

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• 1950s Japanese-language films
• 1950s war drama films
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• Films directed by Senkichi Taniguchi
• Films scored by Fumio Hayasaka
• Films with screenplays by Akira Kurosawa
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• Toho films
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• Films with screenplays by Senkichi Taniguchi
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