Humanity and Paper Balloons

Humanity and Paper Balloons

1937 · 86 min · ★ 7.8 · Drama, History

In a slum in Edo Japan, a ronin hopes that his deceased father's former master will hire him while a disgraced hairdresser attempts to regain his pride by kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy pawnbroker, who is set to be married.

Directed by Sadao Yamanaka · Written by Shintarō Mimura

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Humanity and Paper Balloons

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Detective Umon's Diary, Story No. 6Detective Umon's Diary, Story No. 6 · 1930
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An important silent film survives, Kumahiko Nishina's Umon torimonocho rokuban tegara jinenji kidan (The Samurai Detective, aka The Detective Records of Umon, aka Detective Umon Diary: Exploit Number Six, 1930). Umon on his shining white horse stops a conspiracy against the Shogun. Umon was played by Kanjuro Arashi in this early film, & long after in the post-Occupation jidaigeki revival he reprised the role in Kajiro Yamamoto's Muttsuri Umon torimonocho (1955), helping to launch the renewed interest in such films.
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