The Eleventh Hour

The Eleventh Hour

109 mins | Drama | Nov. 24, 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.

The Eleventh Hour

109 mins | Drama | Nov. 24, 1957

The Eleventh Hour
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.
Producers Toei Company, Ltd.
Original title どたんば
Directors Tomu Uchida
Writers Tomu Uchida, Ryûzô Kikushima, Shinobu Hashimoto

Cast

Takashi Shimura

as Banno

Shinjirô Ehara

as Yamaguchi

Eiji Okada

as Shimano

Chōko Iida

as Kane Ishigaki

Jiro Takagi

as Newspaper Reporter A

Yoshi Katō

as Sunaga

Shin Tonomura

as Kusaka

Ei Iwagami

as Ishigaki

Jun Mita

as Takada

Koji Takishima

as Nakatsu

Kazuo Nakano

as Oyama

Takashi Kanda

as Tachibana

Rinichi Yamamoto

as Kawamura

Shiko Saito

as Director Yoshikawa

Kentaro Taki

as Director Ueda

Masako Nakamura

as Michi Kogen

Motoharu Ueki

as Jiro Takahara

Tokue Hanazawa

as Takichi Banno

Kyoko Shinobazu

as Katsuko Banno

Yôyô Kojima

as Kaichi Yui

Itaru Hamada

as Yamaguchi's father

Akiko Kazami

as Kiku Noda

Eri Tsuruma

as Toshi Noda

Hisako Takihana

as Toshie Sunaga

Rikiya Iwaki

as Yoshino

Akikane Sawa

as Kawasaki

Susumu Namishima

as Yokota

Tokio Kozuka

as Nishiyama

Yuji Kitamine

as Reporter C

Tadashi Minamikawa

as Broadcaster A

Hiroshi Asahina

as Broadcast Reporter B

Masazumi Okabe

as Messenger

Tadashi Suganuma

as Diver

Kyosuke Makino

as Doctor

Kyoji Sugi

as Popsicle shop

Yoshitaka Kosugi

as Murase