The Eleventh Hour

Action · 1957

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.

Starring

Shinobu Hashimoto, Takashi Shimura, Ryūzō Kikushima, Shinjirô Ehara, Kokuten Kōdō, Tomu Uchida, Eiji Okada, Tomu Uchida, Taichiro Kosugi, Mikio Mori, Eijirō Tōno

Director

Tomu Uchida