The Eleventh Hour

The story

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.

Cast

T Takashi ShimuraBanno S Shinjirō EharaYamaguchi K Kokuten Kōdō E Eiji OkadaShimano E Eijirō Tōno C Chōko IidaKane Ishigaki J Jiro TakagiNewspaper Reporter A Y Yoshi KatōSunaga S Shin TonomuraKusaka Y Yoshifumi TachibanaYui E Ei IwagamiIshigaki J Jun MitaTakada

See more cast

K Koji TakishimaNakatsu K Kazuo NakanoOyama T Takashi KandaTachibana R Rinichi YamamotoKawamura S Shiko SaitoDirector Yoshikawa K Kentaro TakiDirector Ueda M Masako NakamuraMichi Kogen M Motoharu UekiJiro Takahara T Tokue HanazawaTakichi Banno K Kyoko ShinobazuKatsuko Banno Y Yōyō KojimaKaichi Yui I Itaru HamadaYamaguchi's father A Akiko KazamiKiku Noda E Eri TsurumaToshi Noda H Hisako TakihanaToshie Sunaga R Rikiya IwakiYoshino A Akikane SawaKawasaki S Susumu NamishimaYokota T Tokio KozukaNishiyama Y Yuji KitamineReporter C T Tadashi MinamikawaBroadcaster A H Hiroshi AsahinaBroadcast Reporter B M Masazumi OkabeMessenger T Tadashi SuganumaDiver K Kyosuke MakinoDoctor K Kyoji SugiPopsicle shop Y Yoshitaka KosugiMurase K Katsuya IshimaruNoda H Hidesuke Sone K Kōji Sekiyama