Danger Stalks Near | |
Native Name: | 風前の灯 |
Director: | Keisuke Kinoshita |
Producer: | Ryōtarō Kuwata |
Music: | Chūji Kinoshita |
Cinematography: | Hiroshi Kusuda |
Editing: | Yoshi Sugihara |
Studio: | Shochiku |
Distributor: | Shochiku |
Runtime: | 79 minutes |
Country: | Japan |
Language: | Japanese |
Danger Stalks Near A Candle in the Wind (Japanese: 風前の灯|Fūzen no tomoshibi) is a 1957 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Keisuke Kinoshita.[1] [2] [3]
Three young hoodlums intend to rob the home of the Satō family which lies isolated in the outskirts of Tokyo. The trio's plan is thwarted by people endlessly going in and out of the house: housewife Yuriko's sister Sakura tries to borrow money after she's heard that Yuriko and her husband Kaneshige have won in the newspaper lottery, the new lodger fights with his predecessor over the vacant room, and, after various other visitors, the mysterious Akama, who pretends to know Kaneshige from student days, shows up. Akama eventually turns out to be a wanted criminal who demands the Satō's savings, arguing that Tetsu, Kaneshige's mother and owner of the house, embezzled Akama's parents during the war. The police arrive in time to arrest Akama, and the three wannabe burglars give up their plan. During the end titles, Kohei, the most reluctant of the trio, can be spotted making a report at the police station.
Film historian Donald Richie titled Danger Stalks Near a "delightful and savage little satire"[4] which "shows the suburbs as home of avarice and violence".[5]