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The Eleventh Hour (1957)

The Eleventh Hour (1957)

Action Drama
Release Date: 1957, November 24
Directors: Tomu Uchida
Countries: Japan
Production: Toei Company
Cast: Takashi Shimura, Yōyō Kojima, Yoshi Katō, Akiko Kazami, Rinichi Yamamoto, Akikane Sawa, Tokue Hanazawa, Eiji Okada, Chōko Iida, Tadashi Suganuma, Kyoko Shinobazu, Hisako Takihana

Overview:

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.